State troopers stand guard outside the House chamber on the first day of the 2024 legislative session Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

The Republican-led Tennessee House Select Committee on Rules adopted new, stricter procedural regulations and rejected several others on Monday, a day before the state legislature’s first session of the new year.

Among the new rules suggested by Republicans include barring visual aids for lawmakers discussing legislation on the floor and a five-minute time limit while debating bills. Spectators in the crowd will also be limited in the size of signs they can bring into the Capitol to 8.5 by 11 inches.

The House Speaker, currently Rep. Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville), will also have the power to determine the order of speakers on the House floor, silence Representatives if he determines them being out of order and bar them from speaking on legislative matters for two days.

Democratic suggestions that were rejected by the Rules Committee included banning firearms from committee rooms, prohibiting legislators from voting on bills they have a financial interest in and limiting the powers of the House Speaker.

A full vote on the House floor is needed to implement the new rules, where Republicans hold a 75-24 supermajority.

Under a new rule implemented by Sexton himself, half of the viewing gallery in the House chamber will be closed off and reserved for lobbyists and designated VIPs while the other half is open to members of the public who obtain a ticket. Under the House rules, the Speaker has the authority to set guidelines for decorum, which Democrats heavily questioned on Tuesday.

The new rules come after a tumultuous legislative session in 2023, where hundreds of protesters routinely descended on the capital to advocate for gun control legislation. The protests were a result of the mass shooting on March 27, 2023 at the Covenant School in Nashville. Gov. Bill Lee (R) called a special session in August to address the issue; however, it convened without passing any meaningful gun reform bills.