| Gino Bulso | |
| State House: | Tennessee |
| State: | Tennessee |
| District: | 61st |
| Term Start: | January 10, 2023 |
| Preceded: | Brandon Ogles |
| Birth Date: | 25 December 1961 |
| Birth Place: | Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
| Party: | Republican |
| Education: | Cornell College, BPh (1983) Emory University School of Law, JD (1986) |
| Children: | 5 |
Gino Bulso (born December25, 1961) is an American politician, attorney, and state legislator in the state of Tennessee. A member of the Republican party, he represents the state's 61st district in the Tennessee House of Representatives.[1] Bulso has been a trial lawyer for 38 years, has tried more than 150 cases in Tennessee, and in state and federal courts across the country. He is the founder and managing partner of Bulso, PLC in Brentwood, Tennessee.[2]
Gino Bulso was born in Tampa, Florida on December 25, 1961, to Eugene and Virginia Bulso. He grew up in Tampa and attended Tampa Bay Technical Vocational High School (Tampa Bay Tech) and studied sheet metal. He graduated from Tampa Bay Tech in 1979. Cornell College (IA) recruited Bulso out of high school to play tennis. He studied history and philosophy at Cornell, in addition to holding down the No. 1 singles position on the men's tennis team for several years. In May 1983, he became the first member of his family to receive a college degree, earning a Bachelor of Philosophy degree in History. Bulso attended Emory University School of Law upon completing his undergraduate degree. He received a Juris Doctor degree in May 1986.[3]
Bulso and Kathy (nee Bain) Bulso were married in 1986, immediately following his graduation from Emory Law School. They have five children. The family moved to Brentwood, Tennessee in 1995, and have lived there ever since.[4]
Bulso has been a trial lawyer in Tennessee from 1986 to the present. He has tried over 150 cases recovering multi-million-dollar awards in both personal-injury and commercial actions. As a trial lawyer, he recovered a $146.5 million judgement in Nissan North America v. West Covina Nissan and also successfully defended all claims against all defendants in U.S. Securities Exchange Commission v. CapWealth Advisors.[5] Bulso has been continuously listed in The Best Lawyers in America for commercial litigation since 2008. He was named that list's Nashville Real-Estate Litigation “Lawyer of the Year” for 2014, 2020, and 2022. He has been recognized, both by the Nashville Business Journal's “Best of the Bar” for business litigation and as a Mid-South Super Lawyer, since 2007.[6]
Bulso was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives on November 8, 2022, and sworn in as a member of Tennessee's 113th General Assembly on January 10, 2023. Bulso is a member of the Civil Justice Committee, the Civil Justice Subcommittee, the Education Administration Committee, the Education K-12 Subcommittee, the Government Operations Committee, and the Joint Judiciary and Government Committee.[7] During 2023 Bulso sponsored several pieces of legislation that were enacted into law, including Pub Ch. 134[8] (which authorizes the Speaker of the House and the Speaker of the Senate to retain counsel to vindicate Tennessee's rights under the 10th Amendment in federal court), Pub Ch. 285[9] (which protects girls’ athletics in Tennessee by requiring that students participate in TSSAA-sanctioned athletic events in accordance with their biological sex), and Pub Ch. 486[10] (which clarifies that Tennessee only recognizes only two sexes: male and female).
Bulso also co-sponsored HR65, the resolution to expel Rep. Justin Jones for disorderly behavior in violation of Art. II, Section 12 of the Tennessee Constitution. The resolution passed with a vote of 72–25.[11] Bulso also sponsored the resolution (HR64) to expel Rep. Gloria Johnson for disorderly behavior. That resolution, with a vote of 65-30, fell one vote short of the necessary 2/3 majority required to expel Rep. Johnson.[12]
In 2024, Bulso sponsored HB1828, which sought to designate—among others--as official Tennessee state books “George Washington's Farewell Address to the American People” (1796), Alexis de Tocqueville's “Democracy in America,” (1835 and 1840), and the “Aitken Bible” (also known as the Bible of the American Revolution), “Journals of Congress” (1782). The bill passed with bi-partisan support 73-18 on February 22, 2024.[13]
In April 2024, Bulso was one of the two Representatives who opposed a bill to ban first-cousin marriages.
In 2018, Bulso finished second in a Republican primary field of six candidates to replace retired state representative Charles Sargeant in District 61. In 2022, Bulso defeated Bob Ravener in the Republican primary 61.5% (5,162) to 38.5% (3,238) and went on to win the general election in November by a margin of 65.9% (16,7330) to 34.1% (8,644).[14]
Bulso is a competitive tennis player and during 2017 was ranked by the USTA as the No. 1 player in the State of Tennessee for the Men's 55's singles division.[15]