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The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
Two bills dealing with the recall of elected officials in Tennessee will be heard in subcommittees and committees on Wednesday, February 12th, 2025.
The first bill, sponsored by two Memphis lawmakers, Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis-District 31) and Representative G.A. Hardaway (D-Memphis-District 93) would allow school board members to be recalled, spurred in part by recent events involving the Memphis-Shelby County School Board’s controversial desire to remove its Superintendent of Schools.
House Bill 0092 (HB0092) is scheduled to be heard in the House Cities & Counties Subcommittee, while corresponding Senate Bill 0387 (SB0387) will be heard in the Senate State & Local Government Committee.
According to the bill, in order to start the recall process, a petition for the recall of the local official would have to be filed with the county election commission, along with a general statement regarding the grounds for removal. Once this is done, the petition must then garner enough signatures to equal at least 66% of the total votes cast for that official in the last regular election.
Upon the determination by the election commission that the signatures collected are sufficient, a recall election would be called. In that election, 66% or more of those voting must vote “for recall” for the office to be declared vacant and the official removed. The vacancy would be filled in accordance with existing laws.
The proposed legislation also requires that the recall rules be adopted by a local governing body, such as a city council or county commission, by a two-thirds majority vote.
If passed, the impact of the bill could be significant as it would apply to all local officials including “an elected member of a legislative body, mayor, sheriff, trustee, register, clerk, assessor of property, or a member of a school board.”
The second bill is sponsored by Representative William Lamberth (R-Portland-District 44) and Senator Ferrell Haile (R-Gallatin-District 18).
House Bill 0056 (HB0056) will be heard in the House Cities & Counties Subcommittee.
According to the text of the bill, the legislation proposes that county legislative bodies may recall a person appointed to a position by a county legislative body upon a two-thirds vote.
However, this type of recall would not apply to someone appointed by a county body to fill a vacancy in the General Assembly.
Contact information for the House Cities & Counties Subcommittee members and Senate & Local Government Committee members can be found below.
jerome.moon@capitol.tn.gov, ed.butler@capitol.tn.gov, vincent.dixie@capitol.tn.gov, mary.littleton@capitol.tn.gov, bo.mitchell@capitol.tn.gov, dave.wright@capitol.tn.gov
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: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
