Nullification Bill Seemingly Meets Dead End In Tennessee Senate Committee

Image Credit: TN General Assembly

The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –

The “Restoring State Sovereignty Through Nullification Act” met a seeming dead end for the fourth year in a row in the Senate State and Local Government Committee on Tuesday.

During her remarks on the bill, sponsor of Senate Bill 0479 (SB0479) Senator Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma-District 16) announced her intention to “general sub” the legislation.

In Tennessee, when a bill is “general subbed,” it means that it is being sent to a specific subcommittee or committee. While the legislation is technically postponed for the time being, and could be reconsidered if a motion is made on the Senate floor, in reality, most bills that meet this fate are dead for the remainder of the legislative session.

For now, SB0479 has been assigned to the general subcommittee of the Senate State and Local Government Committee.

The bill had not made any progress on the House side, other than picking up a few sponsors.

Bowling sponsored the bill for the first time in 2022 as a way to “end Tennessee’s practical participation with federal actions that it finds constitutionally violate.”

During her remarks on Tuesday, Bowling took lawmakers on a trip back to 2020 – along with its aftermath of pandemic lockdowns, mandates, and restrictions – to remind them of the reasons why she introduced the legislation originally.

The Tullahoma Senator has repeatedly stated over the last four years that the nullification process is not new. Her proposed legislation would simply create an orderly pathway for the state of Tennessee to use the process when invoking state nullification of federal action.

Read more about the different ways nullification could be invoked here.

About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.