Tennessee Supreme Court paves way to cut Metro Council, give state control of airport authority

The Tennessee Supreme Court denied a constitutional challenge to a new state law cutting the Metro Nashville Council in half and, separately, dismissed a case challenging a state takeover of Nashville’s airport authority.

The court issued the opinions Monday, giving approval of the legislature’s move to cap Metro Nashville’s legislative body at 20 and permitting the law that gives state officials a majority of appointments on the Metro Nashville Airport Authority.

In the Metro Council case, the court dismissed a claim by the plaintiffs who sued the state that the law violated Tennessee’s home rule provision prohibiting the legislature from targeting governments without local approval. The legislature amended the law so it would apply to all metropolitan governments in the state after the Supreme Court granted a review of the measure.

With that part of the argument removed, the court decided the 20-member cap doesn’t violate a clause exempting metropolitan councils from constitutional requirements, nor does it prevent the legislature from imposing restrictions.

Previously, a three-judge panel overruled a Davidson County Chancery Court’s decision that the move violated two sections of the state Constitution, including the home rule amendment and a clause exempting metro governments from a 25-member cap.

“I am deeply troubled that Nashville’s voters can repeatedly choose the government they want and still have that choice taken from them,” said Metro Councilmember Brenda Gadd, who represents a portion of West Nashville, in a statement. 

Tennessee has only two other local governments with metropolitan forms of government, Moore County and Trousdale County.

The Republican-controlled legislature started targeting Metro Nashville in 2021 with a spate of bills designed to give the state greater control of the local government, including reducing the size of the council, in part because of conflict over the council’s refusal to try to bring the Republican presidential convention to Nashville.

In the airport authority case, the Supreme Court dismissed Metro’s constitutional challenge as moot after lawmakers passed a bill this year making it applicable to all airport authorities in Nashville, Chattanooga, Memphis, Knoxville and the Tri-Cities.

Metro argued that under federal law the Federal Aviation Administration had to approve a change in operation at the airport if the current board didn’t agree to the move.

A three-judge panel previously blocked the legislature’s first effort to take control of the Nashville airport, saying it violated the home rule amendment.

The decision is likely to affect a similar lawsuit over operation of the Chattanooga airport.