| The 113th General Assembly convened in Nashville on Tuesday, January 10, 2023 for the first year of a two-year legislative session. There are several changes within the Legislature this year as result of the November elections and the redistricting process. |
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| How is the General Assembly structured? |
| Tennessee has a bicameral legislature, consisting of two chambers, the House and Senate. The House is comprised of 99 members and the Senate consists of 33 members.1 Republicans have supermajorities in both chambers, holding 75 seats in the House and 27 in the Senate.2 |
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| House members are elected to serve two-year terms, while Senate members are elected to serve four-year terms. All House members are up for election every two years, while Senate members are up for election on a staggered schedule. Every two years, about half of the senators are up for election based on whether they represent even numbered or odd numbered districts.3 |
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| Elections held in November 2023 resulted in many changes to the Tennessee General Assembly. Several members of the General Assembly did not run for re-election, resulting in open seats. Last week, the legislature welcomed 22 new members, three members in the Senate and 19 members in the House. The Find My Legislators Tool on the General Assembly website will allow you to look up your legislators. |
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| The November election was also the first major election held following the redistricting process. Redistricting occurs every 10 years following the census, and results in the reapportionment of legislative districts at the state and federal level. As a result of this process, many members are representing re-drawn districts. To view changes as a result of redistricting, the Tennessee Comptroller's Office created a District Lookup Tool. |
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| What comes next for the General Assembly? |
| The General Assembly is on recess this week leading up to Governor Lee's Inauguration on Saturday, January 21st. Upon their return, House members will have until January 31st to file legislation while Senate members will have until February 2nd. The General Assembly will contend with a variety of issues throughout session and are expected to address infrastructure, abortion, criminal justice reform, and transgender health care among other topics.4 |
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| How can you follow along with the 113th General Assembly? |
| The Tennessee General Assembly website allows folks to view the General Assembly schedule, track the progress of legislation and live stream committee hearings and votes. This year, members of the public will also have access to a new legislative dashboard that will allow them to see amendments to House bills as soon as they are filed. The Cordell Hull State Office Building that houses legislative offices and the State Capitol building are also open to the public. |
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| [1] About the Tennessee legislature (no date) Tennessee General Assembly. Available at: https://www.capitol.tn.gov/about/ |
| [2] Friedman, A. (2023) What to watch for during Tennessee's 2023 Legislative Session, Tennessean. Available at: https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2023/01/08/tennessees-2023-legislative-session-heres-what-to-watch/69734145007/ |
| [3] About the Tennessee legislature (no date) Tennessee General Assembly. Available at: https://www.capitol.tn.gov/about/ |
| [4] Friedman, A. (2023) What to watch for during Tennessee's 2023 Legislative Session, Tennessean. Available at: https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2023/01/08/tennessees-2023-legislative-session-heres-what-to-watch/69734145007/ |
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