NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Story courtesy of WVLT / WSMV) – The speaker of the Tennessee House abruptly ousted Democratic representatives from committees this week, in a move he deemed punishment for their behavior during last week’s special session.
But is that allowed? And who is affected? WSMV4 is breaking down the legality, meaning and impact of the speaker’s action.
Why were they removed?
Liberal leaders in Tennessee protested in Capitol chambers during a special session last week when Republicans divided Memphis into three sections, dismantling the state’s last majority Black district and infusing its remaining pieces with pools of historically conservative voters.
Republicans in Tennessee were the first GOP collective in the U.S. to redistrict a state after a Supreme Court ruling limited the use of race in redistricting. The special session answered a call from Pres. Trump to rush to change Congressional maps ahead of this year’s midterms.
Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton was among the GOP leaders in Tennessee to hail the newly-drawn districts as a means to “ensure the state’s representation in Washington reflects its conservative values.” But Democrats called it illegal gerrymandering, and the NAACP filed an emergency petition saying the redistricting was illegal, citing rules against changing districts between U.S. Census apportionments.
Sexton penned a letter this week stating that the committee removals are “due to actions taken” by the members during last week’s special session over redistricting across Tennessee. Those actions, Sexton said, “aimed at disrupting the democratic and legislative processes and creating disorder on the House Floor.”
He took issue with Democrats locking arms on the House floor, blocking the aisles of the House and using prohibited props and noise makers on the House floor. Deputy Speaker Jason Zachary said all of these actions created safety concerns.
Does the Speaker of the TN House have the power to remove these lawmakers?
State rules say that the speaker has the ability to remove House members from standing committees that do not require bipartisan representation.
So what’s a standing committee? The Clerk for the U.S. House of Representatives offers the following definition:
“Standing committees are permanent panels identified in Chamber rules, which also list the jurisdiction of each committee. Because they have legislative jurisdiction, standing committees consider bills and issues and recommend measures for consideration by the House. They also have oversight responsibilities to monitor agencies, programs, and activities within their jurisdictions, and in some cases in areas that cut across committee jurisdictions. Most standing committees recommend authorized levels of funds for government operations and for new and existing programs within their jurisdiction, but a few have other functions.”
The Tennessee House has several Standing Committees:
- Agriculture and Natural Resources
- Calendar and Rules
- Civil Justice
- Commerce
- Criminal Justice
- Education Administration
- Education Instruction
- Finance, Ways, and Means
- Government Operations
- Health
- Insurance
- Local Government
- Naming and Designating
- State Government
- Transportation
- Banking Committee
- Calendar & Rules Committee
- Covid-19 Committee
- Elections Committee
- Emergency Orders Committee
- Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
- Judiciary Committee
- Public Health Committee
- Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
- Health and Safety Committee
- Calendar & Rules Committee
- Education 12 Committee
- Education 345 Committee
- Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
- Finance Tax Committee
- Government Operations Committee
But Democratic leaders tell WSMV4 that Sexton is only allowed to remove them from two of those committees: Government Operations and Calendar and Rules.
Which lawmakers were removed from those committees?
According to the Tennessee General Assembly website, of the 24 Democrats in the Tennessee House, the following representatives are confirmed to have been a part of those committees before Sexton stripped them of their membership this week:
- Gloria Johnson (Knoxville)
- Torrey Harris (Memphis)
- Justin Pearson (Memphis)
- Gabby Salinas (Memphis)
- Antonio Parkinson (Memphis)
- Justin Jones (Nashville)
- Aftyn Behn (Nashville)
- Jason Powell (Nashville)
The following committees no longer have Democratic representation:
- Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee
- Education
- Education Administration Subcommittee
- Higher Education Subcommittee
- Education Instruction Subcommittee
- K-12 Subcommittee
- Finance, Ways, and Means
- Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee
- Appropriations and Oversight Subcommittee
- Insurance
- Insurance Subcommittee
- Tenncare Subcommittee
- Judiciary
- Children and Family Affairs Subcommittee
- Civil Justice Subcommittee
- Criminal Justice Subcommittee
- Naming & Designating
- State and local government: Departments & Agencies Subcommittee
- State and local government: Elections & Campaign Finance Subcommittee
- State and local government: Public Service Subcommittee
- Transportation
- Transportation Subcommittee
- Ethics Committee
- Workplace Discrimination and Harassment Subcommittee
- Select Committee on Rules
