Cameron Allen Sexton (born November 11, 1970) is an American politician from Tennessee. A Republican, he has been a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the 25th District since 2011, and has been the Speaker of the state House since 2019. Before becoming Speaker, Sexton was Majority Caucus Chairman.
Early life and education
Cameron Allen Sexton was born on November 11, 1970, in Tennessee. His father, Dwight Sexton, was a high school chemistry and biology teacher, and his mother, Jane Sexton, was a teacher at Blue Grass Elementary School in Knoxville. Sexton attended public schools in Knox County before graduating from Oak Ridge High School in 1989.Marta W. Aldrich, Tennessee replaces its voucher-friendly House speaker with a voucher opponent, Tennessee Chalkbeat (August 23, 2019). He then attended the University of Tennessee, graduating in 1994.
Early political career After graduating from college, Sexton worked on the 1994 State Senate campaign of Randy McNally.Jake Love, Sexton sworn in as new Tennessee speaker of the house, Bryan Triangle (August 23, 2019). He had jobs in banking and marketing until 2008. In 2008, he unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Crossville, Tennessee, losing by 60 votes. Sexton was also a community liaison for U.S. Representative Van Hilleary.
State House Elections and rise to power Sexton was first elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 2010. He was elected as House Majority Whip for the 108th General Assembly, and served as the Majority Caucus Chairman for the 111th General Assembly.
Sexton became Speaker of the House in August 2019, replacing Speaker Glen Casada, who was ousted amid a scandal.Kimberlee Kruesi & Jonathan Mattise, Tennessee House GOP nominates new speaker after scandal, Associated Press (July 24, 2019). The previous month, Sexton was nominated by House Republicans as speaker after multiple rounds of voting, defeating Ryan Williams, Jay Reedy, Curtis Johnson, Mike Carter, and Matthew Hill in the internal party election.
He was reelected in 2021Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, Tennessee Lawmakers Start 2021 Session With A Quiet First Day, WPLN (January 12, 2021). and 2023, with the unanimous support of state House Republicans.Sexton, McNally re-elected speakers, Tennessee Journal (January 10, 2023).
Tenure Healthcare Sexton was House Health Committee Chairman during the 109th and 110th General Assemblies. In 2016, former Speaker Beth Harwell appointed him to serve as chairman of a healthcare taskforce. As Health Committee Chairman and later as Speaker, Sexton has opposed accepting federal Medicaid expansion funds to provide health insurance to uninsured Tennesseans.Tom Humphrey, Medicaid expansion: Still pushed by Democrats, panned by Republicans, Tennessee Journal (January 10, 2018).Sam Stockard, McNally, Sexton part ways on Medicaid expansion, Tennessee Lookout (March 25, 2021).Matt Steinhauer, State lawmakers refuse to expand Medicaid for yet another session (January 23, 2023). Sexton instead supported seeking a waiver from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to allow the state to get Medicaid funding in the form of a block grant, which would give state lawmakers more power to determine eligibility. The state legislature passed, and Governor Bill Lee signed, legislation to authorize the program in January 2021, days before the end of the Trump administration and the beginning of the Biden administration.Cameron Taylor, Gov. Lee signs resolution to authorize Medicaid block grant program, WBIR (January 15, 2021).Tennessee lawmakers rush Medicaid block grant vote to preempt Biden, The Tennessean (January 14, 2021).
In 2022, Sexton introduced legislation to regulate pharmacy benefit managers; he described the legislation as necessary to protect independent pharmacies.
In 2022, Sexton called for a new facility to replace Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute, a state psychiatric hospital, as part of a larger effort to overhaul Tennessee's mental healthcare system.
Crime, policing, and marijuana In 2020, Sexton and other Republicans in the state legislature introduced legislation to substantially increase criminal penalties for unauthorized camping on state-owned land and for writing graffiti on state property (increasing both offenses from misdemeanor to felonies). The bill's sponsors introduced the measure in response to the George Floyd protests.Kimberlee Kruesi, Bill would increase penalties for illegal camping, graffiti, Associated Press (June 15, 2020).
In 2022, Sexton, along with Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, cosponsored truth in sentencing legislation, which was enacted with the support of Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland. The legislation requires offenders to serve the full prison sentence (i.e., no parole) for certain crimes (such as attempted murder and burglary).
In 2020, Sexton opposed proposals to amend Tennessee law to legalize medical marijuana."It's against federal law" Tennessee's speaker clarifies stance on medical marijuana, WVLT (January 10, 2020). In 2023, Sexton said he was open to allowing "medical marijuana in the right forms" but continued to oppose legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, which he deemed a "terrible idea." Speaker Sexton talks cannabis, 3rd grade retention for upcoming session, WJHL (January 19, 2023)/
Forrest Bust
As Speaker, Sexton is a member of the State Building Commission, which governs the Tennessee State Capitol grounds. In 2021, Sexton voted against the removal of the Nathan Bedford Forrest Bust from the Tennessee State Capitol to the Tennessee State Museum. The bust, installed at the state Capitol in 1978, had faced calls for its removal, because Forrest was a Confederate general who founded the Ku Klux Klan after the Civil War. However, a majority of the Building Commission voted to remove the Forrest bust, as well as those of Admiral David Glasgow Farragut and Admiral Albert Gleaves.
COVID-19 During the COVID-19 pandemic in Tennessee, Sexton was a key architect of a special session of the legislature to pass bills banning municipalities within Tennessee from establishing face mask or COVID-19 vaccine requirements; the legislation specifically targeted Metro Nashville government's authority. Sexton also opposed the federal OSHA vaccine-or-test mandate for companies with 100 or more employees.Gerald Harris & Caitlin Coffey, Tennessee lawmakers react to federal OSHA vaccine mandate, WREG (November 4, 2021).
Refugee resettlement In 2019, President Donald Trump issued an executive order allowing state governors to block refugee resettlement in their states under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. Sexton, along with Lieutenant Governor McNally supported halting refugee resettlement in Tennessee, a position at odds with Governor Bill Lee.Grant Schulte & Julie Watson, GOP governors grapple with whether to accept refugees or not, Associated Press (December 22, 2019). In 2021, Sexton and McNally created a Joint Study Committee on Refugee Issues that consisted of 10 Republican state senators and state representatives.Erik Schelzig, Speakers form study committee on refugee issues, Tennessee Journal (May 28, 2021).Tennessee lawmakers create committee to investigate immigration concerns in state, WTVC (May 28, 2021).
Education In a special legislative session in 2021, Sexton introduced legislation to make school board elections statewide partisan, rather than nonpartisan. The initial legislation would have required all school board elections statewide to be partisan; after the legislation encountered objections, it was amended to allow local parties to call for partisan school board elections. The legislation was part of an emerging Republican tactic with conservative Republicans focusing on divisive education issues, including age-appropriate book bans and transgender students' rights.Marta W. Aldrich, Tennessee’s shift to partisan school board elections faces its first big test, Chalkbeat (July 12, 2022). The legislation was opposed by the Tennessee School Board Association and many school districts throughout the state. As a result of the passage of the legislation, beginning in 2022, more than half of Tennessee's counties selected candidates to run in school board elections in partisan primaries.
In 2023, Sexton said Tennessee should reject all federal education funds appropriated to Tennessee, and discussed the proposal with Governor Lee and other key Republican legislators.Kimberlee Kruesi & Jonathan Mattise, Tennessee House speaker mulls rejecting US education money, Associated Press (February 8, 2023). Federal funding makes up about one-fifth of Tennessee's K–12 education funding,Kimberlee Kruesi & Jonathan Mattise, Feds: Tenn. plan to forgo school funds 'political posturing', Associated Press (February 10, 2023). (almost $1.8 billion out of $8.3 billion).Chris Davis, 'Why would we not do that?' Tennessee Speaker defends proposal to reject billions in federal education funds, WTVF (February 9, 2023). Rejection of federal funds would primarily impact schools in low-income areas, English language learners, and special education, because it would eliminate Title I (low-income schools), National School Lunch Program, IDEA (students with disabilities), and Carl Perkins vocational/technical education funding. Under the proposal, the state would fund these programs.Hannah Moore, School systems respond after House speaker says TN could reject federal funds, WATE (February 9, 2023). No state has ever rejected its share of the federal education budget, although the idea gained currency among Republicans in the 2020s. The proposal alarmed Democrats, school districts, the Tennessee Education Association, and the Tennessee Disability Coalition. Sexton said he wanted to reject federal education funding so Tennessee could avoid complying with federal mandates attached to the funding. A U.S. Department of Education spokesperson described the proposal as "political posturing" that would impede education, particularly for the neediest students.
In January 2022, Sexton interjected as Representative John Ray Clemmons tried to honor International Holocaust Remembrance Day inside the House chamber. Clemmons began his honoring of the day by referring to the Auschwitz concentration camp, which the Red Army liberated from the Nazis, to the McMinn County School Board's ban on the Pulitzer Prize-winning Holocaust graphic novel Maus. A few minutes into Clemmons' speech, while he was denouncing anti-Semitism and neo-Nazism, Sexton abruptly interrupted him mid-sentence and reminded Clemmons his honoring of International Holocaust Remembrance Day did not fall within meeting guidelines. Sexton said his objection was that Clemmons' honoring was being made during the "welcoming and honoring" portion of the calendar.
Environment and energy In 2017, Sexton sponsored a bill to place a 15-month moratorium on industrial wind energy projects in Tennessee.Heather Mullinix, Wind energy bill headed to Senate, Crossville Chronicle (April 10, 2018). The passage of the moratorium halted a $100 million wind energy project in Sexton's district.$100M wind project suspended following Tennessee moratorium, Associated Press (June 13, 2017). In 2018, Sexton sponsored a bill to regulate wind energy facilities, requiring many wind projects to obtain a certificate of public convenience and approval of two-thirds of the local governmental body.
Abortion