Image Credit: Adelia Kirchner / The Tennessee Conservative
The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –
The “Restoring State Sovereignty Through Nullification Act” is scheduled for consideration in the Senate State and Local Government Committee next Tuesday.
Senate Bill 479 (SB0479) is being sponsored by Sen. Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma-District 16) and Rep. Bud Hulsey (R-Kingsport-District 2) is sponsoring the corresponding House Bill 441 (HB0441).
This is the fourth year in a row that Sen. Bowling has brought this piece of legislation.
Last year the legislation was “deferred to summer study.”
“The chairman of that committee, to his credit, he honored what he said and they did have a legitimate summer study on it and it was good,” Rep. Hulsey recently told Tennessee Conservative News.
“I’m hoping with what came out of that summer study, that people at least who keep up with it would understand yeah, the state does have a right to do this and the state has a duty to do this,” he continued.
Sen. Bowling originally filed this bill in 2022 in response to Covid-19 lockdowns, mandates, and restrictions.
Sen. Bowling has noted repeatedly over the last several years, that the nullification process is not new and the “Restoring State Sovereignty Through Nullification Act” would simply put in place a process for Tennessee to invoke state nullification of federal action in an orderly manner.
“Nullification is a freedom or a responsibility, I’ll say that, of each state,” Sen. Bowling explained in an interview with Tennessee Conservative News. “Nullification just says, the federal government has tried to do something that is beyond their scope of authority and we’re not going to enforce it.”
SB0479 is currently scheduled for consideration during the 10:30am (CST) meeting of the Senate State and Local Government Committee on Tuesday, March 4th, 2025.
Contact information for committee members can be found below.
Sen.richard.briggs@capitol.tn.gov, sen.page.walley@capitol.tn.gov, sen.tom.hatcher@capitol.tn.gov, sen.todd.gardenhire@capitol.tn.gov, sen.ed.jackson@capitol.tn.gov, sen.sara.kyle@capitol.tn.gov, sen.adam.lowe@capitol.tn.gov, sen.kerry.roberts@capitol.tn.gov, sen.jeff.yarbro@capitol.tn.gov
About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee. Adelia is The Tennessee Conservative’s on-site reporter for the Tennessee General Assembly. You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
