New state law could complicate committees
JASPER, Tenn. — A new Tennessee law could affect the composition of the Marion County Commission’s committees.
County Attorney Billy Gouger said the new law started in the state Legislature as “an attempt to prevent county employees from serving on the county commission.”
“It wound up being much different than that,” he said.
The law prevents county commissioners who are county employees or whose spouses are county employees from voting on any item that directly benefits them.
“It doesn’t mean you can’t vote on the budget, but if you are a member of the finance committee, for example, and are considering a budget that calls for a raise for [yourself or your spouse], you can’t vote on that line item,” Gouger said.
However, that restriction only applies to a committee vote.
“Once it’s passed out of committee and comes before the full body, you can vote on the budget even if it includes a raise for county employees,” Gouger said.
Since a disqualified commissioner doesn’t count toward the determination of a quorum, or majority, the board’s committee configurations could be affected.
For instance, if two of the five finance committee members are county employees and deemed disqualified to vote, it becomes in essence a three-member finance committee.
Since that committee directly affects the county’s annual budget, disqualified members could be increasingly problematic.
“It’s a strangely written law in my opinion, but it is what we have for now,” Gouger said.
County Mayor David Jackson said the law also eliminates the need for county commissioners who are county employees to read a “statement of conflict” before votes on matters such as Marion’s budget.
During past budget votes, as many as one-third of the board’s 15 commissioners have been required to read a declaration before voting that acknowledges a conflict of interest due to their status as county employees, but affirms the vote is out of an obligation to constituents and the citizens of the county.
Ryan Lewis is based in Marion County. Contact him at ryanlewis34@gmail.com.