Tennessee General Assembly
The Tennessee General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Speaker of the Senate carries the additional title and office of Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee. In addition to passing a budget for state government plus other legislation, the General Assembly appoints three state officers specified by the state constitution. It is also the initiating body in any process to amend the state's constitution.
Organization
Constitutional structure
According to the Tennessee State Constitution of 1870, the General Assembly is a bicameral legislature and consists of a Senate of thirty-three members and a House of Representatives of ninety-nine members.The representatives are elected to two-year terms; according to a 1966 constitutional amendment the senators are elected to four-year terms which are staggered, with the districts with even numbers being elected in the year of Presidential elections and those in the districts with odd numbers being elected in the years of Tennessee gubernatorial elections.
According to the Tennessee Constitution each representative must be twenty-one years old, a citizen of the United States, have been a resident of the state for three years and also a resident of the county they represent a year prior to the election. The state constitution also states that each senator must be thirty years of age, a citizen of the United States, resided three years in Tennessee, and resided in the district one year prior to the election.
Part-time legislature
To keep the legislature a part-time body, it is limited to ninety "legislative days" per two-year term, plus up to fifteen days for organizational purposes at the start of each term. A legislative day is considered any day that the House or Senate formally meets in the chambers of each house. Legislators are paid a base salary of $24,316 along with a per diem expense of $284 per legislative day. If the legislature remains in session longer than ninety legislative days, lawmakers cease to draw their expense money.Legislators also receive an "office allowance" of $1,000 per month, ostensibly for the maintenance of an office area devoted to their legislative work in their homes or elsewhere within their district. Traditionally, it has been easier, politically speaking, to raise the per diem and office allowance than the salary.
The speaker of each house is entitled to a salary triple that of other members. Under a law enacted in 2004, legislators will receive a raise equal to that given to state employees the previous year, if any.
The governor may also call "extraordinary sessions", limited to the topic or topics outlined in the call, and limited to another twenty days. Two-thirds of each house may also initiate such a call by petitioning for it.
Joint committees
Each chamber sets up its own committee system; however, there are a number of committees which are composed of members of both the House and Senate.Joint Fiscal Review Committee
The Joint Fiscal Review Committee continuously reviews items such as revenue collections, the proposed budget and other budget requests, appropriations, state debt, and various state funds, among other items. It also prepares estimates of revenues from the Tennessee Education Lottery and oversees the financial operations of state departments and agencies. Further, it prepares the fiscal note attached to each bill presented in the General Assembly, describing the estimated cost of the bill's contents on state and local government.
It was set up as a special continuing committee of the General Assembly in 1967 and is composed of six senators and nine representatives, each elected by their respective chambers. Additionally, ex officio members include the Speaker of each house and each house's chairman of the Finance, Ways, and Means committee. The current members are as follows:
| Name | Chamber | Note |
| Ron Travis | House | Chair |
| Todd Gardenhire | Senate | Vice-chair |
| Paul Bailey | Senate | |
| Brenda Gilmore | Senate | |
| Sara Kyle | Senate | |
| Steve Southerland | Senate | |
| Bo Watson | Senate | ex officio as chair of Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee |
| Ken Yager | Senate | |
| Bill Beck | House | |
| Michael Curcio | House | |
| Martin Daniel | House | |
| Darren Jernigan | House | |
| Susan Lynn | House | ex officio as chair of Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee |
| Pat Marsh | House | |
| Larry J. Miller | House | |
| Mark White | House | |
| Ryan Williams | House |
Joint Government Operations Rule Review Committee
The Joint Government Operations Rule Review Committee is composed of all members of the House and Senate Government Operations Committees. It reviews rules and regulations created by state departments and agencies.
It has three subcommittees.
| Subcommittee | Chair | Vice-chair | Members |
| Commerce, Labor, Transportation, and Agriculture | Rep. Jay Reedy | Sen. Paul Rose | Senators: Mike Bell, Rusty Crowe, Ed Jackson, Sara Kyle, Mark Pody |
| Commerce, Labor, Transportation, and Agriculture | Rep. Jay Reedy | Sen. Paul Rose | Representatives: Martin Daniel, Curtis Halford, G.A. Hardaway, Dan Howell, William Lamberth, John Ragan |
| Education, Health, and General Welfare | Rep. John Ragan | Sen. Janice Bowling | Senators: Rusty Crowe, Ed Jackson, Bill Powers, Kerry Roberts, Sara Kyle, Paul Rose |
| Education, Health, and General Welfare | Rep. John Ragan | Sen. Janice Bowling | Representatives: Kent Calfee, Karen Camper, Martin Daniel, Gloria Johnson, William Lamberth, Iris Rudder |
| Judiciary and Government | Sen. Mark Pody | Rep. Justin Lafferty | Senators: Mike Bell, Janice Bowling, Sara Kyle, Bill Powers, Kerry Roberts |
| Judiciary and Government | Sen. Mark Pody | Rep. Justin Lafferty | Representatives: Kent Calfee, Martin Daniel, Bill Dunn, William Lamberth, Mary Littleton, Mike Stewart |
Joint Committee on Pensions and Insurance
It is composed of the officers of the House and Senate Finance, Ways, and Means committees, three members appointed by each finance committee chair, and two members appointed by each speaker. Furthermore, the Comptroller of the Treasury, state treasurer, and commissioners of Human Resources and Finance and Administration, as well as the director of the state retirement system, are included on an ex-officio basis.
TACIR
The Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations is considered to be a joint committee of the legislature.
Composition of the 113th General Assembly (2023–2024)
Senate
House
See Tennessee Senate and Tennessee House of Representatives for current member lists and further information.Work of the General Assembly
Legislative schedule
Legislative days are scheduled no more than three days a week during the session. Legislative sessions in both the House and Senate occur on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Tuesdays and the majority of Wednesdays are used primarily for committee meetings and hearings rather than actual sessions. Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the Tennessee Capitol also take on an eclectic flavor most weeks, as varied and diverse constituent groups set up display booths to inform lawmakers about their respective causes.Sessions begin each year in January and usually end by May; during recent fiscal crises meetings have spilled over into July. The time limit on reimbursed working days and the fact that the Tennessee state government fiscal year is on a July 1 - June 30 basis puts considerable time pressure on the General Assembly, especially with regard to the adoption of a budget.
Membership in the legislature is best regarded as being a full-time job during the session and a part-time job the rest of the year due to committee meetings and hearings. A few members are on enough committees to make something of a living from being legislators; most are independent businesspeople and attorneys, although the latter group is perhaps no longer the absolute majority of members that it at one time comprised. In keeping with Tennessee's agricultural roots, some senators and representatives are farmers.
Lobbyists are not allowed to share meals with legislators on an individual basis, but they are not forbidden from inviting the entire legislature or selected groups to events honoring them, which has become a primary means of lobbying. Members are also forbidden from holding campaign fundraising events for themselves during the time they are actually in session.