State Democrats’ “Homes Not Hedge Funds Act" passed during the Senate’s March 9 floor session, but failed during Wednesday’s House Cities and Counties Subcommittee, deepening an apparent internal party divide.
The bill, sponsored in the House by Rep. Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville), aimed to prohibit businesses and investors from buying up large quantities of single-family homes — an issue that has occurred across the nation.
Rep. Vincent Dixie (D-Nashville) introduced a motion to hear the bill, but it never received a second motion to be considered by the subcommittee — which has only one other Democrat, Rep. Bo Mitchell (D-Nashville).
Both Dixie and Mitchell ran against Behn for the Democratic nomination in last year’s 7th Congressional District special election. Behn earned the party nomination before losing to Republican Matt Van Epps.
At least five state representatives will vie for U.S. congressional seat left open by Mark Green
Some commenters voiced their disdain for the move on Mitchell’s social media accounts. When asked by the Scene about his lack of a second, Mitchell called it a “bad bill,” which he says is “almost word-for-word from a Donald J. Trump executive order.”
Mitchell was referencing a Jan. 20, 2025, executive order meant to curb the buying power of "institutional investors” — something that’s also been a concern among some Democrats and Republicans in U.S. Congress.
“People in my area, a lot of my constituents, are homeowners, and it's about property rights,” Mitchell said. “They want to be able to sell their home for the best price that they can get. You know, people older in years, they've got kids trying to go to college. They want to pay for college for their kids. They may have health care costs they need to pay. So somebody limiting what they can sell their property for is not the American way in this state. Bottom line, it was a Donald Trump executive order, and I'm not in the habit of voting for Donald Trump.”
Mitchell denied that his opposition to the bill is related to any animosity held over from the special election.
Behn doesn’t buy it. Her message to Mitchell: “Grow up.”
“I needed a second motion to roll the bill to the heel [of the calendar] because we needed more time on it to gain consensus,” Behn tells the Scene. “I don't understand why he would be against a bipartisan bill to ensure that massive, billion-dollar corporations aren't buying single-family homes in Davidson County, of which we have an epidemic. I mean, they own over 40 percent of the market. It’s a really sad day when personal politics plays a role in legislation that could improve people's lives.”
“If it was so bipartisan, why didn’t one of the Republicans give it a second [in the House]?” Mitchell says, arguing that the legislation wasn't actually bipartisan. The Senate version of the bill — sponsored by Sen. Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville) — passed on the Senate floor 31-1 and had several Republican co-sponsors.
In her Instagram stories Thursday, Oliver posted a photo taken outside Mitchell's office including the text: "Has anyone seen @votebo? Tell him I'm looking to speak with him."
