Court rules Metro Nashville Council must reduce its size

By Kim Jarrett, The Center Square, June 4, 2025 - A ruling by the Tennessee Court of Appeals could force the Metro Nashville Council to reduce its size from 40 to 20 members.

Tennessee lawmakers passed a bill in 2023 that limited metropolitan councils to 20 members. The Metro Nashville Council challenged the law, saying the Home Rule Amendment of the Tennessee Constitution gives Nashville voters the decision on its size.

A chancery court sided with Metro Nashville in 2024 and ruled the law was unconstitutional. The state appealed the ruling and the decision was handed down Tuesday.

"To the contrary, there is ample authority for the proposition that when the Legislature acts through general legislation, the Legislature retains power over a county, despite the county’s home rule status, and this is true even with respect to functions that are governmental or political in nature," Judges J. Steven Stafford wrote in the majority opinion shared by Judge Carma Dennis McGee.

Judge Kenny Armstrong dissented.

Vice Mayor Angie Henderson said the Metro Council will discuss its next steps with the Department of Law.

"The Home Rule Amendment of the Tennessee Constitution, in part, stands for the proposition that the size of the Metro Council is a decision for the voters of Metro Nashville," Henderson said in a statement. "The General Assembly’s 2023 Small Government Efficiency Act was advanced purportedly to address the 'efficiency & effectiveness;' of Nashville’s legislative branch. For the last 60 years, this 40-member Council has capably and effectively served the interests of our constituents, who today number some 715,000."

If the ruling stands, the law would take effect in 2027.

Rod's Comment: For those who may not know the background, there has been tension between Metro Nashville and the State for some time. Much of it is the old urban-rural divide and some of it stems from the fact that Davidson County is an overwhelmingly Democratic stronghold in an overwhelmingly Republican state. This divide, however, has not kept the State and Metro from working closely together to promote economic development. 

In August of 2022, the divide became much worse when the Nashville Metro Council voted against pursuing bringing the 2024 Republican National Convention to Nashville. The State very much wanted Tennessee to host the convention. To get a major party's conventions is about like getting the Olympics or the Superbowl for your city; it is a really big deal. It is an economic boost and puts the city in the spotlight on the national stage. Nashville was a contender and would have likely won the competition for hosting the convention should Nashville have pursued it. 

The reason members of the Council offered for not wanted to host the convention was security concerns, fear that there might be rioting in the streets. It is hard to know how much of that was a legitimate concern and how much of it was simply a way to show their obvious disdain for Donald Trump. In retaliation for Nashville's decision to not pursue hosting the convention, the state tried to punish Nashville in several ways, such as taking over the Metro Sports Authority, the Metro Airport Authority and reducing the size of the Metro Council, and few other measures.  

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