Image Credit: TN General Assembly
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
A bill that would allow legislative bodies at the county level to remove appointees from committees or positions passed unanimously in the House State and Local Government Committee yesterday.
House Bill 0056 (HB0056), sponsored by House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland-District 44), was previously amended in the House Cities and Counties Subcommittee last week.
According to Lamberth, the bill as amended “creates an opportunity” for county legislative bodies to remove people they have previously appointed to positions on a board or commission within the county.
“If the county legislative body has appointed them to a particular committee or position, then they can pull that back,” said Lamberth.
In order to remove someone, the legislative body that was responsible for the appointment would first have to recommend the appointee’s removal. In order to have the appointee vacate their position, two-thirds of the body would have to vote to remove. The amendment also clarifies that the legislation would not apply to anyone appointed at the county level to fill a vacancy in the General Assembly.
The language of the bill before being amended was overly broad and would have allowed for the removal of any locally appointed official, instead of being limited to county boards or commissions.
The House Majority Leader and Senate sponsor Ferrell Haile (R-Gallatin-District 18) both represent districts in Sumner County, home to a Library Board that has had a somewhat contentious relationship with the County Commission over the last couple of years.
According to a Sumner County constituent, some of the members of the County Commission appear to be acting against the will of the people who elected them when it comes to the task of appointing two open seats on the Library Board, with at least one commissioner hinting that the board conducts its business in an unprofessional manner.
Commissioner Hyde, who pushed for another member of the commission to be appointed to the Library Board, is married to previous board member Beverly Hyde. Hyde resigned over objections to language in a Collection and Development policy that the board created to provide guidance for Library Directors regarding sexually explicit content in their collections.
While public support for the policy ran 2 to 1, some Library Directors in the county objected, including Portland Director Anita Lamberth, who according to our source, is the cousin of HB0056 sponsor William Lamberth.
Sumner County Commissioner Dillon Lamberth, who also, according to our source, consistently votes against conservative candidates for the Library Board is a close relative of the House Majority Leader as well.
Of interest, Commissioner Hyde – allegedly “a very close friend of William Lamberth” – proposed a resolution earlier last year that would have allowed Commissioners to remove appointed Board members.
The intent of Hyde’s resolution, which he withdrew, is very similar to that of HB0056.
Lamberth previously stated that the bill was filed “just to be able to remove somebody from a committee” in the same way that the state legislature has the ability to remove individuals from committees.
Final HOUSE STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE Vote on HB0056:
Representatives voting aye were: Bricken, Burkhart, Chism, Crawford, Dixie, Eldridge, Howell, Leatherwood, Littleton, Martin G, McCalmon, Miller, Mitchell, Moon, Powell, Powers, Rudd, Rudder, Salinas, Warner, Wright — 21.
