Image Credit: TN General Assembly
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
A bill that conservative legislators have been trying to get passed for years to protect state sovereignty is scheduled to be heard in the House Public Service Subcommittee on Wednesday, March 11th, 2026.
Sponsored by Representative Bud Hulsey (R-Kingsport-District 2), House Bill 2610 (HB2610), known as the “Restoring State Sovereignty Through Nullification Act,” creates an orderly pathway for Tennessee to invoke state nullification of federal action.
The United States Congress is denied certain lawmaking powers by the First Amendment. The U.S. Constitution also denies the federal government powers “not delegated to it.”
The legislation affirms that “the people are the ultimate source of human governmental power under our constitutions, and the states, through their elected officers, are dutybound to fulfill their oath of office to preserve the rights of the people, it is therefore long overdue, and therefore urgently necessary, for this state to prescribe the manner in which, under the authority of the Constitutions of the United States and of Tennessee, the people’s rights and the state’s sovereignty may be asserted as against federal officeholders, whether individually or collectively.”
This is the fifth year in a row that Senate sponsor Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma-District 16) has brought this legislation to be considered by the Tennessee General Assembly. Bowling first introduced it in 2022 after witnessing the aftermath of pandemic lockdowns, mandates, and other restrictions.
The Senate bill has yet to make any significant headway in that chamber.
Contact information for members of the House Public Service Subcommittee may be found below.
House Public Service Subcommittee – HB2610 to be heard on March 11
HB2610 creates an orderly pathway for Tennessee to invoke state nullification of federal action.
Rep.iris.rudder@capitol.tn.gov; rep.rick.eldridge@capitol.tn.gov; rep.michael.lankford@capitol.tn.gov; rep.jake.mccalmon@capitol.tn.gov; rep.gabby.salinas@capitol.tn.gov; rep.todd.warner@capitol.tn.gov
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
