TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Jan 25, 2023

Nashville Metro Law Director Wallace Dietz is warning that a plan being considered by the state legislature to cut the Metro Council would “create chaos” and trigger a possible legal battle, the Tennessean reports. Dietz has said that that the proposal “poses an existential threat not just to Nashville’s self-governance but to the constitutional rights of all local governments across the state.” He also argues that the large council “protects minority representation in government.” House Majority Leader William Lamberth of Portland and Sen. Bo Watson of Hixson, both Republicans, have filed legislation that would cap the size of metropolitan legislative bodies in the state at 20. The only government that would be affected by the proposal is Nashville’s Metro Council, which has had 40 members.