Expelled Tennessee lawmakers were quickly reappointed last year. An advancing House bill would prevent a repeat.

Several bills in the Tennessee House are attempting to prevent expelled lawmakers from making their way back into the legislature. One of them is headed to the House floor.

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The measure would prevent what happened last year when Reps. Justin J. Pearson, D-Memphis, and Justin Jones, D-Nashville, were expelled and appointed back to their seats by their respective city councils.

HB 2716 would make it so a city council would not be able to appoint an expelled lawmaker.

Rep. Darren Jernigan, D-Old Hickory, thinks the change is constitutional and would need to go to the voters.

“You might want to bring a constitutional amendment,” said Jernigan. “Because I think under Article 2 Section 12, when they talk about determining the House rules expelling a member, you couldn’t charge them a second time for the same offense.”

There are two proposed measures that would require putting a constitutional amendment on a future ballot. One would place a four-year ban from holding a seat on an expelled member, the other a lifetime ban.

Those constitutional amendments wouldn’t make it in front of voters until the next time they elect a governor. And to make it to that point they’d have to first pass the General Assembly, and then be passed by two-thirds of the next General Assembly.