Appeals Court Rules Against State in Airport Board Case - Articles

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Appeals Court Rules Against State in Airport Board Case

Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Apr 29, 2025

The Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled unanimously on Monday that the legislature’s attempt to take over the Metro Nashville Airport Authority was unconstitutional because it singled out Nashville and thus violated the state constitution’s Home Rule Amendment. The decision upholds that portion of a ruling from an October 2023 special three-judge panel. According to The Tennessean, however, the appeals court reversed the lower court's ruling that five sections of the law violated equal protection guarantees and remanded the case back the special court “for further proceedings consistent” with the opinion. In 2023, the state legislature passed a law to vacate the mayor-appointed airport board and create a new system by which the governor and Republican legislative leaders would appoint a majority of board members. Metro Nashville sued to block the move at the time the bill was signed into law. The state had argued that the law did not single out Nashville and that because the airport authority is a separate legal entity, Metro Nashville did not have standing to sue.