Legislation that would make it more difficult for Metro Nashville citizens to amend their city charter failed in a key state Senate committee.
SB2544, which stalled in the Tennessee Senate State and Local Government Committee, proposed to eliminate exemptions to the requirements for recalls, referendums, or initiatives in Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 2 that allow Metro Nashville’s charter to govern the signature requirement process.
A source close to State Senate Minority Leader Jeff Yarbro’s (D-Nashville) office told The Tennessee Star, “The legislation cannot move forward in this session.” That means the legislation is dead for the year, including the House version.
The bill would have increased the petitions signature requirement that triggers Metropolitan charter amendment ballot referendums in Davidson County. The current required number of petition signatures is 10 percent of the voters from the previous general election.
Sec. 19.01. of the Metro Charter says in part:
An amendment or amendments may be proposed (1) by the adoption of a resolution by the council favoring the same and submitting it or them to the people for approval. The affirmative vote for adoption of such resolution in the council shall be not less than two-thirds of the membership to which the council is entitled, and such resolution when adopted need not be submitted to the mayor for his or her approval; or (2) upon petition filed with the metropolitan clerk, signed by ten (10) per cent of the number of the registered voters of Nashville-Davidson County voting in the preceding general election, the verification of the signatures to be made by the Davidson County Election Commission and certified to the metropolitan clerk.
The Tennessee Star previously reported that if the legislation were enacted into law, the minimum ballot petitions signature requirement would change from 10 percent of previous general election voters to a 15-percent minimum signature requirement of total registered voters in Davidson County. Nearly 500,000 people are currently registered to vote in the ever-growing Davidson County.
In contrast, candidates for Tennessee Governor, state House, state Senate, U.S. House, and U.S. Senate are required to gather merely 25 valid signatures from registered voters.
Nashville attorney Jim Roberts, one of the architects of the Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act referendum, helped lead the charge against this legislation sending several emails out urging action against SB2544 prior to the Senate committee hearing.
“If this bill becomes law no citizens group will ever be able to propose a charter amendment again. The bill increases the signature requirement from 5,000-7,000 to over 72,000,” he said. “No group has ever been able to collect that many signatures in the history of Nashville.”
Roberts told The Star of the legislation failing in committee, “This is an absolute victory against an underhanded attempt to disenfranchise the citizens of Davidson County of a right they’ve had for 60 years. Never once did the bill sponsor in the House reveal the effect that this legislation would have had. It had to be exposed.”
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]. Follow Aaron on GETTR.
Photo “Jeff Yarbro by Sen. Jeff Yarbro.
