Testimony Before the Tennessee House Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee on House Bill 132 Regarding Emergency Powers of the Governor

Heartland Impact

March 19, 2025

Chairman Williams, and Members of the Committee:

Thank you for holding a hearing on House Bill 132, legislation that reforms Tennessee’s emergency powers of the governor to ensure that all actions taken as such would not violate the rights of the citizens of Tennessee ensured to them under the Constitution of Tennessee and the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution. Further, correctly injecting the legislature into Emergency Powers process by allowing the General Assembly to terminate states of emergency by joint resolution and requiring legislative approval to renew states of emergency after a duration of thirty days.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many Americans saw their respective governors wield unprecedented power with seemingly unlimited emergency declarations. This overnight shift in governance, coupled with a plethora of governors who abused their pandemic emergency powers, has left several states in recent legislative sessions reevaluating constitutional statutes pertaining to emergency provisions and powers granted to the governor during a state of emergency. House Bill 132 is no exception.

With the continued economic vulnerability Americans and the dollar have faced in recent years along with upticks in viruses such as bird flu it is reasonable for Americans and state lawmakers to be skeptical of more government overreach. Unfortunately, all some governors need is another emergency or disaster to be another excuse, or reason, for unchecked decisions that could affect Americans deeply.

During the outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020 and in the months that followed, the deciding factor for whether Americans could send their children to school, eat at a restaurant, or go into the office ultimately came down to which state they lived in. We saw overzealous power-hungry governors like former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) lockdown New York into oblivion – leading to the closure of thousands of small businesses and keeping kids at home for months on end. On the other hand, we also saw  ambitious governors such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) bucking the lockdown trend and pushing for a return to normalcy.

Between the coronavirus pandemic, natural disasters, and hot-button political issues, many states have watched helplessly in recent years as their governors wielded broad emergency powers justified by a myriad of reasons. House Bill 132 is a paramount step in the right direction to ensure that the governors of Tennessee, present and future, are guaranteed to exercise their emergency powers within the confines of the state Constitution.

The concept encompassed by HB 132 is straightforward and necessary: it safeguards Volunteer State citizens from any governor action that negates the very document that gives them power – the state Constitution of Tennessee – and injects legislators, those intended to represent the wills of the people into that same process.

Since 2020, The Heartland Institute developed a set of principles that legislatures could reference if, and when, governors began abusing their newfound powers. House Bill 132 along with other bills introduced in the Tennessee legislature since then, abide by many of those guides:

1. Resolutions to (or can) immediately nullify an emergency proclamation.
2. Time certain duration of an emergency order (renewed by the legislature).
3. Pass a resolution that requires the governor to call a special session to approve of an emergency proclamation if the legislature is out of session.
4. Permit an interim committee or group of legislative leaders to extend or reject emergency proclamations.
5. Impose specific limits to executive authority during an emergency proclamation. (i.e., restrict the governor from unilaterally closing businesses, closing houses of worship, or shutting down freedom of the press, and the right to bear arms.)

Based on this and other legislation introduce this session, there is a clear appetite among Volunteer State lawmakers and constituents to reassert themselves into the debate and create mechanisms to ensure the protection of Tennesseans during a state of emergency. Coequal governance guided by Constitutions is a bedrock American principle and through this legislation, Tennessee has an opportunity to set an example to the tens of states that are also looking at reining in executive authority.

Thank you for your time and consideration on this important issue.

Heartland Impact can send an expert to your state to testify or brief your caucus; host an event in your state; or send you further information on a topic. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if we can be of assistance! If you have any questions or comments, contact Cameron Sholty, at csholty@heartlandimpact.org or 312/377- 4000.