State Representatives Notice Slow Activity in New Session

Tennessee State Representatives are noticing slower activity than normal during the beginning of the new general assembly.

Representative Ryan Williams said officials have seen fewer bills offered for the new year as new members enter the House and Governor Bill Lee takes over.

“We got a slower start this year than we normally do because it’s an inaugural year, but to see how few of bills have been filed thus far is intriguing nonetheless,” Williams said. “For one, you wonder to yourself if we’re going to have fewer bills which I think is a great idea. We need less government, not more government. But on the other hand, it could be we have a little over 25 people in the House that are new this year.”

House Representatives and State Senators have had much of the last two weeks off leading up to and following Governor Lee’s inauguration on Jan. 19.

Williams said he thinks productivity will begin picking up as elected officials reconvene and House members gain footing in their new positions.

“A lot of people are still trying to find the light switch to get their office moved and get their business cards printed and those kinds of things,” Williams said. “I suspect you’ll see a flurry and there’ll be a return to a lot of filing bills, but I would suspect that you’re still going to see about 10 to 15 percent decrease in the number of bills filed than you had last year.”

Williams notes many newer representatives may bring forth fewer bills to begin the new year compared to those who have experience in office.

“I think most of it, really, is you have new members that are there, they haven’t yet found out who to contact regarding which sections of statute they’re trying to modify,” Williams said. “There’s a little bit of that, I think. I think you’re seeing members like myself and others who have been here for a little bit of time, they’ve got the same number of bills they’ve got before. You’re just seeing new members have much fewer than their counterparts the year before.”

State representatives and senators will return to Nashville for a full slate of committee meetings and sessions beginning Monday.