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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Does someone who cannot afford a lawyer have a right to a court-appointed attorney at a Tennessee probation revocation hearing?
Yes. The AG concluded that an indigent defendant facing probation revocation in Tennessee had a right to appointed counsel under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-311(b) and Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 13,…
Can two Tennessee city-owned electric systems team up under the Interlocal Cooperation Act to jointly provide cable, video, or internet service across their combined service areas?
Yes, within their existing service areas. The AG concluded that municipal electric boards could contract with each other under the Interlocal Cooperation Act to jointly exercise their authority to…
Would a Tennessee law requiring the governor to designate a 'Tennessee's Day of Prayer' violate the First Amendment's Establishment Clause?
No. The AG concluded that the proposed Tennessee's Day of Prayer legislation could not be successfully challenged under the Establishment Clause. The law imposed no obligation on citizens,…
Can a Tennessee county apply its courthouse-security litigation tax to some types of cases (or courts) and not others?
No. The AG concluded the privilege tax authorized by Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-4-601(b)(6) had to be levied on all civil and criminal cases in all courts within the county. The word 'all' in the statute…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
In Tennessee, does an employer have to pay an employee for the time spent driving to and from jury duty?
Yes. Subject to the statute's limited exceptions, Tenn. Code Ann. § 22-4-106(b) requires an employer to pay an employee usual compensation for time actually spent serving on a jury and traveling to…
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…
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…
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. For qualifying purchases, Tenn. Code Ann. § 38-1-202(a) requires jewelry and precious metals to remain at 'the place in which such business is conducted' during the 30-day holding period,…
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…
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…
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…
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. §…
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;…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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?
Yes. Assuming Greenback Public School has operated a high school continuously since opening in 1921, the 1961 grandfather clause excludes it from the 300-pupil minimum in Tenn. Code Ann. §…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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. §…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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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.