NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The office of Tennessee Attorney General Johnathan Skrmetti will appeal the Davidson County Chancery Court's ruling on the law that would have reduced the size of the Metro Council.
According to Nashville Metro Councilmember At Large Delishia Porterfield, the AG filed a notice of appeal with the Tennessee Court of Appeals. Porterfield shared a screenshot of the notice of appeal submitted by the AG's office on social media, stating State filed the appeal.
The Nashville Court ruled the law, dubbed the "Metro Council Reduction Act" by Metro Legal, unconstitutional. Specifically, the court ruled the law violated the local legislation clause of the Home Rule Amendment of the Tennessee Constitution.
The clause states laws that are "local in form and effect" cannot be passed by the legislature unless also approved by the local governing body. Because House Bill 48 bypassed the Metro Council entirely and did not provide for any local ratification, it was a constitutional violation.
“Section 1(a) is not a statute of statewide application; indeed, its application to a lone county in the clearest possible example of local in effect,” the three-judge panel ruled on the issue. “The Court concludes that Section 1(a) is local in form and effect and designed to apply to Metro.”
News 2 has reached out to the AG's office for comment.
