NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A proposed Tennessee ballot initiative that would have asked voters if the attorney general should be confirmed by state lawmakers after the current process of selection by the state Supreme Court has failed in a legislative panel.
The House Civil Justice Subcommittee voted the measure down Tuesday on a voice vote without debate. The proposal had cleared its Senate hurdles, but still would have needed another two-thirds House vote for placement on the 2022 ballot.
Republican Attorney General Herbert Slatery opposed the measure. He has praised Tennessee’s system, which is unique among states, for supporting the attorney general’s independence. He said the constitutional amendment would make the position a “political office.”
Slatery’s current term expires this year, before the new process would have begun. The proposal would also have reduced the attorney general’s term from eight to six years.
Backers of the proposed amendment said elected lawmakers should be involved in the process.