NASHVILLE — The Tennessee House of Representatives on the floor adopted three joint resolutions setting the chamber’s near-term schedule, recessing the regular session to Feb. 3, 2025, and authorizing dates for the governor’s State of the State address and transmission of the budget and implementing legislation.

House Majority Leader William Lamberth moved the measures and the chamber approved them after brief questions and remarks from members. The actions place logistics for an extraordinary (special) session that the House announced will convene at 4 p.m. today and fix a timetable for the governor’s budget materials.

The House adopted House Joint Resolution 61, which recesses the regular session of the 114th General Assembly to Feb. 3, 2025, at 2 p.m. for the House. The resolution passed on a recorded vote: 84 ayes, 7 nays. The House adopted a companion scheduling resolution (HJR 62) that allows flexibility for the Senate’s return date; that measure passed 72 ayes, 19 nays.

Lawmakers also approved House Joint Resolution 63 to call a joint convention for the governor’s State of the State address on Feb. 10 and to authorize transmittal of the budget document and implementing legislation on Feb. 14. HJR 63 passed 78 ayes, 13 nays.

In addition to the scheduling resolutions, the House voted to suspend rules so bills filed by the end of business on Feb. 6 will be considered timely for introduction on the next legislative day. Members also approved a motion to allow the administration to file the appropriations bill, bond bill and related administration bills on Feb. 14.

Several individual House bills were formally withdrawn from committee or the House during the session. Motions to withdraw the following measures were made and accepted without recorded roll-call votes ("without objection" or "so ordered" indicated in the record): House Bill 59; House Bill 183; House Bills 17, 19 and 42; House Bill 5397; House Bills 11 and 63. The transcript records each withdrawal as a motion followed by the chair’s statement that the motion was heard and, absent objection, ordered.

House leaders noted the current docket for the special session is small by regular-session standards: at the time of the floor votes the clerk reported seven bills filed for the special session, including the appropriation/appropriations bill. Several members stressed that, despite the small number of filed bills, the matters are "weighty" and the House will take "as long as it takes" to deliberate the measures thoroughly.

The House recessed following the votes and scheduling announcements; the clerk recorded 91 members present at the close of the floor session. The House announced it will reconvene in recess at 2 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, and will meet again for the special session beginning at 4 p.m. today as previously announced.

Members also observed a moment for victims and witnesses of a recent shooting in the Nashville area during the floor session; Representative Jason Powell requested silence and Representative Love offered a prayer. Those ceremonial items were recorded separately from the scheduling and procedural votes.