Fiscal Summary
Increase Local Expenditures –
Up to $10,800/FY24-25 and Every Two Years Thereafter*
Bill Summary
This bill creates provisions relative to recall of elected officials.
DEFINITIONS
"Non-constitutional public officer" means a person who holds an elected public office in this state or within a political subdivision of this state. It does not mean:
(1) The governor, a member of the general assembly, judges of the supreme court and of inferior courts, chancellors, attorneys for the state, the treasurer, comptroller, and secretary of state;
(2) Elected law enforcement officers and officials, including sheriffs, a county mayor, a member of a county legislative body, a county trustee, a register, a county clerk, and an assessor of property; or
(3) A person appointed to a public office.
"Public office" means an elected position of duty, trust, or authority of this state or within a political subdivision created by the general assembly or by a political subdivision through authority conferred by the Tennessee constitution or the general assembly that meets the following criteria:
(1) The position possesses a delegation of a portion of the sovereign power of government to be exercised for the benefit of the public;
(2) The powers conferred and the duties to be discharged are defined, directly or impliedly, by the Tennessee constitution, the general assembly, or by a political subdivision through legislative authority;
(3) The duties are performed independently and without control of a superior power other than the law, unless the general assembly has created the position and placed it under the general control of a superior office or body; and
(4) The position has some permanency and continuity and is not only temporary or occasional.
NON-CONSTITUTIONAL PUBLIC OFFICER SUBJECT TO RECALL AND GROUNDS
A non-constitutional public officer is subject to recall from office under this bill, which applies to all state and local elected non-constitutional public officers. This bill authorizes the recall of a non-constitutional public officer holding an elective office by the qualified electors entitled to vote in the district from which the officer was elected.
The only grounds for recall are physical or mental lack of fitness, incompetence, violation of the oath of office, official misconduct, lack of confidence, malfeasance, neglect of duty, voter dissatisfaction, or conviction of a felony offense. This bill prohibits a person from being recalled for performing a mandatory duty of the office that the person holds or for not performing an act that, if performed, would subject the person to prosecution for official misconduct.
SUPPLEMENTARY RECALL PROCEDURES
The recall process established under this chapter is cumulative and additional to, rather than a substitute for, other methods for removal of non-constitutional public officers.
WHO MAY SIGN PETITION TO RECALL
This bill authorizes a person who is a qualified elector of a district in this state from which a public officer is elected to sign a petition for recall of a non-constitutional public officer. A person commits an offense who: knowingly signs a name other than the person's own to a petition; knowingly signs a petition more than once for the recall; signs the petition knowing that the person is not at the time of the signing a qualified elector; or knowingly makes a false entry upon an affidavit required in connection with the filing of a petition for the recall of a non-constitutional public officer. A violation of this provision is a Class C misdemeanor.
NUMBER OF OFFICERS PETITION MAY RECALL AND TIMING
(1) This bill prohibits a recall petition that names more than one non-constitutional public officer to be recalled.
(2) A recall petition against a non-constitutional public officer must not be approved for circulation, as required by this bill, until a non-constitutional public officer has held office for at least two months.
(3) A recall petition must not be filed against a non-constitutional public officer for whom a recall election has been held for a period of two years during the officer's term of office unless this state or the political subdivision financing the recall election is first reimbursed for all expenses of the preceding recall election.
SIGNATURES REQUIRED
This bill requires that recall petitions for non-constitutional public officers contain the signatures of qualified electors equaling at least 20 percent of the number of persons registered to vote at the preceding general election in the district for which the non-constitutional public officer was elected.
PROCEDURE FOR FILING PETITIONS
This bill requires that recall petitions for non-constitutional public officers of this state be filed with each county election commission and the secretary of state. Recall petitions for non-constitutional public officers of a political subdivision must be filed with the county election commission that serves the district in which the non-constitutional public officer serves and the secretary of state.
If the county election commission or secretary of state refuses to accept and file a petition for recall with the proper number of signatures of qualified electors, an elector may, within 10 days after such refusal, apply to the district court for a writ of mandamus. If it is determined that the petition is sufficient, the district court shall order the petition to be filed with a certified copy of the writ attached thereto, as of the date when it was originally offered for filing. On a showing that any filed petition is not sufficient, the court may enjoin certification of the recall election.
All such suits or appeals therefrom must be advanced on the court docket and heard and decided by the court as expeditiously as possible. An aggrieved party may file an appeal within 10 days after an adverse order or decision as provided by law.
CONTENT OF PETITION
The form of the recall petition must be substantially as described in this bill, see full bill for details.
FORM OF PETITION
The signatures on each petition must be placed on sheets of paper known as circulation sheets. Each circulation sheet must be substantially 8 1/2 by 14 inches or a continuous sheet may be folded so as to meet this size limitation. The circulation sheets must be ruled with a horizontal line 1?1/2 inches from the top of the sheet. The space above the line must remain blank and must be for the purpose of binding. The petition, for purposes of circulation, may be divided into sections, each section to contain not more than 25 circulation sheets.
Before a petition may be circulated for signatures, a sample circulation sheet must be submitted to the appropriate county election commission and the secretary of state in the form in which it will be circulated. The commission and the secretary of state shall review the petition for sufficiency as to form and approve or reject the form of the petition, stating the reasons for rejection, within one week of receiving the sheet.
The petition form submitted must be accompanied by a written statement containing the reasons for the desired recall as stated on the petition. The truth of purported facts contained in the statement must be sworn to by at least one of the petitioners before a person authorized to administer oaths. The county election commission and the secretary of state shall serially number all approved petitions continuously from year to year.
PETITION FORM NOT MANDATORY
The forms prescribed in this bill are not mandatory, and if substantially followed, the petition is sufficient, notwithstanding clerical and merely technical errors.
WHERE TO SUBMIT PETITION AND AFFIDAVIT
This bill requires that signed circulation sheets or sections of a petition for recall be submitted to the county election commission in the county in which the signatures were obtained and to the secretary of state within three months of the date the form of the petition was approved according to the procedure described in this bill.
An affidavit, in substantially the following form, must be attached to each circulation sheet or section submitted under this provision. See full bill for details on form.
VERIFYING SIGNATURES
The county election commission in each county in which a recall petition is signed shall verify and compare the signatures of each person who has signed the petition to ensure that the person is an elector in that county and, if satisfied that the signatures are genuine, shall certify that fact to the secretary of state, in substantially the form described in the bill, see full bill for details.
NOTICE TO OFFICER NAMED IN PETITION
Upon certification of a petition under this chapter, the secretary of state shall immediately give written notice to the non-constitutional public officer named in the petition. The notice must state that a recall petition has been filed and certified, must set forth the reasons contained in the petition, and must notify the non-constitutional public officer that the officer has the right to prepare and have printed on the ballot a statement containing not more than 200 words giving reasons why the officer should not be recalled. This bill prohibits a statement of justification from being printed on the ballot unless it is delivered to the secretary of state within 10 days of the date notice is given.
RESIGNATION OF OFFICER
If the non-constitutional public officer named in the petition for recall submits a resignation in writing, it must be accepted and become effective 72 hours after it is offered. The vacancy created by the resignation must be filled as provided by law. However, the non-constitutional public officer named in the petition for recall must not be appointed to fill the vacancy.
If the non-constitutional public officer named in the petition for recall refuses to resign or does not resign within five days after receiving notice of the certified petition, this bill requires that an election be held. If the recall petition was certified more than 60 days before a general or primary election, the recall election must be held at the same time as the general or primary election. If the recall petition was certified less than 60 days before a general or primary election, the recall election must be held at the next succeeding general election.
NOTICE OF RECALL ELECTION
The public notice of a recall election, to be filed in accordance with the law on special elections, must be in substantially the form as described in the bill, see full bill for details.
EXPENSES
Expenses of a recall election must be paid in the same manner as the expenses for any other election. The expenditure of such funds constitutes an emergency expenditure of funds, and this state or a political subdivision affected may fund the costs of such an election through emergency funding procedures.
REMOVAL OF OFFICER
The non-constitutional public officer named in the recall petition continues in office until the officer resigns or the results of the recall election are officially declared. If a majority of those voting on the question vote to remove the officer, the office becomes vacant and the vacancy must be filled as provided by law. However, the non-constitutional public officer recalled must not be appointed to fill the vacancy.
