Image: Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton greets state Sen. Bo Watson in Ooltewah, Tenn., on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. Image Credit: Kim Jarrett / The Center Square & Canva.
***Note from The Tennessee Conservative – this article posted here for informational purposes only.
Article by Kim Jarrett, The Center Square –
Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton told The Center Square that the grocery tax is one of the issues state lawmakers could consider in the 2027 legislative session.
The state will have a new governor and the state Senate will have a new leader. Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, who has presided over the Senate since 2017, is leaving office at the end of his term.
“That brings a different perspective,” Sexton said in an interview with The Center Square. “We’ll look at the grocery sales tax, maybe reduce it on some items like food staples and so forth or eliminate it all together, continue to make our state attractive, continue investing in public education. I am sure there will be some other side issue that will pop up every now and then. We are waiting to see what Marsha’s agenda is and we’ll go from there.”
Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn is running to succeed Republican Bill Lee, who is term-limited. Democrat Memphis City Councilwoman Jerri Green and 13 independent candidates are on next Tuesday’s ballot with her..
The state sales tax on groceries is 4%.
State Rep. Sam McKenzie, D-Knoxville, told The Center Square in an interview that he is glad the grocery tax is a priority for Sexton. McKenzie sponsored one of the many bills introduced by both parties to remove the 4% sales tax on generic food. It was sponsored in the Senate by Knoxville Republican Richard Briggs.
The fiscal note for McKenzie’s bill estimated that the state revenue loss for removing the tax on generic food would be $177.7 million and that the local government revenue loss would be $121.3 million. The bill never made it out of committee.
McKenzie said one way to make up the revenue is to revisit 2024 corporate tax breaks passed by the General Assembly. The state lost $721 million in corporate tax revenues in fiscal year 2025, according to a report from the Department of Finance and Administration.
“We need to look at that,” McKenzie said. “We need to fairly tax our citizens.”
Sexton and other state and federal officials are traveling across the state as part of his “American Dream Lives in Tennessee” bus tour, talking to constituents about issues. A crowd gathered in Ooltewah on Tuesday was encouraged to get out and vote.
“Tennessee is staying red,” Sexton told The Center Square at a stop in Ooltewah. “It may be a little closer because Democrats are energized and they’re really coming out to vote early. But Republicans have picked up the pace in the last few days on early voting and things are looking very good.”
The Tennessee Black Caucus is hosting listening tours throughout the state with stops already made in Chattanooga, Nashville and Clarksville. The next stops are Jackson and Memphis.
