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  • 2023, Constitution, Financial, Government

Constitutional amendment to allow Tennessee to have an ownership interest in private corporations.

SJR 34

Bill Description

Constitutional Amendments – Proposes an amendment to Article II, Section 31 of the Constitution of Tennessee authorizing the governing body or state official charged with carrying out the purpose or objectives of a fund or trust that is administered or invested by the Treasury and that contains state funds, in whole or in part, to adopt, with approval of the Treasurer and the Comptroller of the Treasury, an investment policy to authorize all or part of such fund or trust to be invested such that the state would become an owner, in whole or in part, of any bank or a stockholder with others in any association, company, or corporation.
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Bill Sponsors

Bill Co-Sponsors

Senate: Yager

TLRC Statement on Bill

Imagine a constitutional amendment that would now allow Tennessee to invest funds with companies like Ford and the Titans and become legitimate shareholders where the success and failure of both the state and the corporate entities are inextricably linked. Imagine Tennessee being able to extend its credit to private companies or become equity shareholders in Facebook, Amazon, and Pfizer.

This amendment to our Constitution is now officially on the table here in Tennessee.

The Treasurer and Comptroller of this state (appointed, not elected positions) would now have the sole authority (with no required legislative approval or vote of the people) to invest ALL of a state fund or trust (your tax dollars) giving the state the ability to become an owner of any private bank or corporation in whole or in part. Does that sound like Tennessee or China?

We vehemently oppose this legislation and believe it to present one of the most dangerous paths for Tennessee to follow. We must hold fast to a financial separation between the state and private corporations which our state constitution has successfully done since 1870.

While the resolution failed on the senate floor in 2023, it may be brought back up for a second vote on the senate floor in 2024.

Vote Result:

Failed

TLRC Position:

OPPOSE
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