2022 Legislative Agenda

The bills we’re working to get through the Tennessee Legislature this year.

free & equal elections

Tennessee is not living up to its constitutional standard of “Free & Equal” elections. Minor parties in our state are burdened with arguably the most excessive barriers to ballot access anywhere in the country. With a signature requirement over four times the national average, lawmakers should immediately reform minor party ballot access to bring Tennessee in line with the rest of the country.

REFORM BALLOT ACCESS

HB2067 would reduce the number of signatures required for a minor party to get on the ballot from 56,082 to approximately 15,000, would make retaining ballot access easier, and raise the threshold for new parties to trigger taxpayer-funded primaries.

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criminal justice reform

Our criminal justice system is broken and is hurting the most vulnerable among us. Tennessee should act to end civil asset forfeiture, a practice where police can seize property without arresting or charging the property owner with a crime. Tennessee should also move to decriminalize cannabis, a move that would free up law enforcement resources for more violent and destructive crimes and save taxpayers millions on incarceration each year.

Pre-sentencing, lawmakers should act to reform Tennessee’s bond system in a way that will ensure that real threats to the community are locked up, while those who are not a threat are not held at the expense of taxpayers. Post-sentencing reforms should include automatic criminal record expungement for non-violent criminals.

Automatic Criminal Record Expungement

HB1438 would require that eligible convictions would be automatically expunged after the allotted 5-year term had passed. It would also create a sealed record of expungements for preservation, which could only be accessed by the lawyers and judges involved in an open case, or the person named in the file.

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HB1679 removes provisions that would prevent the expungement of an eligible offense because of a new conviction.

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Advisory Referendum on Cannabis

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lIMIT/eLIMINATE cIVIL asset Forfeiture

HB

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Bond Reform

HB

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Safeguard Privacy & Personal Data

HB

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Limited Government

Legislators should also act to restrict the use of facial recognition by state agencies as a violation of the general warrants provision in the 4th amendment and protect consumers from companies that collect and sell their personal information. It is also time for lawmakers to end the professional privilege tax. It only applies to 7 professions, is a tax in addition to any licensing requirements, and constitutes one of the last vestiges of the income tax in Tennessee.

End “Professional Privilege Tax”

HB519 would end the professional privilege tax for all professions except securities brokers and agents.

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