House Speaker Cameron Sexton has filed legislation which sets up a process that allows a General Assembly member to submit a request to the Attorney General’s office if they suspect a local governing body is violating state law or Tennessee’s constitution.
Under this new process, the Attorney General’s office will investigate the complaint and if a violation has occurred then the local government will be informed that they must correct the violation within 30 days. Otherwise, the state will withhold a portion or all of the state funds, not limited to just state shared sales taxes.
“The Tennessee Constitution is clear—the Legislature has oversight of cities and counties,” said Speaker Sexton. “If local governments refuse to follow state law or circumvent state laws, they should not expect to benefit from state resources. This legislation makes it clear that political stunts will not be tolerated at the expense of law-abiding Tennesseans.”