Nashville officials filed a lawsuit Monday over a new Tennessee law that will cut the Democratic-leaning city’s metro council in half, a move that follows the councils’ rejection of efforts to hold the 2024 Republican National Convention in Music City. to organize.

The law reduces Nashville’s combined council from 40 to 20. While it broadly applies to city or town-county boards, Nashville is the only one affected.

The lawsuit says the cut violates requirements in the state constitution about council member terms and local control. In addition, the lawsuit argues that it is too close to this year’s council elections in August to make the overhaul. Officials say more than 40 candidates are already running.

Republican Governor Bill Lee signed the bill Thursday, shortly after the Senate cast its necessary final vote. Lee’s spokesperson declined to comment on pending lawsuits on Monday.

“By imposing these Council cut requirements on Metro Nashville just before local elections, the General Assembly undermines the goal of local government consolidation, overrides numerous other constitutional prohibitions on such cuts, and causes confusion and chaos among citizens and candidates,” the lawsuit in Davidson County Chancery Court states.

Republican legislators who pushed for the change claim they are acting within their legal authority to cut down on too big a government.

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Local government agencies should be of a size that enables them to function efficiently and effectively without compromising their duty to represent the people,

stands

Senator Bo Watson, the sponsor of the bill, said last month.

Nashville critics have criticized efforts to reconfigure the elected government as the city continues to grow and attract more visitors, residents and revenue to the state. Others have argued that the change will erode the representation of minority communities and hinder councilors’ ability to meet members’ needs.

The statute requires Nashville to draft new council districts by May 1, a deadline that Nashville legal officials say is unreasonable. The lawsuit says the law accelerates a redistribution process with several requirements, including standards for dilution of minority votes under the federal Voting Rights Act.

The law says that if a metro government cannot pass the changes before the next election, current members’ terms will be extended by one year, and the next term will be reduced to three years, then reverting to four for subsequent councils. The lawsuit says the arrangement violates the state constitution.

Nashville has operated as a combined city-county government under a 40-member council since 1963, when leaders struggled to consolidate the city with the surrounding county, and others tried to ensure that black leaders maintained strong representation in the southern city.

To date, a quarter of council seats are held by black members, half by women, and five identify as LGBTQ.

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State lawmakers in the General Assembly have waived a constitutional pact by narrowing down the council without the approval of local voters, according to a lawsuit filed by Nashville seeking to block the law as the lawsuit continues. In addition, local voters refused to reduce the size of the council in a 2015 vote, the filing notes show.

Meanwhile, the battle for local control plays out

out

at state houses across the country.

In Mississippi, black lawmakers have denounced a plan by the predominantly white states and Republican-led legislature to seize power from the state capital of Jackson. In Missouri lawmakers are pushing for legislation to remove power from the black woman elected as St. Louis state attorney.

Missouri state

lawmakers are also pushing for a bill that would allow the governor of Missouri to oversee the St. Louis police department.

In Tennessee, the new law is one of many

propose measures

the republican

dominateddominant

The Legislature proposed this year after Nashville leaders passed a

proposal offer

to host the Republican National Committee last year.

A separate bill would give the state control of the airport board, stadiums and other city landmarks, while another bill would deprive Nashville of the ability to raise the tax that funds the convention center. Republicans have also introduced a bill that would bar cities from using public funds to reimburse workers who travel to get an abortion.

The bills are consistent with pressure from Tennessee Republicans to restrict Nashville and other cities over the years. This included restricting the ability of Nashville and other cities to ban short-term rentals, including Airbnb, and prohibiting cities from decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, which Nashville and Memphis moved to do.