Tennessee’s special legislative session likely will cost taxpayers about $153,200.
State lawmakers return to Nashville this week for a special session to consider bills providing limited liability protections for businesses, health care workers and schools; expanding telehealth; and amending laws that govern the Capitol grounds.
The House is scheduled to meet for four, starting Monday. The minimum time the Legislature could meet and pass a bill would be three days; the state constitution requires a bill to be considered on the floor three times before a vote for passage. It is impossible to know exactly how long the session will last, but it is expected to wrap up within the week.
Members of the General Assembly are paid for each day of session, a total of $34,500 per day, Legislative Administration Director Connie Ridley told The Center Square. Lawmakers also are compensated weekly for mileage to and from the state Capitol, a total of $15,200 a week.
Legislators said the cost of a session is a small price to pay for the legislation on the docket to be considered promptly.
“Without careful preparation for the uncertain days ahead, TN taxpayers could lose a lot more than $119,000,” state Sen. Ed Jackson, R-Jackson, tweeted last week, responding to reports of the cost of a special session. “Tennessee can’t afford to lower her guard.”
In the Cordell Hull legislative office building, pandemic response measures to follow health guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been in place since March. As of the end of July, regular cleaning and disinfecting, signage and other social distancing efforts have cost the state $238,116, Ridley told The Center Square.
Changes in building operations because of the pandemic, such as security, have cost the state $64,050, as of the end of July. No further changes will occur for the special session, Ridley said.
