Minority leader urges 72‑hour public notice, block‑level maps and statewide hearings; rules package fails

Representative Camper, the minority leader, told the Select Committee on Rules that proposed legislation altering congressional districts should be publicly available at least 72 hours before consideration and accompanied by block‑level maps, precinct and demographic data and the developers’ methodology. "I think that would give the public a chance to look at it to have input," Camper said while presenting the package.

Camper also asked that public hearings be held across the state (west, middle and east regions) with at least seven days’ notice and that testimony be part of the legislative record. She said proposed redistricting bills should include legislative findings setting out the legal basis for deviating from the decennial apportionment cycle, compliance with Tennessee Code Annotated §16‑1‑102, the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act, and a written legal analysis certifying applicable compliance.

On fiscal accountability, Camper asked that no bill be considered final without a completed fiscal note and urged that amendments be publicly posted before consideration and that final votes be recorded via roll call. She moved adoption of the package, but the committee took a voice vote and the chair announced that the "no's have it," ending the motion without passage. The chair said a separate appropriations bill had been filed to cover special‑session expenses and that normal fiscal‑note protocols remain relevant.

The committee did not adopt Camper's proposals; members raised questions about who would draft required legal analyses (Camper pointed to in‑house legislative counsel) and whether the special session's appropriations bill would cover related costs. The chair encouraged members to observe decorum in the gallery during debate and to allow presenters to be heard.