TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Kate Prince on Apr 14, 2022

The bill putting residency requirements in place for most Congressional hopefuls became a law yesterday despite Gov. Bill Lee’s refusal to sign it, the Associated Press reports. Under the new law, U.S. House and Senate candidates must be Tennessee residents for at least three years and residents of the county they’ll represent for at least one. Lawmakers began seriously pursuing the measure after former President Donald Trump endorsed 5th District Congressional candidate Morgan Ortagus, who legislators pointed out is new to Nashville and Tennessee. But a spokesperson for Secretary of State Tre Hargett clarified that the “requirement does not apply retroactively” to anyone who qualified for the race by the April 7 deadline – which includes Ortagus. A lawsuit challenging the bill has already been filed by several Ortagus supporters. A spokesperson for Lee explained why the governor withheld his signature from the rule, saying he feels “voters are best able to determine who should represent them in Congress.”