Bipartisanship is still possible in a Tennessee Legislature in which one party enjoys a supermajority, lawmakers say. Also paradoxically, a supermajority can’t always do everything it wants, a political scientist from another supermajority state says.
For years, Democrats have been a distinct minority in the Tennessee General Assembly, to the point that they hold six seats – less than 20% – in the state Senate, and 24 seats or 24% in the state House. In Tennessee, a bill must be sponsored in both House and Senate to move forward, and most of the time lawmakers from the same party sponsor them. Legislative supermajorities exist in half of all state legislatures, a 2023 report from the National Conferencea of State Legislatures finds.
“Hyperpartisanship at the federal level” influences what happens at the state level, Sen. Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, says.
Legislation she sponsors is necessarily bipartisan because she needs Democrats and Republicans to vote for them to get them passed, she continues. “My colleagues may not agree with me but we can have a conversation.”
Relationships with colleagues matter in the legislature, she says, especially in the small-group atmosphere of the 33-member Senate. Akbari has cosponsored bills with Republicans, including one in this session on deadlines for enrolling children in pre-K programs. She has served in the legislature since 2014.
This is the 15th year in the legislature for Rep. Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis, and the atmosphere for partisanship is “the same as it ever was,” he says, adding he needs “Republican buy-in to get anything passed.”
But, he says, about 85% to 90% of what is passed in the Tennessee legislature are bills “everyone can live with.”
Another veteran legislator, Sen. Becky Massey, R-Knoxville, raises much the same point Parkinson does. She and Parkinson are sponsoring a bill on vocational education and state scholarships.
“I think over 90% of the bills (in the state Legislature) are passed (with bipartisan support),” she said.
A bill might start out with House and Senate sponsors from the same party, but often co-sponsors from both parties will sign onto the bill later, she said. By the time a bill has worked its way through the legislative process, there’s a good chance that people from both parties support it.
Parkinson considers the other 10% to 15% of bills passed in Tennessee to reflect policies some lawmakers are extremely passionate about and, he said, could be considered fringe positions. He says the bills get a lot of attention but don’t necessarily improve people’s lives.
The majority of Americans are middle of the road in their politics, he continues. They want a good quality of life and public safety. A majority support expanding Medicaid, he says, something Tennessee hasn’t adopted. People want to keep more of what they earn and would like to see the state no longer charge any sales tax on food, he says.
Delegations can work
Massey and Akbari say Tennessee’s larger cities have delegations that work on issues affecting that city, and the delegations bring lawmakers together.
Massey chairs the Knox County delegation, which includes three state senators and seven representatives; some are Democrats and some Republicans. Akbari says Shelby County has the largest delegation, includes both Democrats and Republicans and meets every Wednesday during the legislative session.
The Knox County delegation doesn’t have an assigned day for meetings but meets frequently, Massey says, with much going on in January and February between lawmakers and Knox County officials.
Both she and Akbari talk about different group dynamics in the House and Senate.
“There are less of us in the Senate, so there’s an opportunity to connect more on a personal level,” Akbari says. She seeks common ground with other members, regardless of party.
“As long as people treat each other respectfully, if they have a good piece of legislation that would be looked on favorably by Tennesseans,” both parties work together effectively, Massey said. “It’s when you get into a little bit of the social (issues), then you see party lines. … People think that’s all we do but it’s such a small part of what we do.”
Even supermajorities fracture
Julia Marin Hellwege is associate professor of political science at the University of South Dakota, where she also heads the Chiesman Center for Democracy. Her research and teaching topics include institutional behavior and legislative politics.
There is greater polarization in American politics, and people are also choosing to move where they think like-minded people live. Despite this, a supermajority party isn’t necessarily able to pass whatever bills it wants, she says.
There are divisions and factions even within supermajorities, and it has to deal with them. Being in a supermajority does give the party control over what the topics being discussed, the rules for running the legislature, the legislative agenda and leadership roles such as committee chairs.
Hellwege says there’s a tension between what members of the public would like to see – legislators getting along and getting things done – and what they’d like to see happen, namely, adoption of policies that align with their preferences. “You can’t have your cake and eat it too.”
And, as Massey says, “We’re not supposed to agree on everything.”