TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Paul Burch on May 25, 2023

Nashville filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to strike down a new state law lowering the approval threshold needed for the Metro Council to approve renovations to the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. The new law, which overrides a provision in Nashville’s charter that requires 27 votes to approve demolition on the fairgrounds premises, would now only require 21 votes. The law was signed by Gov. Bill Lee on May 5, reports the Tennessean. Metro argues the new statute violates the Home Rule Amendment of the Tennessee Constitution, which bars the state from passing laws that impact only a particular county or city in its governmental capacity without local voter approval. The 27-vote supermajority rule for fairgrounds demolition was approved by voters in August 2011 by a two-to-one margin.