Bill to abolish discrimination watchdog agency advances in Tennessee Legislature

Tennessee State Capitol. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday voted in favor of abolishing the Tennessee Human Rights Commission, a 60-year-old independent agency responsible for enforcing civil rights laws in employment, housing and public accommodation.

The proposed bill by Sen. John Stevens of Huntingdon and Rep. Johnny Garrett of Goodlettsville, both Republicans, would transfer the commission’s responsibilities to a newly-created Civil Rights Enforcement Division within the Office of Attorney General.

All pending discrimination complaints before the commission would be dismissed. Individuals who have filed discrimination complaints would have the option of refiling their complaint within 90 days of the law taking effect. 

Muriel Malone Nolen, the commission’s executive director, urged lawmakers to vote against the bill or amend it to include a wind-down period allowing current cases to go forward. 

Nolen noted that the commission has more than 1,000 active discrimination complaints – some pending for at least two years – that would be thrown out entirely should the bill become law.

“This has the potential to have dire consequences for businesses and individuals across our state,” she said, calling the bill’s lack of a transition period “not only inefficient but unjust.”

Employers, landlords and companies that have been the subject of complaints have already, in some cases, paid attorneys and produced records in their defense, she noted. The bill would require them to defend themselves anew if cases must be refiled with a new Attorney General division. 

Individuals who have filed complaints would likewise have to restart the process.  

About 90% of the commission’s cases involve people with disabilities who have been discriminated against in housing and several impact veterans, she said. Should their cases be dismissed, they may fall outside a 180-day statute of limitations to pursue their discrimination claims forfeiting their rights entirely, she said.

Nolen also disputed claims by the attorney general’s office that case records could easily be transferred, noting the Tennessee Human Rights Commission’s records are stored in software and databases owned by the federal government. 

“Unless the attorney general has a work-share agreement with the federal government we would not be able to share those files,” she said. 

The bill elicited little debate among lawmakers, who voted 7-2 along party lines to approve the measure. It will next be heard in a House committee Wednesday.

It is the second time in two years that Republican lawmakers have sought to abolish the Tennessee Human Rights Commission. In 2024, Democrats criticized the proposal as a tactic to remove independent oversight of discrimination complaints and instead subject them to political control.

That bill was ultimately amended to require a study of the feasibility of dissolving the agency. The Attorney General’s office, which conducted the study, concluded that the duties of the commission could better be undertaken by its office. 

This year’s bill also includes proposed changes to Tennessee anti-discrimination laws related to school admission practices, creating a pathway for those denied admission on the basis of “race, color or national origin” to file complaints.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has been outspoken in his views that diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are discriminatory, issuing warnings to corporations against DEI policies, criticizing the Environmental Protection Agency for environmental justice initiatives and warning the American Bar Association against new diversity and inclusion rules for law schools.

The bill, if enacted, would give the newly formed Attorney General’s Civil Rights Enforcement Division the legal power to pursue such discrimination complaints against schools.