Tennessee state Republicans call for special session to limit local COVID-19 restrictions

All 73 members of Tennessee’s House Republican Caucus urged for a special session Wednesday to take action against the authority of local officials looking to impose COVID-19 safety measures, The Associated Press reported.

The members sent a letter Wednesday to Gov. Bill Lee (R) asking him to call lawmakers back to Nashville for the special session. Lee did not give a firm answer when asked by a reporter earlier in the day about implementing a special session, according to the AP. 

In the letter sent by House Speaker Cameron Sexton, the caucus wrote that they would like the special session to focus on limiting the authority of state health departments and the issue of mask mandates in schools, the Tennesseean reports.

“We believe there is a need to curtail the overreach by independent health boards and officials, confirm a parent’s right to make decisions that impact the mental and physical health of their children, provide support and direction to schools to ensure educators are properly compensated for COVID-19 leave, and protect all Tennesseans from misdirected mandates designed to limit their ability to make their own decisions,” Sexton wrote in the letter. 

Sexton, who threatened last week to request the special session if districts mandated masks, has drawn criticism from other state leaders for his stance. Democratic Rep. John Ray Clemmons tweeted Wednesday that he applauds counties that “acted on recommendations of medical experts rather than the threats of politicians.”

The request for a special session from Tennessee’s House Republicans comes a day after parents surrounded health care professionals following a school board meeting near Franklin, Tenn. where health professions advocated for a mask mandate, in some cases with parents yelling obscenities at them.