Americans for Prosperity Declares War on Tennessee Property Taxes
Americans for Prosperity Tennessee is rolling out an aggressive legislative agenda for 2026 aimed at restoring economic freedom, cutting government overreach, and protecting Tennessee families and small businesses from runaway bureaucracy.
Spokesperson Pamela Furr, outlined the organization’s top priorities during a recent appearance on KWAM Radio with Todd Starnes, where she said the Volunteer State is being smothered by regulations written not by lawmakers—but by unelected bureaucrats.
“Our number one priority for 2026 is passing the Regulatory Freedom Act,” Furr told Starnes. “It makes it easier to repeal red tape and bureaucracy that strain the economy here in the state of Tennessee and it also provides more legislative oversight to the most expansive burdensome regulations.”
Furr noted that Tennessee currently has more than 121,000 rules and regulations on the books—most of them written by agencies rather than elected officials.
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“These are rules created by people we didn’t elect,” she said. “They’re making decisions for us that stifle growth, stifle the economy, and stifle small businesses.”
The legislation is being sponsored by State Sen. Jack Johnson in the Senate and Rep. Clark Boyd in the House, both Republicans from Middle Tennessee. Furr said Americans for Prosperity has even taken a traveling exhibit across the state showing the enormous size of Tennessee’s regulatory code—32 thick volumes of bureaucratic mandates.
“We want to cut that in half,” she said.
War on Property Taxes
But regulatory reform is only part of AFP Tennessee’s agenda.
The group is also pushing to cap local property taxes, particularly in places like Davidson County, where Furr said homeowners have been hit with massive tax hikes.
“They raised my property taxes more than 30 percent twice in the last five years,” she said. “That’s ridiculous.”
AFP Tennessee is also backing expanded school choice, a repeal of Tennessee’s Certificate of Need laws that restrict hospital and health-care expansion, and broad efforts to make it easier for businesses to operate and grow in rural counties.
Starnes praised the approach, saying fewer laws and fewer regulations are often better than constant government micromanagement.
“We don’t need more laws on the books,” he said. “We need to start enforcing the ones that are already there.”
Fight New Regulations
Furr closed by urging Tennesseans to contact AFP if local governments try to raise taxes or impose new regulations.
“If your county or local government is trying to pass something that hurts your ability to do business or grow,” she said, “let us help you fight it.”
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Listen to Full Interview With Pamela Furr
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