House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) introduced five bills on the first day of Tennessee’s special session to consider redrawing its congressional map.
Governor Bill Lee called a special session last week after the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais, ruling the Voting Rights Act did not require states to create additional majority-minority congressional districts.
Tennessee’s special session will last three days.
The first bill Sexton introduced, House Bill (HB) 7001, would provide an exception to residency requirements for candidates running in primary elections for the House of Representatives.
HB 7001 would allow candidates who have already qualified and met requirements to remain eligible if redistricting changes the state’s congressional map.
Sexton’s second bill, HB 7002, amends Tennessee law to allow redrawing congressional districts between apportionment cycles, which normally occur every 10 years with the U.S. Census.
HB 7003, the third bill, does the exact same thing as HB 7002, but it makes a technical change to Chapter 742 of the Public Acts of 2026 to allow for adjusting Tennessee’s congressional map.
Sexton’s fourth bill, HB 7004, is a duplicate of HB 7003.
The fifth bill Sexton introduced, HB 7005, Tennessee’s budget bill, includes funding for potential new election laws and the special session.
Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) filed companion bills in the State Senate for all of Sexton’s bill proposals.
On the other side of the political aisle, Democratic House Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) introduced one bill, HB 7006.
This bill proposal seeks to change Tennessee’s congressional map by adding all of Davidson County to the state’s 5th Congressional District. Currently, Davidson County is in three separate districts.
Before the 2022 redistricting in Tennessee, the 5th Congressional District was a Democratic stronghold. When Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) took office in 2023, he was the first Republican to represent the district since 1875.
– – –
Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at zschmidt1717@gmail.com.
