Tennessee GOP introduces bills that would shake up Nashville

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — For years, Nashville leaders have watched Tennessee’s GOP-dominated Legislature repeatedly kneecap the liberal-leaning city’s ability to set its own minimum wage, regulate plastic bag use and place higher scrutiny on police officers.

Yet that simmering tension has only escalated this year as Republican lawmakers have introduced a string of proposals that local officials warn would drastically upend Music City.

It’s a common scenario felt in cities across the United States as statehouses flex their authority over municipalities, often while ignoring concerns raised by community members seeking to maintain local control.

In Mississippi, Black lawmakers are denouncing a plan by the state’s majority-white and Republican-led Legislature to take over power from the capital city of Jackson. Over in Missouri, lawmakers are pursuing legislation to strip power from St. Louis’ prosecutor — a plan supporters say will address violent crime but is criticized by Black leaders. While the disputes in Mississippi and Missouri reflect racial tensions, the issue in Tennessee also involves conflicts in political ideology.

In Tennessee, the latest statehouse backlash stems back to last summer when Nashville’s metro council spiked a plan to bring the 2024 Republican National Convention to the city. Progressive leaders argued that hosting the massive Republican gathering would go against the city’s values. Others expressed hesitation toward tying up so many city resources — particularly for an event that residents largely wouldn’t attend.

For GOP leaders, who had spent months lobbying and wooing party officials on why Music City should host the convention, Nashville had crossed yet another line. Warnings began trickling in that consequences were imminent.

Nashville continued to attract political ire after council members began discussing whether to cover expenses for employees who cross state lines to get an abortion. That’s because Tennessee’s abortion ban — which was enacted after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade — currently has no explicit exemptions.