Tennessee House passes measure to dissolve state human rights commission

House Republicans passed a bill to dissolve the Tennessee Human Rights Commission, handing investigation of discrimination claims to the state attorney general’s office. (Photo:John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)

Tennessee House Republicans  voted overwhelmingly to transfer responsibilities for investigating discrimination complaints to the office of the Tennessee Attorney General, effectively dissolving the Tennessee Human Rights Commission. 

The measure passed 73-23 with less than 10 minutes of discussion. 

Democrats questioned Rep. Johnny Garrett, a Goodlettsville Republican who sponsored the bill, about the need to dismantle the independent agency and raised doubts about the ability of Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti to investigate complaints without bias. 

“For some reason, I think the politics that have already infected the AG’s office will also make its way into Title VI and other public policies enforced by the Human Rights Commission,” said Rep. G.A. Hardaway, a Memphis Democrat. “I can think of no reason to move (investigative capacity) except to make it susceptible to the politics of the AG’s office.”

Title VI refers to federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities that receive federal funding, including state government.

Bill to abolish discrimination watchdog agency advances in Tennessee Legislature

Skrmetti has led or joined lawsuits that include a challenge to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s rule prohibiting discrimination against women seeking abortions, litigation seeking to stop transgender medical care for minors and sent letters to corporations warning them against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, among other actions.

Garrett said the only change to how claims of discrimination will be investigated is the move to a new Civil Rights Division within the attorney general’s office — although the legislature will lose the oversight authority it currently has over the Human Rights Commission.

Rep. Sam McKenzie, a Knoxville Democrat, called the attorney general’s office “a ginormous organization that’s getting fatter every day.”

The 2026 state budget, which the House passed earlier Wednesday, includes $4.5 million to expand the attorney general’s special litigation unit, which was created to investigate former President Joe Biden’s policies. Funding for the Human Rights Commission would also be transferred to the attorney general’s department should the bill become law.

The 60-year-old commission is a nonpartisan and independent agency responsible for enforcing civil rights laws in employment, housing and public accommodation as well as discrimination claims against the state of Tennessee.  

Under the measure, the commission will be dissolved by July 1 and its 30 staff positions will move to the attorney general’s office. 

The Senate version of the bill, sponsored by Huntingdon Republican Rep. John Stevens, is slated to go next to the Senate Calendar Committee. No date has been set for that but the legislature is expected to wrap up for the year in the next week.