State Legislature Holds Special Session
On Aug. 23 the Tennessee General Assembly convened for a special session to officially elect a new Speaker of the House due to the recent resignation of former Speaker Glen Casada. The House Republican Caucus had earlier met on July 24 and chose Rep. Cameron Sexton from Crossville, Tenn. as the Republican nominee for the Speaker of the House. During the special session, the House of Representatives officially elected Speaker Cameron Sexton as the Speaker of the House by a vote of 94-0 with only two members who were present but did not vote.
Due to Rep. Cameron Sexton becoming Speaker of the House, a vacancy was created for the position of the House Republican Caucus Chair. The House Republican Caucus met on Aug. 22 and elected Rep. Jeremy Faison from Cosby, Tenn. as their new Chair. Chairman Jeremy Faison has been a member of the House since 2010.
Rep. Bill Sanderson announced immediately after the Caucus Speaker election that he was resigning from his seat. There has not been a replacement appointed as of yet. Also, Rep. David Byrd announced to the Republican Caucus yesterday that he would not seek reelection.
As the new Speaker of the House, Sexton has the authority to change appointments to committee leadership. Speaker Sexton reappointed many of the committee chairs appointed by former Speaker Casada, but Speaker Sexton did make a few exceptions. The committee leadership is as follows:
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Agriculture Curtis Halford - Chair Chris Todd - Vice Chair Andy Holt - Agriculture Sub Chair
Calendar and Rules Jason Zachary - Chair Lowell Russell - Vice Chair
Commerce Timothy Hill - Chair Clay Doggett - Vice Chair Ron Travis - Business Sub Chair Pat Marsh - Utilities Sub Chair Dennis Powers - Banking & Investments Sub Chair
Consumer and Human Resources Clark Boyd - Chair Rush Bricken - Vice Chair John Holsclaw - Employee Sub Chair Mike Sparks - Consumer Sub Chair
Education Mark White - Chair Kirk Haston - Vice Chair Debra Moody - Curriculum Sub Chair Jim Coley - Higher Ed Sub Chair John Ragan - K-12 Sub Chair
Finance Susan Lynn - Chair Patsy Hazlewood - Vice Chair Gary Hicks - Finance Sub Matthew Hill - Appropriations Sub Chair
Government Operations Martin Daniel - Chair Iris Rudder - Vice Chair
Health Bryan Terry - Chair Ester Helton - Vice Chair Kevin Vaughan - Facilities, Licensure, & Regulations Sub Chair Jerry Sexton - Public Health Sub Chair Sabi Kumar - Mental Health & Substance Abuse Sub Chair
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Insurance Robin Smith - Chair Mark Hall - Vice Chair Darren Jernigan - Property & Casualty Sub Chair David Hawk - TennCare Sub Chair Ryan Williams - Life & Health Sub Chair
Judiciary Michael Curcio - Chair Johnny Garrett - Vice Chair Mike Carter - Civil Sub Chair Andrew Farmer - Criminal Sub Chair Mary Littleton - Children & Families Sub Chair Micah Van Huss - Constitutional Protections Sub Chair
Local John Crawford - Chair Dave Wright - Vice Chair Jerome Moon - Cities & Counties Sub Chair Dale Carr - Property & Planning Sub Chair Tim Rudd - Elections & Campaign Finance Sub Chair
Naming, Designating, Private Acts John Mark Windle - Chair Bill Sanderson - Vice Chair (Rep. Sanderson has resigned from his seat)
State Kelly Keisling - Chair Rick Eldridge - Vice Chair Bud Hulsey - Corrections Sub Chair Jay Reedy - Public Service & Employees Sub Chair Bob Ramsey - Departments & Agencies Sub Chair
Transportation Dan Howell - Chair Bruce Griffey - Vice Chair Sam Whitson - Infrastructure Sub Chair Terri Lynn Weaver - Safety Sub Chair
Ethics Curtis Johnson - Chair
Rules Matthew Hill - Chair
Deputy Speaker Curtis Johnson - Chair
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