In 1983, President Ronald Reagan said, “Local government meeting local needs -- that's a fundamental principle of good government. Many government workers here in Washington are diligent and dedicated; I've found that out. And yet they can't know the American people as well as you or Congressmen or mayors, county and local officials.”
Somehow, though, the supermajority in the Tennessee General Assembly didn’t get the memo or simply tossed it in the trash. A seemingly unprecedented number of bills usurping local control have been introduced, and many have passed. These measures range from regulating shopping carts to seizing control of entire school systems. The General Assembly’s agenda has forgotten the “local” and is only focused on the “control.”
DA bills
Last week, I wrote about two bills targeted at the District Attorney General in Shelby County. These bills are the latest efforts by political opponents to harass the DA because he dared to go out, raise money, work hard, and win an election by 12 percent. Both proposals add bureaucracy and administrative tasks to an already overburdened office that prosecutes 123,000 cases per year. Rather than continue to focus on holding criminals accountable, politicians prefer to bog down the staff in hopes of gathering “data” to further accuse the district attorney.
Some would argue that the District Attorney is a state official, and this is true. But DAs are popularly elected by the locals in their judicial districts. In the case of the Shelby County DA, more than half of the operational costs are borne by county taxpayers. Memphis is known for (long before DA Mulroy was elected) its high crime rate, and public safety is a top issue in the community. What could be more local than protecting citizens in their very neighborhoods?
For DAs across the state, who are granted broad discretion in the state constitution, and their communities, these bills set the stage for disgruntled legislators to expand the scope of the law and seek political retribution.
Airport authority
Thirsty for more power, the legislature passed a bill in 2023 allowing the state to effectively take control of the Nashville Airport Authority. Mayor Freddie O’Connell and Metro Nashville, a common target of GOP leadership, filed suit to stop the takeover of the airport authority. The state Appeals Court sided with the city because the legislation violated the home rule provision of the state constitution by only applying to Nashville. Arguments were heard before the state Supreme Court in February, but there has been no ruling yet.
It appears Speaker Cameron Sexton and Senator Paul Bailey, sponsors of the measure, expect to lose the case at the Supreme Court, so they filed SB 2473 that applies to all of Tennessee’s major airports – Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. The bill has passed the State Senate and is scheduled to be heard before the full House.
The sponsors claim that the state’s financial investment in these airports (mostly Nashville) justifies the need for the state to “have a seat at the table.” The problem is that it’s not just a seat, it’s 6 of 9. When it passes, the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Speaker of the House will each appoint 2 of the airport authorities’ members. Local government will only choose 3. Once enacted, the law vacates the current membership of all four boards.
Nashville Tourist Development Zone
Everyone knows that Nashville, especially the area that includes Broadway and the Music City Center, is a major driver of tourism revenue for the city and the state. The entertainment district sits within the boundaries of an area known as a Tourism Development Zone (TDZ) in which certain tourism-related taxes are collected and set aside for infrastructure improvements within that zone or to specific facilities.
Initially, the TDZ was guaranteed by Metro Nashville. In other words, if the zone failed to generate enough revenue to support the Music City Center, the city would be on the hook. As it turned out, tourism boomed, and the fund has a multi-million dollar surplus. Unsurprisingly, the state legislature is now interested in helping to determine how those funds are spent.
SB 2085 establishes yet another board controlled by the state that will serve as a “go-between” the Convention Center Authority and the East Bank Development Authority (EBDA). The East Bank is the hottest area of development in downtown Nashville, which includes the new Nissan Stadium, Oracle, the eventual move of the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, and luxury hotels. The new state board will have a say in the $750 million improvements to Music City Center and the use of $300 million diverted to the EBDA. Speaker Sexton appointed himself to the EBDA and will have appointments to the new board created by this state law when it passes the House.
Leaders with the state, Metro Nashville, the Convention Center Authority, and EBDA are on the record expressing satisfaction with the board, which will be overseen by the State Comptroller’s office. Given a real option, however, it is unlikely Mayor O’Connell would have agreed to this arranged marriage.
MSCS Takeover
Arguably, the most egregious example of the state usurping local control is the proposed takeover, which is almost certain to be adopted when the House and Senate conference committee finishes its work. I wrote something about this two weeks ago, when discussing the $7.6 million half-baked audit released by the state as justification for the takeover.
Sponsors and supporters bristle at the term “takeover” because the legislation requires that the members appointed to the oversight board must be residents of Shelby County. However, it is hard to call it anything else and keep a straight face when the members are all appointed by the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Speaker of the House – none of whom live in Shelby County. This board will have full authority to override the decisions of the elected school board and the superintendent, though there is no requirement that the children of board members attend or have previously attended MSCS schools.
Perhaps residents could swallow the bitter pill for the sake of improving the education of Memphis children. The problem is that the state has intervened before and failed. The Achievement School District, which organized the lowest performing schools into a state-run system where charter operators were selected to manage the schools, failed by any objective measure. The decade-long experiment was ended by the legislature last year. Many years prior to the ASD, threats from the state to take over Memphis City Schools led to the introduction of charter schools, which have been a mixed bag. Some have succeeded while others have failed miserably.
Conclusion
These examples of a “supermajority gone wild,” scarfing up even more power, are a fraction of the bills proposed annually to control locals. Rather than allow local control, it is rare for the legislature to grant any new powers to local leaders chosen by their neighbors to decide what’s best for their communities. Apparently, they never learned what President Calvin Coolidge said,
"Local self-government is one of our most precious possessions. It is the greatest contributing factor to the stability, strength, liberty, and progress of the nation".