Stockard on the Stump: Tennessee Republicans carefully consolidate power
The “shadow mayor.” House Speaker Cameron Sexton appointed himself to the board of Nashville’s East Bank Development Authority and has played a pivotal role in creating new board to oversee aspects of Nashville — and Memphis — government. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)
And mercifully, it is over.
With little money to play with this year, Tennessee lawmakers spent the 2026 session exerting control over nearly every facet of life in Tennessee before, finally, adjourning to go home, raise money and run for reelection, except for those weary of the legislative life.
It’s tough riding herd on an entire state.
With blue counties in their cross-hairs, lawmakers took over Memphis Shelby County Schools by creating an oversight board that must approve nearly every policy and budget move by the locally-elected school board, using the excuse that the folks there can’t handle their money and the kids aren’t learning. The measure is certain to be challenged, in part because it prohibits the elected board from suing the oversight board, likely a separation of powers violation.
They also put the state in charge of overseeing Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy, requiring him to report on the adjudication of every arrest made by the Memphis Safe Task Force and giving the state attorney general authority to investigate him and call for a replacement.
Tennessee House passes Shelby County district attorney removal bill
Unsatisfied with efforts to cut the Metro Nashville Council in half and vacate the airport authority, both of which are tied up in legal challenges, the legislature set up a new capital tourism board that will direct the revenue of the Nashville Convention Center. The panel, which will be chaired by a governor’s appointee instead of the Nashville mayor, even has the authority to bail out Lower Broad bars hit with high property tax appraisals.
It also gives House Speaker Cameron Sexton more say on directing Nashville money to the East Bank Development Authority, on which he serves. He also could appoint himself to the Memphis Shelby schools oversight board.
Democratic Rep. Aftyn Behn referred to Sexton as the “shadow mayor” of Nashville (and Memphis) when she balked at the new capital tourism board. The nickname apparently caught hold. But considering it’s illegal to hold two political positions anymore, would it be OK to serve as “shadow mayor” of two cities?
Getting into the weeds, other new measures hinder the ability of local governments to control sewage and, believe it or not, the use of shopping carts.
Taking things further, the Tennessee Highway Patrol will have authority to patrol tourist areas such as downtown Nashville, because, apparently, Metro Police can’t do the job. The measure gives the Department of Tourist Development authority to override local laws.
The legislature even created a new police force to run a Capitol protection zone.
Those come down from on high as the Tennessee National Guard remains in Memphis as part of a safe task force ordered by President Donald Trump to turn the Bluff City into a police state so white folks will feel secure when they go to Grizzlies games.
Last year, Gov. Bill Lee’s administration pushed through a measure creating a secretive immigration enforcement bureau within the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, followed up this year by making Homeland Security exempt from the Public Records Act.
With that in place, along with the ability to make grants to police and sheriff’s departments that take on immigration enforcement, the legislature strong-armed every local department in Tennessee into doing the bidding of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Lawmakers adopted another measure giving the attorney general authority to investigate state agencies and universities to determine whether they’re using diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
And under the guise of cracking down on prediction markets and illicit online gambling sites, the legislature, with SB2136, gave the attorney general broader investigative powers, not just into illegal gambling.
The list could continue ad nauseam.
You really have unchecked, consolidated power being used in a centralized government and deployed against citizens and the governments that are closest to them.
– Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville
Democratic Sen. Jeff Yarbro of Nashville believes those in control are finding they enjoy power and want to expand it. He went as far as to say Republican leaders are taking on a newfound ability to project force.
“You really have unchecked, consolidated power being used in a centralized government and deployed against citizens and the governments that are closest to them,” Yarbro said.
House Speaker Pro Tem Pat Marsh of Shelbyville agreed that the legislature is taking on more authority. But he took a different view, saying that if the state’s largest school district is struggling, it needs to step in.
“I think it’s probably been going on like this forever,” Marsh said. “Maybe it’s no different this year than it normally is. I know we’ve done some things this year that sort of surprised me, but I think some of them really needed to happen.”
The question is whether the legislature can rein itself in at some point.
Call it the Lazarus effect.
A day after a negative vote, the Senate revived a measure Thursday allowing private schools that accept Education Savings Account vouchers to offer a nationally-recognized achievement test instead of the state’s standardized test.
Thus, the state won’t have a way to directly compare public school students’ test results against those of voucher kids, who are doing no better in private schools than they were in regular K-12 digs. At least that’s what a state report shows.
SB1585 fell a day earlier, mainly because of opposition to a House amendment that would have expanded the Education Savings Account program dramatically.
The program is designed for low-income students in Metro Nashville, Memphis and Hamilton County, but the House bill would have added Knox County, dropped the cap on the number of vouchers allowed, raised the income level to $240,000 for a family of four, and eliminated a provision paying back districts that lose voucher students.
Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson acknowledged Thursday the House version of the bill contains those items but said he would not accept the changes.
“It will be this or nothing,” he said.
The bill passed 22-11, picking up six more votes.
Later Thursday, the House passed the measure 54-39 after Rep. William Slater promised he was dropping all changes dealing with expansionism.
Look for the expansion deal to return in 2027. After all, we’ve been told the most important “metric” in education is giving parents what they want, in this case $9,700 a year.
Democratic Chairman John Ray Clemmons referred to it as the state’s first voucher “scam” and pointed out the “rich” kids who took the money are escaping the state’s test.
Still, Republicans dug their way out of requiring the state’s test, which is the focal point of all public school efforts.
Yet another promise broken.
In a spirited debate over one of Republicans’ “Immigration 2026” bills, crafted with White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, Democrats blasted the bill that would crack down on undocumented truckers with a commercial driver’s license from out of state.
House Bill 1706 sponsored by Republican Rep. Jason Zachary of Knoxville (he who flipped on 2019’s infamous voucher vote) would make it a misdemeanor for undocumented immigrants to drive through Tennessee with a CDL. It also would allow legal action against companies that hire those drivers.
Zachary accused “blue states” of giving out CDLs in violation of federal law and blamed undocumented people for committing thousands of crimes and a spate of recent accidents. The biggest problem, though, was that he continually referred to the targeted people as “illegal aliens,” catching the ire of Democrats, who said he was “dehumanizing” a large group.
Democratic Rep. Justin Jones of Nashville asked Zachary how his family came to be in Tennessee. And after Zachary accused him of “race baiting,” Jones responded, “How about a round of applause for white supremacy y’all.”
Clemmons reminded the body that U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn, a gubernatorial candidate, and Bill Hagerty have done nothing to fix the nation’s broken immigration system, yet state Republicans “follow them around like puppies.”
Zachary claimed his bill had nothing to do with “scoring political points” and pointed out that Sexton led talks with the White House on the slate of immigration restrictions.
Yet another gubernatorial candidate, Rep. Monty Fritts of Kingston, reminded the chamber that “our nation was being invaded.” So, of course, the bill passed 73-20 along party lines.
It wouldn’t be long, either, before Sexton would chastise Jones for blasting Republican Rep. Dennis Powers of Jacksboro over HB1710, which would require local governments to verify the citizenship of any person seeking a public benefit.
“If you’re gonna go down this road today, we’re going to cut it off,” Sexton warned.
Jones retreated to using Bible verses.
Lawmakers pulled out the slogans in debate over SB2102, which would change the Nashville Electric Service board of directors in the wake of Winter Storm Fern.
The measure would add board members from surrounding counties that receive service from the utility.
Readers might recall the worst storm in Middle Tennessee history this February when trees froze and snapped, falling on power lines and knocking out electricity to thousands of people.
People of every political stripe were outraged at NES’s communications with customers. Even an NES report found that the utility’s planning for such a storm was weak.
Still, Democrats weren’t enthused, and Sen. Heidi Campbell called the move another “power grab.”
That spurred Republican Leader Jack Johnson to bring out this goody, “No electrification without representation.” (Say that fast three times.)
The bill passed the Senate despite opposition from several Republicans, raising the question whether board members from Williamson and Sumner counties will be wielding chainsaws after the next bad storm.
It also affects board members on Memphis Light, Gas and Water, a portion added at the last minute.
But the wider impact deals with longstanding contention between municipal utilities and electric cooperatives and the annexation of service areas.
They just couldn’t keep it simple.
After a chilly reception in the House, the bill wound up in a committee to work out differences, making it one of the final measures approved before the legislature adjourned the two-year session.
Legislation dealing with vaping products hit a snag at mid-week, leading to a revolt on the House floor where Republicans teamed with Democrats to upset the sponsor and House leader.
Republican Rep. David Hawk of Greeneville was trying to pass an innocuous bill on vape shops and enforcement of vaping laws by the Alcoholic Beverage Commission when Democratic Rep. Bob Freeman of Nashville passed an amendment banning the stores within shouting distance of schools.
“Vaping products are targeting children,” Freeman said, shortly before the chamber voted 75-13 in favor of his amendment.
Even an effort to send it back to the finance subcommittee failed. But House Majority Leader William Lamberth came to Hawk’s rescue and rolled the bill to the end of the calendar. He just couldn’t let Dems claim a win.
“It’s all good,” Sexton said amid a den of uncertainty.
Ultimately, the measure passed Wednesday night, without Freeman’s amendment, as Republicans retreated from their early stance.
The House turned down a move to reduce state employee protections, voting 42-40 on HB2540, an initiative of Gov. Bill Lee’s administration. The number was eight short of the constitutionally required number for passage.
Sponsored by Lamberth, the bill would have dropped some due process policies for state employees.
In a Government Operations Committee earlier this session, Lamberth complained that the Tennessee State Employees Association didn’t negotiate in good faith.
Others didn’t see it his way.
Republican Sen. Mark Pody of Nashville said last week he wouldn’t bend on his bill requiring public schools to post the Ten Commandments.
Well, it turns out he’s more malleable than advertised.
In a committee to work out differences between his version and that of Republican Rep. Michael Hale of Smithville, Pody blinked.
Hale said he prefers to call it “compromise.”
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals this week ruled that Texas can require schools to display the Ten Commandments. But Hale persuaded Pody to change his version of the bill only to allow schools to post the Commandments, then wait and see what the U.S. Supreme Court says about the First Amendment argument.
“We can always come back next year and amend it,” Hale said.
House Sergeant at Arms Bobby Trotter is leaving his post after 18 years and a career as a Tennessee Highway Patrol officer.
The House honored the affable but stern Trotter Thursday morning with the entire chamber gathering for a farewell.
In his closing remarks, Trotter called it “divine intervention” that he was able to spend years working in the legislature. He also managed to get a little dig in at Sexton, referring to him as the “mayor.” Sexton didn’t even cut off the mic.
Trotter, who serves as a Springfield alderman, can go home in peace.
In their rush to adjourn for the session (sine die), the Senate worked through lunch Wednesday (dining on Five Points Pizza from either East Nashville or Sylvan Park, those liberal bastions of Nashville). They had to get out early so Republican members could attend a farewell party for outgoing Lt. Gov. Randy McNally at the Springfield home of Sen. Kerry Roberts, who is in a legal battle over the foreclosure of his home, the Tennessee Journal reported.
Roberts borrowed $4.6 million to turn the historic home into an AirBnB and event business but has had trouble paying the note. He blames the bank.
No matter the outcome, it was a fitting location for the Senate to gather for McNally’s send-off. After all, most of the big bills they pass wind up in court, so a house caught up in a foreclosure fight should make them feel right at home.
“If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me? / ’Cause I’m as free as a bird” *
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