Tennesseans will soon be limited in their ability to sue over state laws. The statehouse narrowly voted to limit one of the only paths residents have to challenge policies they believe are unconstitutional.
HB 1971/SB 1958 reverses a 2018 law that allowed people to challenge laws before they’re harmed by them. Now, plaintiffs will have to prove that they’ve already suffered some injury to sue.
The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office proposed the measure to cut down on the time and resources it spends defending state laws in court. Some of those measures have been upheld, like the U.S. Supreme Court case that ruled in favor of Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth. Others, like bills preempting local control in Nashville, have been largely stuck down by the courts…