Timothy Floyd Burchett (born August 25, 1964) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for , based in Knoxville, serving since 2019. A Republican, Burchett was formerly mayor of Knox County, Tennessee. He served in the Tennessee General Assembly, first in the Tennessee House of Representatives, in which he represented Tennessee's 18th district. He later served in the Tennessee State Senate, representing the 7th district, part of Knox County. Early life and education Burchett is a native of Knoxville, where he was born in 1964 and attended West Hills Elementary School, Bearden Junior High School, and Bearden High School. After graduating from Bearden High School in 1981, he enrolled in the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where he earned a B.S. degree in education. He is a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. State legislature Burchett's first election to public office was in 1994, when he won a seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives. He served in the House for two two-year terms, from 1995 to 1998. In 1998, he won a four-year term in the Tennessee State Senate, representing the 7th district. He succeeded Clyde Coulter "Bud" Gilbert. He was reelected twice, serving a total of three four-year terms, from 1999 to 2010. In 2006, while a state senator, Burchett failed to report six political action committee checks totaling $3,300. The Registry of Election Finance did not fine him. In 2008, while still a state senator, he was fined $250 for failing to disclose three PAC contributions that totaled $1,500. Roadkill In 1999, Burchett received national media attention for sponsoring a bill to legalize the eating of roadkill, wild animals killed by vehicles, before notifying the county game warden. He defended the proposal as a "common-sense thing" intended to prevent edible meat from being wasted. Eating roadkill was already legal – as it is in most places – but required prior notification of the county game warden. Burchett's bill allowed processing and consumption of roadkill before notifying the warden. Burchett proposed the bill after being contacted by a constituent who had been penalized for giving a needy family the meat from a deer his vehicle had accidentally hit. Salvia divinorum Burchett sponsored a bill in 2006 to make illegal "possessing, producing, manufacturing, distributing, or possessing with intent to produce, manufacture, or distribute the active chemical ingredient in the hallucinogenic plant Salvia divinorum in the state of