Metro Nashville Council can be cut in half, Tennessee Court of Appeals rules

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The Tennessee Court of Appeals has ruled that Nashville's governing legislative body can be cut in half.
The court, in a split 2-1 decision issued June 3, reversed a lower court's ruling that a state law that would shrink Nashville's Metro Council from 40 to 20 members is unconstitutional.
In a statement to The Tennessean, Nashville's associate director of law, Allison Bussell, said the city is evaluating its options moving forward.
"We are understandably disappointed and concerned about this ruling's implications for local sovereignty," Bussell said in the statement. "But we are also encouraged by Judge Armstrong's compelling dissent. We are digesting the ruling and evaluating our options."
The next step, if the city chose it, would be to file an appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court.
House Majority Leader William Lamberth, who sponsored the House version of the bill during the 2023 legislative session, applauded the court's decision.
"This action reins in excessive government growth while ensuring local municipalities across the Volunteer State remain accountable and responsive to their constituents," Lamberth said in a statement. 'Republicans will continue to cut waste at all levels of government."
The Tennessee Attorney General's Office, which represents the state in lawsuits, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The majority aptly began their analysis of the case by framing it as a power struggle.
"At its most fundamental level, this case represents a power struggle between State government and local government," Judge J. Steven Stafford wrote for the majority. He was joined by Judge Carma Dennis McGee.
The law, passed in 2023, would require city and metropolitan governments to cap their councils at 20 members. Metropolitan governments are combined city and county governments. There are three in the state — Davidson County-Nashville, Moore County-Lynchburg, and Trousdale County-Hartsville.
At the time, bill sponsors acknowledged that while the bill didn't explicitly name Nashville, it would be the only local government in the state that would be affected — there are no other metropolitan governments in the state that have a council larger than 20 members.
The law, and others like it, were seen as payback for Nashville's Metro Council rejecting a draft agreement to host the 2024 Republican National Convention.
The city had successfully argued the law violated a clause of the Tennessee Constitution called the Home Rule Amendment, which prohibits the state legislature from passing laws that have a local effect without first getting local approval.
The appeals court rejected that argument.
The majority opinion notes that the legislation "clearly" is "a law of general application applicable to all counties that have formed a consolidated metropolitan government or will do so in the future."
Nashville Vice Mayor Angie Henderson, who manages the operations of the Metro Council, said that she was "disappointed" by the decision and that it failed to "respect the will" of Nashville's voters.
"The Home Rule Amendment of the Tennessee Constitution, in part, stands for the proposition that the size of the Metro Council is a decision for the voters of Metro Nashville," Henderson said in an emailed statement. "For the last 60 years, this 40-member Council has capably and effectively served the interests of our constituents, who today number some 715,000."
The lower court had also found that the law violated another clause in the Tennessee Constitution called the Exemption Clause. That clause exempts metropolitan governments from a statewide 25-member limit on city councils written in Article VII of the state constitution.
But the majority of the appeals court found the law comports with the Exemption Clause.
They ruled that the clause exempts metropolitan councils from the 25-member limit in Article VII of the Tennessee Constitution, but it does not exempt them from limits passed through other legislation.
This was the subject of Judge Kenny Armstrong's dissenting opinion.
Armstrong argued the law is unconstitutional. His view is that the Exemption Clause prohibits the General Assembly from limiting metropolitan councils to less than 25 members, but that the General Assembly would be free to institute a cap of more than 25 members.
Have questions about the justice system? Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for The Tennessean. Contact him with questions, tips or story ideas at [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Metro Nashville Council can be cut in half, appeals court rules