Joel Ebert

USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

The House of Representatives approved a bill on Thursday that would nullify the partial marijuana decriminalization laws approved in Nashville and Memphis last year.

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. William Lamberth, R-Cottontown, would repeal any local law that is inconsistent with penalties in state statues pertaining to drug control and narcotics. The bill would also prevent local governments from creating their own sanctions.

The legislation was introduced in response to ordinances passed by city councils in Memphis and Nashville.

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The local laws gave police in Nashville and Memphis the discretion to hand out lighter civil citations for possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Nashville's lighter civil citation had been issued only 39 times for possession of small amounts of marijuana since the law's adoption, according to Metro police spokesman Don Aaron, compared to 963 state citations.

Last year, Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery said the Memphis and Nashville ordinances violated state statute.

The House voted 65-28 in favor of the bill.

Six Republicans, including House Speaker Beth Harwell, who is weighing a bid for governor, were among the dissenting votes.

Much of the chamber's debate centered on arguments about local control, with several Democrats saying the state should not be making decisions that overrule local governments.

Rep. Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis, said during the 2017 legislative session there’s been an “onslaught” of efforts by lawmakers to dictate to local governments what they can do.

“The individuals that were elected by those cities, by those communities, by those voters know what’s best at the local level," he said.

Aside from the discussion about local control, others, including Rep. Mike Stewart, D-Nashville, and Rep. Craig Fitzhugh, D-Ripley, said the matter should not be settled by lawmakers but in the court system.

Lamberth pushed back against many of the arguments he faced, saying his legislation was merely an effort to provide uniformity across the state while also working to curb any potential discrimination.

Lamberth has frequently argued that the local ordinances could let police officers to issue citations unfairly to certain people while letting others walk away.

"Lady justice is blind sir, and Nashville took that blind off and insisted that their officer choose on the side of the road what penalties should be meted out. That is a decision for a judge under our law and that ordinance set back criminal justice a hundred years," he said.

► RELATED: Nashville passes marijuana decriminalization measure

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Although most Republicans voted in favor of the legislation, a few, including Rep. Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby, openly criticized the measure. Faison, who has advocated for medical marijuana legislation, said because of inaction by federal and state lawmakers, local governments have been forced to make changes to marijuana laws.

"We have informed lawmakers that we are opposed to this piece of legislation and we are disappointed that the House voted to approve it today," said Sean Braisted, Nashville Mayor Megan Barry's press secretary. "We will continue to monitor its progress in the state Senate."

Metro councilman Dave Rosenberg, who sponsored Nashville’s marijuana ordinance, characterized the chamber's action as an overreach and disregard of local authority.

“The majority in the Tennessee House abandoned the principles of limited government and local control and ignored the will of the people of Nashville, instead yielding to the archaic Nixon-era hysteria of a small group of legislators who live outside of Nashville.”

Rosenberg said there’s likely little Metro can do to keep the city’s decriminalization ordinance in tact if the state bill is signed into law by Haslam.

“Honestly, I think this is within the state’s rights to stomp on our throats like this, and there’s not a lot we can do about it.”

The Senate delayed voting on its version of the bill until Monday.

Joey Garrison contributed to this report.

Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.