NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Tennessee Senate passed a bill that will cut the number of Metro Council members in half on Thursday morning. Shortly after the vote, Gov. Bill Lee signed it into law.
It was the last major vote for the bill that caps Metro Council to 20 members. It passed in the Tennessee House earlier this week.
Long before the debate started in the Senate, the outcome seemed inevitable with a Republican supermajority. Even still, Nashville based lawmakers did everything they could to stop or change the bill. "This feels like a hostile takeover," said Sen. Heidi Campbell, a Democrat from Nashville.
"This will disproportionately impact the black representation, the minority representation," said Sen. Charlene Oliver, also a Democrat from Nashville.
Sen. Jeff Yarbro, who has also announced his candidacy for Nashville mayor, introduced three amendments that might soften the blow, but all three were struck down.
When it came to the final vote, 23 Republicans voted for it, six Democrats and Republican Sen. Mark Pody voted against. Sen. Frank Niceley didn't vote. "I declare it passed," said Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, a Republican from Oak Ridge.
The way the law is written, two things could happen next.
1) Metro tries to quickly redistrict in time for the August 2023 election.
2) Current Metro Council members have their terms extended one year and a slimmer Metro Council is elected in 2024.
"Actually it’s really a very simple process for them to make these changes and will allow plenty of time for people to campaign in these districts," said Sen. Bo Watson, a Republican from Hixon who sponsored the legislation in the Senate.
"If it can’t be done in that period of time, there is an extension there," said Lt. Gov. McNally in the hallway after the vote.
But Democrats argue, it's now the lawsuits that are unavoidable. "One of the most blatantly unconstitutional and dramatically irresponsible pieces of legislation that this legislature has advanced," said Sen. Yarbro, during a Democratic Caucus news conference.
They argue it violates the state constitution because the legislature can't just extend Metro Council's terms and it doesn't allow Davidson County voters to weigh in. "Metro’s authority comes from the state constitution and the voters of Davidson County -- it’s not just a play thing of the legislature to do as it pleases," said Sen. Yarbo.
Yarbro also believes the statute could violate federal election laws.
Governor Bill Lee signed the bill in near record time. NewsChannel 5 requested an interview or a statement from the Governor, but a spokesperson told us they had nothing else to add.
Metro-Nashville's Legal Division tells NewsChannel 5 that they're disappointed by the vote.
"House Bill 48 and Senate Bill 87, as passed, contain several serious legal defects which will make them impossible to legally implement.
First, there is simply not enough time to change the law this late in the election cycle. Over forty candidates have already appointed treasurers and are actively raising money for Council Districts that ostensibly will no longer exist. Petitions are to be issued a week from Monday. The qualifying deadline is May 18. Even if the Planning Commission prepares a map and the current Metro Council passes a redistricting plan by May 1, the confusion and uncertainty that follows will be prime for legal challenges from a range of affected parties.
More fundamentally, these bills violate the Tennessee Constitution in multiple ways. A number of Metro leaders and advisors, including Mayor Cooper, attempted to point out the legal defects to the legislature and state leaders before either body voted, but those warnings were largely ignored.
Additionally, the legislature rejected an amendment that would have cured one of the most significant flaws, by allowing the voters in Metropolitan Nashville to have a straight up or down vote on a smaller Metro Council and postpone any change until voters approved the change. That suggestion, among others, to make these bills workable was rejected.
This attack on the Constitutional rights of Metro and the people who live here is very dangerous. It serves the interests of no one.
Not the State of Tennessee.
Not the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County.
We hope cooler heads will prevail, but in the event they do not, we are prepared to vigorously defend the constitutional rights of our city and its residents."
