On Tuesday, January 14, Tennessee’s 99 Representatives and 33 Senators gaveled into session for the first official day of business as the state’s 114th General Assembly.
Top Leadership Posts
Among the first tasks were electing the top leadership posts in each chamber followed by elections of the state’s constitutional officers. In expected fashion, the House re-elected Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) and the Senate re-elected Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge).
In a departure from recent years, Democrats fielded candidates to challenge the Republican slate of constitutional officers during this week’s joint convention. Despite the opposition, all three incumbent Republican officers retained their positions: Secretary of State Tre Hargett, Comptroller Jason Mumpower, and Treasurer David Lillard each secured approximately 101 votes against their Democratic challengers.
New Committee Chairs Named in House and Senate, House Restructures Committees
Both chambers have announced significant committee leadership changes for the 114th General Assembly. In the Senate, Speaker McNally made notable changes, including replacing Sen. Steve Southerland (R-Morristown) with Sen. Shane Reeves (R-Murfreesboro) as chair of the Energy, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, and appointing Sen. Ed Jackson (R-Jackson) to lead Government Operations. Sen. Dawn White (R-Murfreesboro) will lead the Senate’s Education Committee following the primary defeat of former chair Sen. Jon Lundberg (R-Bristol). A full list of Senate Committees may be found here: Legislative Senate Committees.
In the House, Speaker Sexton appointed Rep. Gary Hicks (R-Rogersville) to chair the powerful Finance Committee following former chair Rep. Patsy Hazlewood’s (R-Signal Mountain) primary defeat. Speaker Sexton also consolidated several committees and appointed Rep. Andrew Farmer (R-Sevierville) chair of the reunified Judiciary Committee, Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis) chair of the reformed Education Committee, and Rep. John Crawford (R-Bristol/Kingsport) to chair the combined State and Local Government Committee. Subcommittee assignments were also changed around with most subcommittees holding only five to nine members each. A full list of House Committees may be found here: Legislative House Committees.
House Limits Bills and Embraces Technology in New Rules Package
As part of the House Rules Package, the chamber adopted rules to decrease the number of overall bills filed and embraced technology to allow for revised voting procedures. Each Representative will be limited to filing 12 bills this year (which will decrease to 10 bills next year), with subcommittee chairs receiving two additional bills, and full committee chairs receiving five additional bills. Speaker Sexton gained the power to eject members from the House Chamber in certain cases of disruptions which could result in the member moved to a remote room where they would have to watch proceedings and vote remotely. In a large shake-up of voting procedures in committees, all final votes in House committees will now require roll call votes through an electronic system like the system used for votes on the House floor. Committee members would not be allowed to change their votes after the votes are displayed.
Governor Lee Announces Special Session
Governor Bill Lee has called for a special session of the legislature beginning January 27, that will be limited to addressing three key issues: an “Education Freedom Act” school voucher proposal, a $450 million disaster relief package for northeastern Tennessee flooding as a result of Hurricane Helene, and immigration-related public safety measures.
The voucher program stalled in the House committee process last year and Governor Lee has made good on his promise to continue working toward passage this year. The voucher program would provide funding for 20,000 students statewide to offset private school tuition costs. This marks another special session under Lee’s administration, following previous attempts to expand the state’s limited voucher program beyond its current scope in Memphis-Shelby County Schools, Metro Nashville Public Schools, and Hamilton County Schools.
Looking Ahead
The House and Senate will begin work on substantive bills during a regular session beginning in February. The bill filing deadline for both the House and Senate will be February 6, 2025, while Governor Lee’s annual State of the State address is currently scheduled for February 10, 2025.
If you have any questions about the 114th General Assembly, please contact the authors.