The Tennessee House of Representatives in session. (Photo: John Partipilo)
NASHVILLE — Tennessee’s Republican-controlled House is slated to consider new rules Tuesday that might set a 10-bill limit for lawmakers, with caveats for committee chairs and leadership, a move Democrats are opposing.
House Majority Leader William Lamberth declined to confirm whether a new maximum would be in the proposed rules, lowering the limit from 15 bills for rank-and-file representatives. A Tuesday 2:30 p.m. deadline was set for House members to bring proposals to his office.
A committee on House rules voted Monday to adopt its 2024 rules temporarily until new guidelines are considered Tuesday. The Tennessee Journal reported recently about the likelihood of a new bill limit.
House Minority Leader Karen Camper questioned the potential limit Monday, saying it would hurt Democrats who are in the minority. Republicans outnumber them 75-24.
Camper, a Memphis Democrat, said when she was elected to the legislature 18 years ago, House members had no limits on the number of bills they could file. That changed under former Republican House Speaker Beth Harwell, who cut it to 15 bills, with exceptions for committee chairs and leadership.
Camper said “speculation” in the House is that Speaker Cameron Sexton will propose another bill limit. His office did not respond to email questions Monday.
“I have opposition to that because I’m in a super minority here, and it’s really going to cut our ability to … address the issues we feel are pertinent for Tennesseans,” Camper said.
Simultaneously, Republicans who control committees and carry the governor’s legislation will be able to file additional legislation and spread bills among their membership. Under current policy, the House majority leader carries all of the governor’s bills, which is far greater than the 15 allowed.
If new limits are devised, Camper said she is proposing that the House minority leader and House Democratic Caucus chairman be allowed to file extra bills.
Republican Rep. Rusty Grills of Dresden said Monday he understands why a new limit would “benefit” the House.
“There’s lots of bills we file every year that we don’t even put on notice,” Grills said, referring to bills that lawmakers don’t schedule for consideration.
Aside from legislation, Camper said she expects Republicans to come up with new ways to control the chamber.
The House passed rules last year limiting the amount of time someone could speak on a bill to five minutes, as well as the total time for debate on one bill. Bills were limited to a total of 60 minutes, giving each party 30 minutes to talk and allowing caucus leaders to decide who speaks.
They also adopted a two-strikes rule to silence members for being out of order or speaking off-topic before the House could vote to ban the member from speaking for two legislative days.
Tennessee House Republicans propose new rules to further limit and restrict debate
Instead of being openly debated, points of order and parliamentary inquiries also have to be registered with the House parliamentarian who gives an immediate answer.
In addition, the rules required people to have tickets to sit in the House gallery, and those were handed out by lawmakers. Another part of the balcony was reserved for the general public.
Another rule from 2024 prohibits crowding around the speaker’s dais and the well where bills are presented.
The rule changes were adopted last year mainly in response to an anti-gun rally led by Democratic Reps. Justin Jones, Justin Pearson and Gloria Johnson on the House floor. Republicans voted to oust Jones and Pearson but kept Johnson in a close vote. Jones and Pearson were returned to the legislature by their local legislative bodies the next week, then won re-election.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.