Bill Transferring Human Rights Commission Duties to Attorney General Passes Tennessee State House

Lawmakers in the Tennessee State House on Wednesday passed legislation to reassign the responsibility to handle key complaints from the Human Rights Commission to the Tennessee Attorney General, with more than two-thirds of lawmakers voting to pass the legislation along partisan lines.

As passed on Wednesday, House Bill 910 by State Representative Johnny Garrett (R-Goodlettsville) would transfer the majority of responsibilities from the Human Rights Commission, whose board members are appointed by Tennessee’s Governor, House Speaker, and the Lieutenant Governor, to the Tennessee Attorney General.

The State Senate received HB 910 on Thursday, just two days after the Senate Calendar Committee was sent its version of the legislation, Senate Bill (SB) 861 by State Senator John Stevens (R-Huntingdon), to schedule a full vote before the General Assembly concludes this year’s legislative session April 25.

Should the legislation pass the State Senate and receive Governor Bill Lee’s approval, complaints related to anti-discrimination laws in employment, housing, education, malicious harassment, and Title VI compliance would fall under the purview of Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, who spent nearly a decade as a civil rights attorney for the Department of Justice, and was commended for his efforts in 2010.

During a recent appearance on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Skrmetti suggested the legislation is aimed at improving Tennessee’s efficiency about handling civil rights complaints.

Skrmetti told Leahy, the Editor-in-Chief of The Tennessee Star, “I think the idea is we’re pretty efficient. We get things done.”

The attorney general said that, “through no fault of anybody involved,” the Human Rights Commission has been tasked with “a really cumbersome process” where “things don’t happen quickly,” but his office has become adept at handling such complicated matters through its Division of Consumer Affairs.

“In the Division of Consumer Affairs, which was transferred over to my office, we’re able to handle a really high volume of complaints,” said Skrmetti. He later added, “If the General Assembly does send the authority to my office, we’re certainly able to get things done. I hope it’s clear that we don’t sit around. We’re trying to use the authority that the General Assembly gives us for the benefit of Tennesseans, and if it comes to us, we will enforce those laws vigorously.”

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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “AG Jonathan Skrmetti” by Tennessee AG Office.