(The Center Square) – The Tennessee Senate passed a bill on Thursday that would limit legal challenges to state laws, with lawmakers from both parties opposing it.
Sen. John Stevens, R-Huntingdon, said the bill would curb lawsuits from people who were not affected by legislative actions. A law passed in 2018 removed some of the state’s sovereign immunity, he said.
Memphis Republican Brent Taylor asked Stevens if a case challenging the deployment of the National Guard in Memphis is an example of a lawsuit that would not have occurred before the 2018 law was passed.
“Absolutely,” Stevens said.
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, Memphis City Councilmember J.B. Smiley Jr., Shelby County Commissioners Henri E. Brooks and Erika Sugarmon, and state Reps. G.A. Hardaway, D-Memphis, and Gabby Salinas, D-Memphis, sued the state over the deployment. They said Gov. Bill Lee’s decision was unconstitutional. The Tennessee Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on March 5 but has not issued an opinion.
“Senator Taylor is highlighting something I barely touched on, but I think it is important to remember if this law remains in place and advocacy groups, both right and left, are able to get injunctions against a statute we pass, the people of Tennessee are not going to know how to comply with the law,” Stevens said. “There’s going to be absolute uncertain on many, many questions that affect us all.”
Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari of Memphis spoke in opposition to the bill.
“We should be making it easier for folks in this state to be able to exercise their rights and not lean into this concept of the judiciary is making policy decisions when the judiciary is just a check on the powers of the Legislature, as the Legislature is a check on the powers of the executive,” Akbari said.
The bill passed the Senate 18-13 on Thursday and was approved by the House 56-38 on Monday. It goes to the governor for his signature.
