A recent ruling by a panel of judges has invalidated a 2023 change proposed by Tennessee Republican lawmakers that aimed to reduce the size of Nashville’s Metro Council by half. The decision, delivered on Monday, is the latest in a series of legal defeats for state laws passed last year that sought to curtail Nashville’s autonomy, extending to its international airport and professional sports facilities.
The contested law, which had been temporarily blocked earlier, was designed to limit the number of council members in metro governments to 20, specifically targeting Nashville, which currently has 40 council members. The court ruled the law unconstitutional under home rule protections in the Tennessee Constitution, as it singled out Nashville without requiring approval from local voters or two-thirds of the metro council.
