Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) introduced a bill on Thursday to withhold state funding from local governments that defy state law or the state’s constitution.
The bill, filed as HB 1097, would create a process that allows a member of the Tennessee General Assembly to submit a request to the Tennessee attorney general’s office if they suspect a local governing body is violating state law or constitution.
Under the legislation, the attorney general, upon request of a member of the General Assembly, would be required to “investigate an ordinance, regulation, order, or other official action adopted or taken by the chief executive officer or governing body of a local government or any written policy, written rule, or written regulation adopted by any agency, department, or other entity of the local government that the member alleges violates state law or the Constitution of Tennessee.”
Once investigated, if a local government’s official action in question was found to have violated the state law or constitution, the attorney general “shall provide notice to the local government, by certified mail, of the violation and shall indicate that the local government has thirty (30) days to resolve the violation or file an action challenging the conclusion and any withholding of funds.”
If a local government does not resolve the violation or challenge the attorney general’s conclusion within 30 days, the attorney general would be required to “notify the appropriate state officials who shall withhold all or a portion of the funds of the state and all funds administered by the state and its agencies, boards, and instrumentalities allotted or appropriated to the local government, including, but not limited to, state-shared taxes.”
Sexton said the bill “makes it clear that political stunts will not be tolerated at the expense of law-abiding Tennesseans.”
“The Tennessee Constitution is clear—the Legislature has oversight of cities and counties. If local governments refuse to follow state law or circumvent state laws, they should not expect to benefit from state resources,” Sexton said in a statement.
“We will not allow rogue officials to undermine state law or the state constitution. We will expect these local governments to correct their course immediately,” Sexton added.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Speaker Cam Sexton” by Cam Sexton and “Tennessee House Floor” is by Tennessee House of Representatives.
