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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If Tennessee requires school districts to start paying support-staff health insurance premiums, does that violate the state's no-unfunded-mandates rule?
No. The bill (HB 3193/SB 3125) would have required local education agencies to pay a minimum percentage of support staff health insurance premiums. The AG concluded that the bill satisfies the…
Can a Tennessee metro government performance-audit the state trial courts that sit in its county?
Partly. Nashville's Metro government can audit the physical space, the programs, and the personnel that Metro funds for the 20th Judicial District trial courts. It cannot audit purely state-funded…
Can Tennessee issue a 'Catholic Charities' specialty license plate and send the proceeds to Catholic Charities of East Tennessee?
No. The AG concluded that creating a Catholic Charities specialty earmarked license plate, with proceeds going exclusively to Catholic Charities of East Tennessee, would likely violate both the…
Can Tennessee pass a private act letting one county run a home health agency in three other counties?
The AG found no mandatory statewide law that the proposed Hancock County home care act would contradict. If such a conflict were found, the act would be upheld only if there were a rational basis…
Does the new federal hospice guidance let Tennessee residential hospices skip the registered-nurse-on-every-shift staffing rule?
No. The federal interpretive guideline that loosens RN staffing for some hospice care levels does not preempt or modify Tennessee's licensing rule, which still requires nursing care by or under the…
When can a Tennessee officer custodially arrest someone for a misdemeanor instead of issuing a citation?
An officer must cite and release for an in-presence misdemeanor unless one of eight statutory exceptions applies, and the officer's belief that an exception applies must be objectively reasonable. A…
After Citizens United, can Tennessee still ban corporations from spending money to support or oppose state candidates?
The Tennessee AG concluded that a court would likely hold Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-19-132 unconstitutional to the extent it barred corporations from making independent expenditures to elect or defeat…
Can a Tennessee deputy sheriff run for sheriff while still employed, and what restrictions apply?
A Hatch Act-covered deputy sheriff could not avoid the 2010 ban on partisan candidacy by going on unpaid leave. If the deputy was also subject to Tennessee's County Sheriff's Civil Service Law of…
Where does a Tennessee judicial district drug task force agent get police authority if hired directly by the task force?
From Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-7-110(a). The director of the task force, with the consent of the supervising district attorney general, can commission personnel hired directly by the task force, giving…
Can a Tennessee city require a special school district to get permits and follow zoning rules when building a school inside city limits?
The AG gave no universal answer. Whether a Tennessee city may charge building permit and plan review fees or apply planning and zoning rules to a special school district depends on the district's…
Who fills a vacant seat on a Tennessee local school board, and how long does the appointee serve?
The county legislative body fills the vacancy by appointment. The appointee serves until the next general election for which candidates have enough time to qualify, then the seat goes back on the…
When a Tennessee appraiser does an 'evaluation' for a federally regulated bank, is that evaluation also an 'appraisal' subject to USPAP standards?
No, as long as the evaluation stays within the strict confines of Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-39-104(d): the federal regulator does not require a state-licensed appraisal, the evaluation is used solely by…
Can the Tennessee legislature force the Supreme Court to discipline lawyers, or make breaking the lawyer ethics rules a crime?
Forcing the Supreme Court to discipline lawyers in particular ways violates the separation of powers, because the Tennessee Supreme Court has the constitutional authority to regulate the practice of…
Can a Tennessee corporation be criminally prosecuted for telling a sheriff or process server to stay off its property, and does 'person' in the obstructing-service statute include businesses?
The AG concluded that 'person' in Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-16-602(c) includes corporations and other legal entities. A corporation may be subject to criminal prosecution if, under the proper…
Can Tennessee nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and clinical nurse specialists get a certificate of fitness to prescribe medications, or only nurse practitioners?
Yes. Since 1980, Tennessee statutes have given the Board of Nursing authority to define which nurses qualify as 'nurse practitioners' for prescribing purposes, and the Board's rules have always…
Was Tennessee AG Opinion 10-021 withdrawn, and what does that mean for anyone relying on it?
Tennessee AG Opinion 10-021 was withdrawn on February 24, 2010, the same date that would have been its issue date. The Office published a one-page record stating only 'This opinion has been…
Can a Tennessee juvenile court judge release a delinquent child the court committed to the Department of Children's Services and placed in a youth development center?
The AG concluded yes. Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-139(b), as amended effective July 1, 2007, allowed a juvenile court to change, modify, or vacate an order committing a delinquent child to the Department…
Can a Tennessee county appropriate funds to a high school marching band, civic club, or community athletic team?
Yes, if the group qualifies as a nonprofit charitable or civic organization under Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-9-109(a)(2). Charitable orgs need only show no private benefit and a county-wide public benefit.…
Can a Tennessee general sessions judge expunge old dismissed or retired charges, and is there a deadline?
Yes for dismissed charges, with no time limit. A Tennessee general sessions or municipal court can expunge a defendant's records on a dismissed charge years after disposition. But charges that were…
Are Tennessee city red-light camera tickets enforceable, and do they violate the right to confrontation or the privilege against self-incrimination?
The AG concluded that Tennessee municipal red-light camera ordinances were not preempted because Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-198 expressly authorized owner liability for camera-detected violations.…
Who appoints the members of a Tennessee county's adult-oriented establishment board, and what happens if the wrong people were appointed?
Only the county mayor (not the county commission) can appoint members to a county adult-oriented establishment board, and the term is four years. If the commission appointed members, the district…
Can two adult-oriented businesses operate in the same Tennessee building if they have separate entrances, addresses, meters, and licenses?
No. Tenn. Code Ann. § 7-51-1104(b) prohibits more than one adult-oriented establishment in the same building, premises, structure, or facility, regardless of whether the businesses have separate…
Can Tennessee require traffic-camera vendors contracting with the state to agree in advance to incorporate any future statutory changes?
Yes, in principle. The General Assembly can require a vendor of traffic-camera goods or services contracting with the state or a local government to agree that any future amendments to Tenn. Code…
Was Tennessee AG Opinion 10-013 withdrawn, and what does that mean for anyone relying on it?
The official one-page PDF dated February 2, 2010, states only that Opinion 10-013 has been withdrawn. It gives no legal question, analysis, answer, or reason for the withdrawal.
Can Tennessee cities charge for building permits when the construction is on land used for agriculture?
Yes. The statute that limits city authority over agricultural land (Tenn. Code Ann. § 6-54-126) only prevents cities from interfering with the use of that land for agricultural purposes. It does not…
Can Tennessee constitutionally ban session-time fundraising by sitting legislators while leaving non-incumbent challengers free to raise money?
Yes. Tennessee's prohibition on legislative-session fundraising applies only to incumbents because federal courts struck the broader version, and the AG considers the incumbent-only version narrowly…
Is Tennessee's law banning fireworks sales in big counties constitutional, and would a local-option fireworks bill survive challenge?
Yes on both counts. The current ban on fireworks sales in counties with more than 200,000 people survives rational-basis review, just as the Tennessee Supreme Court held in 1984 for a Knox County…
Can a Tennessee state agency suddenly cancel its previously approved licensure courses and shorten the approval period retroactively?
The Commission had to follow its existing four-year approval rule while it remained in force. The AG said it could adopt a two-year period through proper rulemaking and apply that change…
Does a Tennessee deputy sheriff have to resign before running for the county commission, or can the deputy keep the badge while campaigning?
The AG concluded there was no blanket Tennessee rule requiring a deputy sheriff to resign before running for the county commission. Two conditional rules applied: the federal Hatch Act forced…
Can Tennessee's Board of Probation and Parole supervise people on pretrial diversion before any conviction?
No. The Board's statutory authority covers parolees and probationers, both of whom are people who have already been convicted of a crime. Pretrial diversion participants have not been convicted, so…
Can a Tennessee judge issuing an emergency order of protection order an abuser out of the home, and can violations be punished with contempt?
Yes to both questions for judges. A Tennessee judge or magistrate issuing an ex parte order of protection has the authority to order the respondent to immediately vacate the shared residence pending…
Can a Tennessee city spend hotel-motel tax revenue from a 1989 private act on any city department, and can it route the money to the parks and cemetery department as 'recreation' spending?
The AG concluded that Union City may distribute hotel-motel tax proceeds to any department as long as that department spends the money on Section 3 purposes (inducing manufacturing, industrial,…
When must a Tennessee tow truck driver get the written tow authorization, before hooking up or before pulling away?
A Tennessee tow truck driver does not violate Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-16-112(a) by hooking a vehicle to the truck before the written authorization is complete, as long as the driver does not pull or…
Are Tennessee cities and counties legally required to provide police, fire, or medical services?
No general Tennessee statute requires a city or county to run a police force, a fire department, or hospital and ambulance services. Each county must establish a health department to enforce state…
Can a Tennessee state legislator lease a building to a nonprofit that pays the rent with state grant funds?
Yes. A Tennessee state legislator can lease property to a nonprofit grant recipient that pays the rent with state grant money, as long as the legislator's only role is voting on the overall budget…
Can Tennessee police get a blood sample from a DUI suspect who refuses, after the 2009 implied consent amendment?
Only if the DUI suspect was in an accident causing injury or death, in which case Public Chapter 324 makes blood testing mandatory. In all other DUI stops, Tennessee's Implied Consent Statute still…
Can a Tennessee city or county mayor run for the state legislature when the local charter prohibits employees from running for elective office?
The AG concluded yes. Tenn. Code Ann. § 7-51-1501 overrides any contrary local charter, ordinance, or resolution and protects the right of every local-government employee to be a candidate for any…
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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.