Bill barring public officials from holding multiple offices passes TN legislature

NASHVILLE — Public officials in Tennessee may no longer be able to hold multiple elected positions at the same time following the passage of a bill through the state legislature. That bill, HB618, heads to Gov. Bill Lee's desk, where it will likely be signed into law. Meanwhile, all 24 seats on the Sullivan County Commission will be up for grabs come August of this year. Two current members of the Kingsport Board of Education, Todd Golden and Phillip Marshall, are also seeking election to the county commission. The new legislation provides that any public official holding multiple offices before Jan. 1, 2027 will be allowed to finish the remainder of their term before being subject to the law. If elected, Golden and Phillip would be allowed to hold both public offices at once, as the county commission elections are in August. Both candidates' terms on the Board of Education are set to expire Aug. 31, 2028, meaning they would be able to hold both county and city offices for about two years until their terms end. Golden noted after a forum earlier this week that, if he were elected to the County Commission and this law were to pass, he would resign his school board seat before taking office. It is unclear, however, if the amendment adding in the grandfather clause would change his mind. When asked by the Times News why he is running for a District 9 seat, Golden responded: "To return the $12 million that was taken from all the school systems" last school year. According to the bill's Senate sponsor, state Sen. Richard Briggs, R-Knoxville, the bill does not prevent candidates from running for two elected offices at the same time — it only prevents them from holding both offices simultaneously. "You would think that you could have the possibility of having a problem of a split allegiance," said state Rep. Bud Hulsey, R-Kingsport. "If you have two different entities and they're struggling with the problem, you're gonna run into 'Who do I hold allegiance to? Who takes priority?'" State Rep. John Crawford, R-Kingsport, is the chair of the House State and Local Government Committee, through which the bill passed last year. Crawford said the intent of the bill is to address issues in smaller cities and counties, where a single person is more likely to hold multiple elected positions at a time. "It would allow other people to run, which gets more people involved," Crawford said. "And I think the more people we get involved in running for office and those types of things, the better selection the people have to choose of whoever they think will do the best job in serving." Crawford said a conflict of interest could arise between people serving in simultaneous elected positions. However, he trusts voters to make that decision. "I think the people know who they're voting for, and the people should decide if they want somebody to serve on the school board and somebody to serve as a constable or whatever," Crawford said. "I'm not saying this is the greatest bill, but it will, I think, get the conversation started to allow us to work on doing something that's fair and equitable to all involved." HB618 passed with broad support in a 76-14 vote Thursday. The bill saw more opposition when it was first introduced last year. It drew 'No' votes from both Republicans and Democrats, who argued the bill would leave some rural districts with vacancies in their elected offices. "For my rural district, we don't have people beating the bushes down to serve [in elected offices]," said state Rep. Chris Hurt, R-Halls, during a floor session last year. "I can't support your bill because… I think the voters should decide." Fifteen Republicans and 12 Democrats voted against the legislation last year. Though it passed, the bill was later substituted for its Senate counterpart this year, which contained an amendment grandfathering current officials into the legislation.