After failing to advance last session, Republicans have again filed legislation to keep Tennessee from permitting same-sex marriages, a bill officials previously estimated could cost the state more than $9 billion in federal funding.

Known as the "Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act," the bill by Sen. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, and Rep. Jerry Sexton, R-Bean Station, states that the U.S. Supreme Court's 2015 decision to legalize same-sex marriage is void in Tennessee because the state has already passed its own law and constitutional amendment limiting marriage to one man and one woman.

The bill would prohibit government officials — presumably including clerks issuing marriage certificates — from giving recognizing any court ruling that affirms same-sex unions, and specifies they cannot be arrested for failing to comply with court orders that do so.

It would also require the Tennessee attorney general to defend the state's law on marriage in any subsequent court challenge.

In the event the marriage defense act did take effect, plaintiffs would likely quickly step immediately to challenge it in court, which could result in a federal district court ruling that the law cannot be enforced.

The statute appears to require the state to appeal such a ruling and defend the law, potentially taking the case to the 6th circuit federal appeals court. From there, it could go ultimately advance to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"The far right’s dream scenario is this would go back before the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court would accept it," said Chris Sanders, executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project, an LGBTQ rights advocacy group that has previously opposed the bill.

Sexton said he believes that following the Supreme Court's 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, Tennessee and states like it were "left with confusion" about how marriage laws should be structured.

Further, Sexton suggested he thinks the state may have no valid marriage law.

"What we have to do is we have to pass laws that go back to the courts and let them be challenged," Sexton said. "I don’t know that this bill will do that. I'm not advocating a lawsuit or anything. We’re bringing it up for the discussion."

Asked whether he intends for the legislation to attempt to outlaw same-sex marriage in Tennessee, Sexton said he and Pody were still working on the bill text and expected to make some changes since filing the initial version.

"It's just too early for me to get into the details and say what the exact intent of it is," Sexton said. "We've got to get it exactly right so that we can explain it. I'm not ready to explain it in depth."

Bill previously estimated to cost state $9 billion

When the General Assembly's fiscal review committee analyzed the bill in 2017, it reported that Natural Marriage Defense Act could result in roughly $9 billion in federal funding being withheld from the state.

The committee wrote that $7.1 billion in federal funding for TennCare could be in jeopardy, along with more than $2 billion in funding given to the state's Department of Human Services for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

It's unclear how likely the federal government would be to withhold funding as a result of the law taking effect.

"Whether this administration would punish Tennessee is also an open question," Sanders said.

The LGBTQ community around the state and its allies, he said, are prepared to oppose the bill if it gains traction in the General Assembly this year.

"If it moves, certainly, you will see an outcry in this state like you’ve never seen," Sanders said. "That will absolutely ignite huge numbers of people engaging the legislature."

Sexton said he had not yet discussed the bill with his colleagues in the legislature and was unsure whether it had a shot at succeeding this time around, but noted that new House leadership and more than two dozen new members in the chamber could possibly play a factor.

"I think we're probably a more conservative legislature now than we have been, but that remains to be seen," Sexton said.

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INTRODUCTION: Lawmakers file 'Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act'

ECONOMIC COST:'Natural Marriage' bill could cost Tennessee over $9B

DELAYED:'Natural Marriage' act delayed until next year

Reach Natalie Allison at nallison@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter at @natalie_allison.