Tennessee Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Tennessee, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Can the Tennessee legislature pass a law that changes annexation rules for just one county or one piece of land?
Probably not. The AG concluded that both SB 3703 (moving a specific Shelby County tract out of Memphis's reserve area) and SB 3702 (changing annexation and deannexation rules only for counties with mo…
Can a Tennessee utility district charge a 'growth and development fee' or 'impact fee' on new construction, and what makes such a charge a legal fee instead of an illegal tax?
Yes, within limits. The AG concluded that utility districts under the 1937 Utility District Law could charge fees on new development if the proceeds were used only to provide and expand service to fee…
What law enforcement powers do officers of a Tennessee judicial district drug task force have, and is it constitutional to fund a task force entirely from asset forfeitures?
The AG concluded that an officer assigned to a drug task force by a constituent agency could exercise the full powers of that agency throughout the judicial district. An officer hired directly by the …
Can a member of a Tennessee economic development board personally benefit, including by selling land, from a deal involving a company the board helped recruit to the county?
Sometimes. The AG concluded a Joint Economic and Community Development Board member could not be a direct party to any contract the member had a duty to vote on, let out, or supervise. A private land …
Did the 1992 Education Improvement Act override an older private act that gave the Maury County Quarterly Court the power to elect school board members?
Yes. The AG concluded that Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-201(a)(1), enacted as part of the 1992 EIA, required Maury County school board members to be popularly elected, overriding the 1973 private act provis…
Can Tennessee constitutionally divert state sales tax revenue to a municipality near a state border to help finance a large retail or tourism development?
Yes. The AG concluded that the 2011 Border Region Retail Tourism Development District Act served a public purpose, so diverting state sales tax to municipalities for these projects did not violate Art…
Can Tennessee legally stop funeral homes from discounting prepaid funeral contracts, or does that violate antitrust or commerce laws?
No. Tennessee's prohibition on discounting prearranged funeral contracts under Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-5-409(c) is a valid exercise of state authority. It is exempt from the Sherman Antitrust Act under t…
Can Tennessee charge a backyard egg seller a license fee under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act if they are exempt from the Egg Law?
No. A buyer, seller, or processor of eggs who is exempt from licensure under Tenn. Code Ann. § 53-2-107(2) of the Tennessee Egg Law cannot be required to obtain a license under the Tennessee Food, Dru…
Can a Tennessee cow-share owner make and use butter from the cow's milk, and can the state charge a license fee for selling backyard-flock eggs?
Two answers. (1) An 'independent or partial owner' of a hoofed mammal under Tenn. Code Ann. § 53-3-119 can use a dairy product made from the animal's milk for personal consumption or other personal us…
How do Tennessee's milk-pricing rules treat brand matching, volume rebates, and store loyalty cards when figuring out whether a retailer is selling below cost?
Four answers. (1) A retailer claiming the good-faith 'meet competition' exemption under Tenn. Code Ann. § 53-3-204(7) does not need to match the competitor's brand; matching by product type (whole mil…
Does Tennessee's 2,000-foot beer-permit buffer around 'places of public gathering' apply to a small cemetery that sells no plots and almost no one visits?
It depends on the facts. Whether a particular cemetery is a 'place of public gathering' under Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-5-105(b)(1) is a question of fact, decided case by case. Some cemeteries (active, pub…
Can a Tennessee state agency use a worker's disciplinary record to deny the across-the-board 1.6% raise from the 2011 budget?
Yes. The 2011 Appropriations Act gave the executive branch wide discretion to administer state salary increases. Section 49 of the Act provides a 1.6% across-the-board raise except for employees denie…
After Tennessee's 2011 campaign finance amendment, do LLCs have to register as political campaign committees and follow corporation rules?
No. The 2011 amendment adding 'corporation' to the political campaign committee definition in Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-10-102(12)(C) does not pull LLCs in, because Tennessee law treats LLCs as distinct fro…
Who can issue 'competent orders' for the Tennessee State Guard so members can take military leave from their day jobs?
For a Tennessee State Guard member to be entitled to unpaid leave from a public or private employer under Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-33-110, the member must be performing duty or training under orders issued…
Can the Tennessee Department of Finance or another state agency override pay raises the State Board of Education approves for its own staff?
Yes. Even though the State Board of Education has authority to fix the compensation of its Executive Director and (with the Executive Director's recommendation) its other employees under Tenn. Code An…
Can Tennessee require older drivers to retake the driving test, and can doctors tip off the state when a senior's health makes them unsafe behind the wheel?
Yes to age-based retesting, modified examinations for seniors, accident-triggered retesting, and family-member-triggered retesting, as long as each rule bears a rational relation to a legitimate state…
Does a creditor have to prove fraud to reach assets a Tennessee debtor put into an investment services trust?
Yes. Under Tennessee's Investment Services Act of 2007 (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 35-16-101 to 112), a creditor must work through the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act to reach assets in an investment services…
When a Tennessee court strikes down an administrative rule amendment, what does the Secretary of State publish as the official version of the rule?
The Secretary of State should reinstate and publish the previously existing rule. When a court invalidates a rule amendment, the amendment is treated as if it never took effect, so the older version o…
Do members of a Tennessee county growth-plan coordinating committee have to live in the county, and can any official reject who gets seated?
City and county mayors and members of the county legislative body serving on a coordinating committee must live in the city or county to keep their underlying public office. Other coordinating committ…
Who pays for a court-ordered mental health evaluation of a misdemeanor defendant in Tennessee, the county or the city?
The county. Under 2009 Tenn. Pub. Acts, ch. 531 (codified at Tenn. Code Ann. § 33-7-304), the cost of mental health evaluation and treatment for misdemeanor defendants is a charge against county funds…
Who owns the bed of a Tennessee river, and how is that decided when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers calls a river navigable?
Under Tennessee law, the bed of a navigable river belongs to the State up to the low-water mark; the bed of a non-navigable river can be privately owned. Whether a particular waterway is legally navig…
In Tennessee, can a county medical examiner who also serves as county coroner run for or hold a seat on the county commission?
No. When the county legislative body has vested the duties of the county coroner in the county medical examiner under Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-9-101, the position is treated as 'filled by vote of the count…
Can a Tennessee county commission tap a school district's leftover fund balance to set the school budget without the school board's sign-off?
No, with one exception. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-3-352(c), the local legislative body cannot use a school district's accumulated fund balance (above the 3% reserve) for the school budget unless the …
In Tennessee, does an employer have to pay an employee for the time spent driving to and from jury duty?
Yes. Tenn. Code Ann. § 22-4-106(b) requires an employer to pay an employee his or her usual compensation for time actually spent serving on a jury and traveling to and from the courthouse. If an emplo…
Does Tennessee's distribution-center nexus statute force out-of-state online retailers to collect sales tax even when a subsidiary owns the warehouse?
Yes and no, depending on who owns the in-state distribution center. If an out-of-state retailer directly maintains or owns a Tennessee warehouse, it has physical presence in Tennessee and nexus for Co…
Does the Tennessee State Board of Accountancy alone set its staff's compensation, or does some other state official have to sign off?
The Tennessee State Board of Accountancy has the authority to establish compensation for its Executive Director and other professional staff under Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-1-105(c)(1). That includes the a…
Can a pop-up gold and jewelry buyer in Tennessee move purchased items to a separate storage facility during the 30-day holding period?
No. The plain language of Tenn. Code Ann. § 38-1-202(a) requires those who make qualifying purchases of jewelry and precious metals to hold them, for the required 30-day holding period, at 'the place …
If sales tax revenue falls short of estimates, does a Tennessee county still have to fully fund its schools at the budgeted level?
Yes. A Tennessee county operating under the County Budgeting Law of 1957 must fully fund its school system as budgeted, at least to the level of estimated maintenance of effort, from non-sales-tax rev…
Does Tennessee's sales tax violate the U.S. Constitution's bans on state taxes on imports and exports?
No. The Tennessee Retailers' Sales Tax Act, Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 67-6-101 et seq., imposes a privilege tax on the retail sale and use of tangible personal property in Tennessee. It is not a tax on impor…
What happens if a Tennessee city fails to appoint a successor utilities commissioner when the term expires?
The office is not vacant. Under Article VII, Section 5 of the Tennessee Constitution, 'every officer shall hold his office until his successor is elected or appointed, and qualified.' An incumbent uti…
Does Tennessee's 2011 low-income housing tax credit allocation plan satisfy federal requirements to favor projects in poor census tracts?
No. The Tennessee Housing Development Agency's 2011 Qualified Allocation Plan does not conflict with the federal LIHTC preference for projects in qualified census tracts (QCTs) under 26 U.S.C. § 42(m)…
What happens to a Tennessee sheriff who took office without POST certification and never completed the required training, and who got reelected anyway?
Before Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-102 was rewritten by 2011 Public Chapter 370, a sheriff who took office without POST certification had to complete basic recruit training at TLETA during the first term; f…
Can the Tennessee Corrections Institute adopt new minimum jail standards without going through formal rulemaking?
Yes and no. The TCI board of control has statutory authority to replace its existing minimum jail standards with the American Correctional Association's Core Jail Standards, but it must adopt the 2008…
Can Tennessee counties use drug-forfeiture money to pay for destroying seized illegal drugs?
Yes. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-420(a)(1)(A), proceeds from the sale of property forfeited under Tenn. Code Ann. § 53-11-451 must be deposited in a special revenue fund of the jurisdiction that ini…
Can Tennessee's 2011 law restricting red-light cameras be challenged for breaking cities' existing contracts with camera vendors?
Yes, 2011 Public Chapter 425, which restricted the use of unmanned traffic enforcement cameras, is defensible against a Contracts Clause challenge. Compelling arguments support the position that the a…
Can an attorney in the Tennessee General Assembly's Office of Legal Services be forced to reveal which legislator asked for particular language in a bill?
No. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 3-12-106(a), the director and legal staff of the Office of Legal Services must maintain the attorney-client relationship with each member of the General Assembly with respe…
Can a small Tennessee K-12 school that opened before 1961 build a new high school building even though it has fewer than 300 high school students?
No. Greenback Public School opened in 1921 and has maintained a high school continuously since then. The 300-pupil minimum daily attendance requirement in Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-6-403(b)(2)(A) was enact…
Can a Tennessee state legislator also serve as a paid mediator or arbitrator under the state's Rule 31 ADR program?
Yes. Serving as a Rule 31 dispute resolution neutral (including as a mediator) is not holding a 'lucrative State office' under Article II, § 26 of the Tennessee Constitution, so a member of the Genera…
Does a Tennessee county have to charge the same archives and records management fee for every type of filed record?
No. Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-408(b) authorizes a county legislative body to charge an archives and records management fee on filed public records, but the only constraint it imposes is that the fee not …
How can a Tennessee county capture sales tax from a state park it develops, and what does the county owe if the project loses money?
Campbell County may receive an allocation of state and local sales and use tax revenues equal to the taxes generated within the leased state park property under Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-6-103(h)(1), but o…
Can a pharmacy's contract with an insurance company override Tennessee sales tax collection rules?
No on both counts. Tennessee retailers, including pharmacists, are statutorily required to collect sales tax from purchasers of taxable tangible personal property at the point of sale. Neither the Sta…
Does Tennessee's 2011 law guaranteeing secret-ballot union elections conflict with federal labor law?
No. 2011 Tennessee Public Chapter 502, which gives employees and employers the right to designate an exclusive bargaining representative by secret ballot when an election is held, does not conflict wi…
Can a Tennessee county water and wastewater authority extend service into Georgia or into other Tennessee counties outside its original service area?
Yes. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 68-221-607(a)(2), a water and wastewater treatment authority created under Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 68-221-601 et seq. is authorized to plan, operate, and own treatment works wi…
When does an out-of-state online retailer have to collect Tennessee sales tax because it uses an in-state warehouse or distribution center?
Yes, an out-of-state seller can be required to collect Tennessee sales tax when its goods are stored or shipped from an in-state distribution center, even when the center is owned by a separate affili…
Is eyelash tinting legal in Tennessee, and which state board regulates it?
Eyelash tinting is not prohibited by any Tennessee law the AG could find, and it falls under the Tennessee Board of Cosmetology because dyeing eyelashes is, by ordinary dictionary definition, the colo…
If a Tennessee county commissioner also works for the county, can they vote on issues that affect their department?
It depends on when the county hired the commissioner. If county employment predates the commissioner's initial election, the commissioner may vote on matters concerning the department but must read th…
Can Tennessee let only some counties tax liquor barrels, like a private-act tax aimed at Moore County?
Yes. Tennessee can constitutionally let only some counties tax liquor barrels. A general law limited to counties that approved the manufacture of intoxicating liquor before 1950 has a rational basis (…
Can a Tennessee liquor wholesaler be owned by a parent company instead of by individual people?
No. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-3-203(f), a Tennessee wholesale liquor license can be issued only to a corporation whose stock is owned by qualifying individuals (human beings) who meet residency and c…
Does the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy have veto power over hiring its own executive director?
No. The Division of Health Related Boards may hire the Board of Pharmacy's executive director after considering the Board's recommendation; the Board's explicit consent is not required. The specific P…
What commission can a Tennessee county trustee take on local option sales tax money the state sends them?
One percent. Local option sales taxes collected by the Tennessee Department of Revenue and remitted to a county trustee count as 'money turned over to the trustee by clerks of the courts and other col…
Are sheriff's offices, police, and fire departments exempt from Tennessee's x-ray machine registration fee?
Yes. The AG concluded that 'public safety agencies' in Tenn. Code Ann. § 68-202-503(d) carries its plain meaning and covers law enforcement, firefighters, first responders, and other entities whose pu…
Can Tennessee make homeschooled kids take the TCAP and other state tests?
Yes, with one limit. Tennessee can require homeschooled students to participate in TCAP, Gateway, End of Course, and similar state assessments. Federal law (No Child Left Behind, 20 U.S.C. § 7886(b)) …
How long does Tennessee's medical board have to bring a disciplinary case against a doctor?
There is no statute of limitations on disciplinary actions against a physician's license in Tennessee. The one timing rule is in Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-5-320(c): if the Board has summarily suspended a li…
Was Tennessee's 2011 'Lawful Immigration Enforcement Act' constitutional?
The AG flagged three serious constitutional problems with the proposed Lawful Immigration Enforcement Act. Sections that let private voters sue to compel state and local officials, including the Gover…
Does the original Tennessee Executive Residence Preservation Foundation still have any official role over the Governor's mansion?
The original Tennessee Executive Residence Preservation Foundation, a 1971 nonprofit, lost its statutory duties over the Governor's mansion in 1999, when the General Assembly transferred them to a suc…
If a payday lender takes an electronic debit instead of a paper check, do Tennessee's payday-loan rules still apply?
No. The AG concluded that 'check' under Tennessee's Deferred Presentment Services Act (the state's payday-loan statute) means a conventional paper check signed by the maker. Electronic fund transfers …
If a city owns a museum but runs it through a partnership with a nonprofit, does the state's blind-vendor preference still apply to the gift-shop snack bar?
Yes. The AG concluded that the Blind Vendors Program reaches any vending facility on city- or county-owned property, even if the property is run jointly with a nonprofit. The city or county also canno…
Can Shelby County, a Tennessee charter county, shorten one term of the county Assessor from four years to two years through a charter referendum so that the Assessor election cycle aligns with other county offices?
The AG concluded yes. The four-year-term requirement in Tenn. Const. art. VII, § 1, paragraph 1 does not apply to charter counties created under paragraph 3 of the same section, per *Jordan v. Knox Co…
Can a Tennessee county commission, on its own authority, close several public schools and consolidate them into one to free up the savings for debt service payments?
The AG concluded no. Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-203 assigns the power to manage, control, close, and consolidate public schools to the local board of education, not the county commission. A decision to cl…
Would the 2011 Equal Access to Intrastate Commerce Act, which prohibits Tennessee cities and counties from adding antidiscrimination protections beyond what state law recognizes, conflict with the contract authority of municipalities under Tenn. Code Ann. § 6-2-201, and would its retroactive nullification of existing local ordinances violate the federal or state contract clauses?
The AG concluded no on both fronts. The Bill does not conflict with the general municipal contracting authority in § 6-2-201, and even if it did, a later-enacted specific statute controls over an earl…
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Attorney general opinions in Tennessee are written by the Tennessee Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.