Tennessee Selection of Attorney General Amendment (2022)
| Tennessee Selection of Attorney General Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2022 | |
| Topic State executive official measures | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The Tennessee Selection of Attorney General Amendment was not on the ballot in Tennessee as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022.
The ballot measure would have revised how the state attorney general is selected. As of 2019, the Tennessee Supreme Court appointed the attorney general to serve an eight-year term. The ballot measure would have required Tennessee General Assembly to confirm or reject the court's nominee to serve as attorney general. If the nominee was rejected, the court would have needed to nominate a new candidate for the office. The ballot measure would have also reduced the term from eight years to six years.[1]
Text of measure
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article VI, Tennessee Constitution
The measure would have repealed and replaced Section 5 of Article VI of the Tennessee Constitution. The following underlined text would have been added and struck-through text would have been deleted:[1]
Note: Use your mouse to scroll over the text below to see the full text.
An attorney general and reporter for the state, shall be appointed by the judges of the Supreme Court and shall hold his office for a term of eight years. An attorney for the state for any circuit or district, for which a judge having criminal jurisdiction shall be provided by law, shall be elected by the qualified voters of such circuit or district, and shall hold his office for a term of eight years, and shall have been a resident of the state five years, and of the circuit or district one year. In all cases where the attorney for any district fails or refuses to attend and prosecute according to law, the court shall have power to appoint an attorney pro tempore.
To select an Attorney General and Reporter for the State, the Supreme Court shall nominate a person to serve as Attorney General and Reporter and submit the name to the General Assembly. The nomination shall be made by the Supreme Court in open court and with recorded votes. The General Assembly shall confirm the nomination of the Supreme Court's nominee within sixty (60) calendar days immediately following the nomination if the General Assembly is in session and within sixty (60) calendar days, beginning on the convening date of the next annual legislative session following the nomination, if the General Assembly is not in session when the nomination is made. The nominee of the Supreme Court shall be confirmed if a majority of the members to which each house of the General Assembly is entitled vote for confirmation. The Supreme Court nominee is confirmed by default if the General Assembly fails to take a vote to confirm within the required time period. If the Supreme Court's nominee fails to receive the vote required when a vote is taken, then the Supreme Court shall, within sixty (60) calendar days, nominate another person to serve as Attorney General and Reporter. Upon confirmation, the Attorney General and Reporter shall hold office for a term of six (6) years and until a successor is nominated and confirmed. Each Attorney General and Reporter shall be at least thirty (30) years of age, shall be a citizen of the United States, shall be an attorney duly licensed in this State, and shall have been a resident of this State at least five (5) years immediately preceding nomination by the Supreme Court.[2]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Tennessee Constitution
In Tennessee, a constitutional amendment requires a vote in each chamber of the Tennessee State Legislature in two successive legislative sessions with an election in between. However, there are two different vote requirements depending on the session. During the first legislative session, the constitutional amendment needs to receive a simple majority (50%+1) vote in each legislative chamber. During the second legislative session, the constitutional amendment needs to receive a two-thirds vote in each legislative chamber.
111th General Assembly
The 111th Tennessee General Assembly was seated in 2019 and 2020. Sen. Ken Yager (R-12) introduced the constitutional amendment into the legislature as Senate Joint Resolution 1 (SJR 1) on November 13, 2018.[3]
On February 21, 2019, the state Senate approved SJR 1, with 27 senators supporting the amendment, three senators opposing the amendment, and three senators not voting.[3]
On April 18, 2019, the state House approved SJR 1, with 74 members supporting the amendment, 19 opposing the amendment, and six members not voting.[3]
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112th General Assembly
As the constitutional amendment was approved as SJR 1 in 2019, the 112th Tennessee General Assembly needs to approve the amendment for the measure to appear on the ballot.
On March 12, 2022, the state Senate voted 25 to 7 to approve the constitutional amendment. The state House did not vote on the constitutional amendment before the legislative session adjourned.[4]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Tennessee General Assembly, "Senate Joint Resolution 1," accessed April 19, 2019
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Tennessee General Assembly, "SJR 1 Overview," accessed April 19, 2019
- ↑ Tennessee General Assembly, "Senate Joint Resolution 1 (2021-2022)," accessed April 5, 2022
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