Washington, D.C. – The Club for Growth Foundation released its 2025 State Economic Scorecard for Tennessee, offering a comprehensive analysis of how each state legislator approached limited-government policies in Nashville.
The Scorecard analyzes policies and votes to assign an Economic Growth Score from 0 to 100, with 100 representing the highest support for pro-growth policies. In 2025, the Foundation’s study examined over 3,900 floor votes and ultimately included 16 Tennessee House and 15 Tennessee Senate votes.
“Elected officials in Tennessee made great strides in 2025 to limit governmental influence,” said Club for Growth Foundation President David McIntosh. “Structural spending reforms establish legislative committee review for federal aid packages under $25 million to avoid fraud, and pro-worker legislation creates portable benefit accounts with qualifying banks and investment firms. A transformative education freedom bill will give parents access to roughly $7,300 during the 2025-2026 school year to improve learning outcomes for their children. While these moves will benefit Tennesseans, a 13.3% budget increase that bloats Medicaid programs, new taxes on hotels, and elongated paid government leave programs threaten long-term economic success. Key wins cannot be offset with bad bills in future legislative sessions.”
Click here to read the full 2025 Tennessee State Economic Scorecard from the Club for Growth Foundation.
Key Highlights from the 2025 Tennessee Scorecard:
Tennessee House:
- Average Republican Score: 70%
- Average Democrat Score: 20%
- Highest Rated Republican(s): Rep. Tim Rudd (HD-34): 95%
- Highest Rated Democrat(s): Rep. Justin Pearson (HD-86): 44%
- Lowest Rated Republican(s): Rep. Ron Travis (HD-31): 50%
- Lowest Rated Democrat(s): Reps. Torrey Harris (HD-91) and Gabby Salinas (HD-96): 11%
Tennessee Senate:
- Average Republican Score: 62%
- Average Democrat Score: 8%
- Highest Rated Republican(s): Sens. Mark Pody (SD-17) and Bo Watson (SD-11): 74%
- Highest Rated Democrat(s): Sen. Jeff Yarbro (SD-21): 15%
- Lowest Rated Republican(s): Sens. Janice Bowling (SD-16), Richard Briggs (SD-07), Bobby Harshbarger (SD-04), Jessie Seal (SD-08), and Page Walley (SD-26): 50%
- Lowest Rated Democrat(s): Sen. Heidi Campbell (SD-20): 0%
Notable Pro-Limited Government Policies:
HB 1092 – STRUCTURAL SPENDING REFORMS
- Requires the governor and state agencies to notify the appropriate legislative committees of federal aid packages under $25 million before accepting them, and authorizes the same committees to review and approve or disapprove federal aid packages exceeding $25 million
HB 6004 – TRANSFORMATIVE EDUCATION SAVINGS ACCOUNT BILL
- Provides for tax dollars to follow students to a school of their parents’ or guardians’ choice–including private education
- Parents will have access to roughly $7,300 during the 2025-2026 school year for tuition, books, tutoring, and other eligible educational expenses
- These scholarships are available for 20,000 students, half of whom are reserved for low and middle-income households
- If 75 percent of these ESA scholarships are filled, then the programmatic cap increases to 25,000 students beginning in the 2026-2027 school year
SB 1377 – NEW PRO WORKER BENEFIT ACCOUNTS
- Authorizes independent workers to establish a portable benefit account with a qualifying bank or investment firm
- Companies may voluntarily contribute to a contractor’s benefits, including health insurance and retirement accounts
- Provides that such contributions cannot be used to determine a worker’s classification, requires a written agreement between the employer and contractor, and requires that workers have the ability to affirmatively opt in or out whenever they choose
Notable Anti-Limited Government Policies:
HB 1409 – BIG SPENDING BUDGET AGREEMENT
- Allocates $59.8 billion in total spending for FY2025-FY2026, a massive 13.3 percent increase over the previous budget agreement
- Includes a staggering 23.2 percent increase in total year-over-year Medicaid spending, including $78 million for rural hospital reimbursements, a new $43 million slush fund for local earmark projects, an additional $25 million in corporate welfare handouts under the guise of “economic development,” and $200 million for the continued implementation of across-the-board meritless $2,000 bonus payments for government school teachers
SB 322 – NEW GOVERNMENT PAID LEAVE MANDATE
- Expands an existing taxpayer-funded paid leave program by providing six weeks of paid leave to government employees caring for a family member with a health condition
- Significantly broadens the definition of family member to include grandparents, siblings, and even friends
- Cost is unknown, but the mandates often necessitate new taxes, routinely cost far more than initial estimates, diminish wages, are prone to continued expansion, and compound pressures on already overburdened workers and taxpayers
SB 734 – EXTENDING NASHVILLE HOTEL TAX SCHEME
- Extends the authority of the Nashville-Davidson County metropolitan government to impose a hotel occupancy tax exceeding $2.00 through May 21, 2032
- By estimates, the extended tax will pilfer more than $5 million annually to fund Nashville’s Event and Marketing Fund
Note: This Scorecard is based on selected votes and does not reflect a legislator’s entire voting record. The Club for Growth Foundation does not endorse or oppose any legislator for public office.