Tennessee House of Representatives
The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee.
Constitutional requirements
According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consist of 99 members elected for two-year terms. In every even-numbered year, elections for state representative are conducted simultaneously with the elections for U.S. Representative and other offices; the primary election being held on the first Thursday in August. Seats which become vacant through death or resignation are filled by the county commission of the home county of the member vacating the seat; if more than a year remains in the term a special election is held for the balance of the term.Districts
Members are elected from single-member districts. The districts are traditionally numbered consecutively from east to west and north to south across the state; however, in recent redistricting this convention has not always been strictly adhered to, despite a constitutional provision requiring districts to be numbered consecutively.Districts are required to be reapportioned every ten years following the federal census in order to be of substantially equal population. However, from 1902 until 1962, the General Assembly ignored this provision. It was estimated that by that point that some districts in the Memphis area had approximately ten times the population of some in rural areas. In 1962 this issue was taken to court. Despite U.S. courts having traditionally declined to rule on such issues, the US Supreme Court opted to hear this case and ruled that the legislature had to comply with the state constitution, as its failure to do so was in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Subsequent litigation has further refined the rules regarding this; in the late 1990s a majority-black district in rural West Tennessee was required to be created.
The 1960s redistricting was credited by some observers with creating the first Republican majority in the Tennessee House since Reconstruction in 1968; this situation lasted only until the next election in 1970. 1970 also marked the first election of a Republican governor in a half century and saw both houses of the legislature begin to assert themselves as a counterbalance to executive authority; prior to this time legislators had not had their own staffs or even their own offices and were largely at the mercy of what the governor's staff chose to tell them and in many ways were often something of a "rubber stamp."
Speaker of the House
The Speaker of the House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the House. The Speaker is elected to a two-year term at the beginning of the 1st half of each session of the Tennessee General Assembly. Additionally, the Speaker is second in line for succession to the governorship, after the Speaker of the Senate, in the event of such need. The Speaker appoints members to all committees as well. Even though the Speaker does not have to make committee assignments proportional to the party composition, usually that discretion is used when determining such. Usually, consideration of the abilities, preferences, party representation, and seniority of the members are taken into account. The chairperson, vice chairperson, and secretary of each committee also are chosen by the Speaker and must be given the same considerations in their selection. The Speaker is a voting member of all standing committees of the House, as is the Speaker pro Tempore. The Speaker also serves as co-chairperson of the Joint Legislative Services Committee and must approve, in concurrence with the Speaker of the Senate, the directors of the offices of Legislative Information Services, Legal Services, Legislative Administration, and Legislative Budget Analysis. Additionally, the Speaker is in charge of all facilities, professional and clerical staff, and custodians and security personnel of the House.The current speaker is Cameron Sexton, who represents Tennessee's 25th district.
Composition of the 111th General Assembly
Officers
- Speaker of the House: Cameron Sexton
- Speaker Pro Tempore: Rep. Bill Dunn
- Deputy Speaker: Curtis Johnson
| Majority Party | Leadership Position | Minority Party |
| William Lamberth | Leader | Karen Camper |
| Ron Gant | Assistant Leader | Harold M. Love Jr. |
| Jeremy Faison | Caucus Chairperson | Mike Stewart |
| Brandon Ogles | Caucus Vice Chairperson | Antonio Parkinson |
| Johnny Garrett | Whip | Jason Powell |
| Paul Sherrell | Floor Leader | Bill Beck |
| Chris Todd | Assistant Floor Leader Leader Pro-Tempore | John DeBerry |
| Clay Doggett | Caucus Secretary | London Lamar |
| Mark Cochran | Caucus Treasurer | Vincent Dixie |
Members
House Committees
During the 111th General Assembly, the standing committees are as follows:| Committees | Chair | Vice Chair | Subcommittees |
| Agriculture and Natural Resources | Curtis Halford | Chris Todd | Agriculture and Natural Resources, Chair: Andy Holt |
| Calendar and Rules | Jason Zachary | Lowell Russell | |
| Commerce | Timothy Hill | Clay Doggett | Banking and Investments, Chair: Dennis Powers Business, Chair: Ron Travis Utilities, Chair: Pat Marsh |
| Consumer and Human Resources | Clark Boyd | Rush Bricken | Consumer, Chair: Mike Sparks Employee Affairs, Chair: John Holsclaw Jr. |
| Education | Mark White | Kirk Haston | K-12, Chair: John Ragan Curriculum, Testing, and Innovation, Chair: Debra Moody Higher Education, Chair: Jim Coley |
| Finance, Ways, and Means | Susan Lynn | Patsy Hazlewood | Finance Subcommittee, Chair: Gary Hicks Appropriations Subcommittee, Chair: Matthew Hill |
| Government Operations | Martin Daniel | Iris Rudder | |
| Health | Bryan Terry | Esther Helton | Facilities, Licensure, and Regulations, Chair: Kevin Vaughan Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Chair: Sabi Kumar Public Health, Chair: Jerry Sexton |
| Insurance | Robin Smith | Mark Hall | Tenncare, Chair: David Hawk Life and Health Insurance, Chair: Ryan Williams Property and Casualty, Chair: Darren Jernigan |
| Judiciary | Michael Curcio | Johnny Garrett | Children and Families, Chair; Mary Littleton Civil Justice, Chair: Mike Carter Constitutional Protections and Sentencing, Chair: Micah VanHuss Criminal Justice, Chair: Andrew Farmer |
| Local | John Crawford | David Wright | Cities and Counties, Chair: Jerome Moon Elections and Campaign Finance, Chair: Tim Rudd Property and Planning, Chair: Dale Carr |
| Naming, Designating, and Private Acts | John Mark Windle | ||
| State | Kelly Keisling | Rick Eldrige | Corrections, Chair: Bud Hulsey Departments and Agencies, Chair: Bob Ramsey Public Service Employees, Chair: Jay Reedy |
| Transportation | Dan Howell | Bruce Griffey | Infrastructure, Chair: Sam Whitson Safety and Funding, Chair: Terry Lynn Weaver |