Americans for Prosperity – Tennessee (AFP-TN) celebrated the Tennessee Senate on Thursday for its passage of House Joint Resolution 81 by a 26-6 vote.
House Joint Resolution 81 would prohibit the Tennessee General Assembly from levying, authorizing, or otherwise permitting a state tax on property if enacted.
The resolution passed the Tennessee House of Representatives last year by an 81-1 vote.
With the Senate’s vote this week, the resolution will be introduced at the next legislative session, where it will need to be passed by a two-thirds majority in both chambers.
If passed by both chambers in the next session, the resolution would be placed on the ballot for Tennesseans to pass or reject in the 2026 statewide general election.
Thank you @SenFrankNiceley & @tnsenategop for passing HJR81. Constitutional Amendment to forever ban the statewide property tax! Next year will require 2/3 majority before going to voters for approval at the polls in 26’. #TNleg #keyVote pic.twitter.com/UOro8GdAw8
— AFPTN (@AFPTN) March 28, 2024
“We thank the legislature for adopting HJR81 and bringing us one step closer to permanently banning a statewide property tax in the Volunteer State. Just as we were successful in phasing out the Hall (retirement) income tax in 2021, we will continue working to ensure Tennessee doesn’t have a statewide property tax levied on top of their local taxes,” AFP-TN State Director Tori Venable said in a statement.
Venable said AFP-TN will “activate grassroots volunteers and engage in campaigns to educate Tennesseans about the process for amending our state constitution” over the next two years in its work to advocate for the ban of statewide property taxes.
“We look forward to building off this legislative success and keeping up the momentum to ensure Tennessee constitutionally bans the statewide property tax as we did the income tax,” Venable added.
Banning statewide property taxes was a part of AFP-TN’s 2024 Reignite the American Dream Legislative Agenda, as previously reported by The Tennessee Star.
Other policy changes AFP-TN is advocating for this legislative session are the passage of Governor Bill Lee’s universal school choice bill, repealed certificate of need (CON) laws, and overall transparency in the House.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “HJR 81 Voting” by AFPTN.
