NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A 3-judge panel has temporarily halted a state plan to cut the Metro Council in half.
Metro sued the state in early March after lawmakers passed a bill that would cut the Metro Council from 40 seats to 20.
On Tuesday, Metro Nashville’s Law Director Wally Dietz discussed the importance of the injunction.
“In passing the Metro Council Reduction Act, the legislature was guilty of egregious overreach," Dietz said. "The governor sided with the legislature, we had no choice but to go to court and protect Metro’s rights and the public interest in having an orderly election."
"We are grateful that the court issued an injunction based on its unanimous finding that Metro is likely to succeed on our claim that the legislature violated the Constitution by changing the rules for Metro alone in the middle of an election," Dietz said following the injunction.
The new law would prohibit any city in Tennessee from having a governing body with more than 20 members. The bill specifically targeted Nashville - the only city with a council that size.
Nashville has the third largest city legislative body in the United States — just behind Chicago and New York City. Republicans argued that's wasteful and want to reign that in.
"I am grateful that the court protected the integrity of an election process that has already begun," Mayor John Cooper said. "The people of Nashville should decide how our city is governed, as they did when they formed Metro 60 years ago."
The injunction will likely remain in place until the court case makes its way through the legal system.
