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.
No Tennessee opinions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
If the Tennessee legislature names a stretch of state highway as a memorial highway, can a city or county pass an ordinance removing the memorial signs?
No. The General Assembly has plenary authority over state highways under Marshall v. State and BellSouth, and § 3-2-112 expressly authorizes the legislature to name or rename roads, highways, bridges,…
Did Tennessee's 2022 amendment about insurance producers free local governments from competitive bidding when they buy insurance?
No. The 2022 amendment (Public Chapter 719) added 'services from an insurance producer' to the list of professional services that local governments can procure without competitive bidding. But insuran…
If a candidate loses a primary for one division of a Tennessee circuit court, can they still appear on the general election ballot for a different division of the same circuit court?
It depends on which party label they want. They cannot appear on the general election ballot as an independent or as a different party's nominee for the other division (Tennessee's sore-loser law, Ten…
Can a Tennessee community oversight board take political stances on legislation or audit a police department's finances?
No to both. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 38-8-312, a community oversight board's authority is limited to reviewing matters reported to it and issuing advisory reports and recommendations. Taking formal sta…
Are cotton gins, grain elevators, slaughterhouses, processing plants, and milk bottling plants automatically exempt from Tennessee county zoning rules because they handle agricultural products?
No. The county-zoning agricultural exemption in Tenn. Code Ann. § 13-7-114 does not give those operations a blanket exemption. The structure must be located on land devoted to agricultural use AND be …
Does the American Red Cross have to file disaster-relief financial reports with Tennessee, or is its federal status enough to exempt it?
No, the Red Cross does not have to file the quarterly disaster-relief reports required by Tenn. Code Ann. § 48-101-521. Because the Red Cross is a federal instrumentality already required to file deta…
Can Tennessee pass a law banning political parties from charging candidates a fee to run under the party's banner?
Yes, in the AG's view. The proposed Senate Bill 1937 amendment to § 2-13-104, which would prohibit political parties from requiring fees to run as a candidate, is within the General Assembly's authori…
If I'm a witness or attorney participating remotely in a Tennessee court hearing from my home or office, can I still carry a handgun there?
Yes. The AG concluded that Tennessee's prohibition on weapons 'inside any building in which judicial proceedings are in progress' applies only to courthouses and similar buildings where a judge custom…
Does the federal government or Tennessee decide how Tennessee elections are run, and how does ADA accommodation for disabled voters fit in?
Tennessee runs its own elections under the Tennessee Election Code, but Congress can override state rules for federal elections, and federal anti-discrimination laws like the ADA can preempt state pro…
Can Tennessee teachers, students, and visitors keep a handgun locked in their car while parked at a Tennessee school?
Yes, under Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1313, if you can lawfully carry the handgun in Tennessee (with or without a permit) and you keep it concealed and locked in the vehicle, you can store it in a school…
When can someone with a Tennessee handgun carry permit legally bring a gun into a courthouse?
If a judicial proceeding is happening anywhere in the building, the answer is almost never. Tennessee bars all firearms in buildings where judicial proceedings are in progress, regardless of permit st…
Before disciplining a Tennessee physician for prescribing ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine off-label for COVID-19, must the Board of Medical Examiners first promulgate a rule?
Yes. Generally the Board of Medical Examiners can discipline physicians without first adopting a rule, because Tenn. Code Ann. § 63-6-214(b) lists grounds in non-exhaustive terms. But Tenn. Code Ann. …
Can private employers in Tennessee require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19?
Yes, with federal-law caveats. Tennessee law does not prohibit private employers from making COVID-19 vaccination a condition of employment. Public Chapter 513 (codified at §§ 68-5-116 and 68-5-117) b…
Does a Tennessee school board member who moves out of their district lose the seat?
Yes. Tennessee school board members must be residents of both the county and the specific district from which they were elected. If a member moves outside the district, even while staying in the count…
Can Tennessee state and local governments stop their employees from storing handguns in their cars at work?
No. § 39-17-1313 (Tennessee's 'parking-lot storage' law) gives any person authorized to carry a handgun the right to transport and store that handgun, with no live ammunition in the chamber, in a priv…
Can a Tennessee grocery store with a wine license also hold a license to deliver alcohol?
Yes, with several layers. (1) A retail food store wine licensee under § 57-3-803 is not statutorily prohibited from also holding a delivery service license under § 57-3-224. (2) That same single entit…
Can a Tennessee municipal airport authority ban a tenant from selling fuel to other aircraft on its airport?
Generally yes, but with important caveats. A Tennessee municipal airport authority operating a federally obligated airport has statutory authority under Tenn. Code Ann. § 42-3-108(a) and the powers gr…
Must a Tennessee general sessions court clerk report every judicial waiver of litigation tax to the Department of Revenue?
Yes. § 67-4-605(c) requires every Tennessee court clerk, including general sessions court clerks, to report a judge's suspension, waiver, or release of any privilege tax on litigation to the Departmen…
Does a Tennessee police chief or sheriff have to attach evidence when certifying to a court that a confiscated weapon is inoperable or unsafe?
No. The AG concluded that the official's signed attestation, by itself, satisfies the certification requirement of Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1317(i). The plain meaning of 'certify,' the absence of statu…
After Tennessee's 2021 Public Chapter 550, who can issue county-wide health mandates: the county mayor or the county health officer?
The county health officer has the power, not the county mayor. Tennessee's 2021 Public Chapter 550 transferred rulemaking authority from county boards of health to county health officers and reduced c…
In a Tennessee criminal trial without a separate sentencing phase, can the trial judge keep alternate jurors on hand to step in if a regular juror has to leave during deliberations?
No. Under Tenn. R. Crim. P. 24(f)(2), alternate jurors must be discharged when the jury retires to deliberate in a non-bifurcated trial. Tennessee trial courts have no inherent authority to import the…
Could the Tennessee State Capitol Commission file a Heritage Protection Act waiver to relocate the Forrest, Farragut, and Gleaves busts from the state capitol, and did it need the State Building Commission's concurrence to do so?
Yes on the petitioner question. The State Capitol Commission qualified as a 'public entity exercising control of a memorial' under the Heritage Protection Act because it had statutory authority to set…
Can a Tennessee municipal energy authority created under Tenn. Code Ann. § 7-36-101 et seq. provide natural gas or propane distribution outside its electric service area?
No. An energy authority created under the Municipal Energy Authority Act (Tenn. Code Ann. § 7-36-101 et seq.) has no statutory authority to provide natural gas or propane distribution at all. The Act …
Can a Tennessee municipal energy authority offer broadband, water, or wastewater service outside its electric service area?
It depends on the service. Telecommunications service (telephone, cable, broadband Internet) was confined to the energy authority's electric service area. Water and wastewater could be extended outsid…
What was Tennessee AG Opinion 21-05 about?
There is no substantive opinion. The Tennessee AG's office assigned the number 21-05 to a 'Militias' opinion request in May 2021, but the office subsequently withdrew it. The PDF the AG posts at this …
In a Tennessee county that uses the County Financial Management System of 1981, can the finance director count as a 'full-time purchasing agent' so the county can raise the competitive-bid threshold to $25,000?
No. The AG concluded that the director of a county finance department appointed under the County Financial Management System of 1981 was not a 'full-time purchasing agent' under Tenn. Code Ann. § 12-3…
Can a Tennessee city or county re-authorize the $5 electronic traffic citation fee after its first five-year authorization expires?
No. The $5 electronic traffic citation fee under Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-207(e)(4) had a built-in five-year sunset, and the AG concluded that local governments could not re-authorize the fee after tha…
When the chancellor who serves both Tennessee's Fourth and Fifth Judicial Districts retires, does the next chancellor still serve both districts, or does each district get its own?
One chancellor still serves both districts. Tenn. Code Ann. § 16-2-506(4)(A) does not tie the shared-chancellor arrangement to a specific person. Read in context, terms like 'incumbent chancellor' or …
Does TRICOR's authority to contract with Tennessee counties and cities for inmate 'work training programs' include traditional work release?
Yes. The AG concluded that the phrase 'work training programs' in Tenn. Code Ann. § 41-22-415 was broad enough to include traditional work release programs for inmates in county and city jails. Work r…
Can a Tennessee real estate broker have a title company disburse the commission instead of doing it personally?
Yes. The Tennessee Real Estate Broker License Act required commissions to originate with the principal broker, but it did not require the principal broker to physically write the check. The principal …
Can the Tennessee General Assembly pass a law to protect low-income and disabled seniors from losing their homes to property-tax debts or housing evictions?
Yes. Tennessee's General Assembly has plenary legislative authority to protect senior access to housing and provide property-tax relief, subject to U.S. and Tennessee constitutional limits. Article II…
Can Tennessee restore a felon's voting rights conditionally, and revoke them again if the felon falls behind on a payment plan for restitution, court costs, and child support?
Likely yes under Sixth Circuit precedent. Tennessee could require a felon seeking re-enfranchisement to enter a payment plan for restitution, court costs, and child support, and could revoke restored …
Can a Tennessee county school board move its administrative offices to a federally controlled building like the TVA East Tower without violating the statutes that put 'public schools' and 'school property' in the board's custody?
Yes, with conditions. The Knox County Board of Education's duty under Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-2-203(a)(2) to 'manage and control all public schools' did not extend to its administrative offices, because …
Who has to approve a change to the data sources used in Tennessee's TACIR fiscal-capacity model that drives the BEP school-funding formula?
Changes to the TACIR fiscal-capacity model's data sources had to be adopted by the State Board of Education and approved by the Commissioners of Education and Finance and Administration. The legislatu…
Can the Tennessee House of Representatives expel a member for conduct that happened more than two decades before he took office and that voters knew about when they re-elected him?
It can, but the AG counseled that historical practice, sound policy, and constitutional limits all weigh against doing so. The expulsion power should be used only in extreme circumstances and with gre…
After Tennessee's 2019 firearm-definition change, can convicted felons possess antique firearms like black-powder guns?
As a matter of Tennessee law, yes. Public Chapter 279, effective May 2, 2019, removed antique firearms from the statutory definition of 'firearm,' so the state-law possession bans no longer reach them…
Does the 2019 Tennessee law that lets only Madison County voters recall school board members, by using a population bracket of 98,200 to 98,300, raise constitutional concerns?
Yes. Without a rational basis tied to population for the Madison-County-only bracket, the law raises serious questions under Tennessee's equal-protection clause and its prohibitions on class legislati…
What counts as a 'note' under Tennessee's Collection Services Act exemption, and does the Collection Services Board have to investigate whether the underlying debt is a note?
'Notes' in the exemption means written promissory notes only, not ordinary credit accounts dressed up as 'written promises to pay.' Reading it broadly would swallow the rest of the statute. The Board,…
After the 2019 amendments, can a Tennessee correctional officer who has finished probation but isn't yet vested in retirement get the state ID card needed to carry a firearm off-duty?
No. The 2019 amendment let TDOC officers carry off-duty after completing the one-year probationary period, but the legislature did not change subsection (f), which still says only 'vested' employees (…
If my Tennessee LLC owns a property, can the LLC sell or rent it without a real estate broker license, and what about partial owners or members of the LLC?
An LLC, corporation, partnership, or other business entity that owns real estate can rely on the 'owner exemption' for activities involving its own property. The narrower 'corporate exemption' covers …
Can a Tennessee general sessions judge fill in for a circuit court judge or chancellor without a private act?
Generally no. The only general statute allowing such interchange is for divorce hearings in counties over 700,000 population. Otherwise, the legislature must authorize the interchange by private act, …
Can my Tennessee homeowners' association ban political canvassing in our neighborhood without violating the First Amendment?
Yes. The First Amendment limits only government action, and a private homeowners' association is not a state actor. The HOA can prohibit door-to-door political canvassing on its private property. A se…
When can a Tennessee county election commission release early and absentee voting totals?
Only after every polling place in the county has actually closed, meaning every voter who was in line at the official closing time (8 p.m. Eastern or 7 p.m. Central) has finished voting. The early and…
Does Tennessee's requirement that each political party have a state primary board, with members elected from each senatorial district, violate the parties' First Amendment freedom of association?
No. The AG concluded that Tennessee's primary-board statutes impose only a modest burden on associational rights because they assign the boards limited election-administration duties. The state's inte…
If my wages are already being garnished at the maximum amount, can a second creditor's later garnishment also start running, and how does the six-month clock work?
A later-filed writ that seeks less than the maximum can run alongside an existing maximum garnishment, but it cannot collect anything until the first writ ends or drops below the cap. The six-month cl…
If I have an amateur radio emergency license plate in Tennessee, can I run amber and white flashing lights all around my car?
No. Even with an amateur-radio 'emergency' license plate, a privately owned vehicle is still a 'nonemergency vehicle' under the lighting statute, and the prohibition on flashing lights in front and re…
Can a Tennessee minister ordained online still officiate weddings after Public Chapter 415 took effect?
After July 1, 2019, no. Public Chapter 415 added a sentence to Tennessee's marriage statute saying persons who receive online ordinations cannot solemnize marriages, even if their religious tradition …
When can a Tennessee handgun permit holder carry a gun into a courthouse, and what counts as 'judicial proceedings in progress'?
Tennessee's gun-free-courthouse rule under § 39-17-1306(a) applies only when judicial proceedings are actually in progress, but those proceedings include in-chambers and remote court business, not jus…
Would Tennessee's proposed Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, which directs schools and universities to use a specific definition of 'anti-Semitism' in discrimination investigations, violate free speech?
No. HB 600/SB 1250 (2019) would have given Tennessee schools and universities a State Department definition of 'anti-Semitism' to use when investigating whether discriminatory conduct was motivated by…
Could Tennessee constitutionally shrink drug-free school zones from 1000 feet to 500 feet only in counties with populations over 300,000 (Shelby, Davidson, Knox, Hamilton)?
It depends on whether population is a rational basis for the variation. Tennessee's drug-free school zone statute (Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-432) creates an enhanced-penalty zone of 1,000 feet around sc…
If Tennessee's Healthy Workplace Act is extended to private employers, what immunity, burdens, and definitions would apply to workplace-bullying claims?
Extending the Healthy Workplace Act to private employers (HB 856/SB 815, 2019) would give private employers the same suit immunity public employers already had if they adopted the TACIR model anti-bul…
Can the Tennessee Department of Revenue write a rule requiring online marketplace facilitators (Amazon, Etsy, eBay) to collect sales tax for the third-party sellers on their platforms?
Yes, with one important limit. Online marketplace facilitators that solicit Tennessee consumers and consummate sales (operate the cart and payment) qualify as 'dealers' under Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-6-10…
In Tennessee, can a judicial commissioner or a general-sessions-court magistrate swear in a newly elected or appointed official?
No. Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-18-109(b) lists who can administer an oath of office to a Tennessee elected or appointed official: county mayors, county clerks, judges of general sessions courts, and judges o…
If someone in Tennessee commits a crime against a person because that person is transgender, can the court use the hate-crime sentence enhancement under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-114(17)?
Yes. Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-114(17) lets a Tennessee sentencing court enhance a defendant's sentence when the defendant intentionally selected the victim because of the defendant's belief or percepti…
Does a Tennessee legislator have to disclose travel paid for by a foreign government, or does the 'governmental entity' exemption cover it?
Probably yes (must disclose). The Tennessee AG concluded the disclosure exemption for travel paid by a 'governmental entity' is ambiguous on foreign governments, but the statutory context and legislat…
Can the Tennessee legislature legalize sports betting without amending the state constitution?
It depends on the type of contest. The Tennessee AG concluded the state constitution's lottery ban means the legislature can authorize sports betting only when skill (not chance) is the dominant facto…
Can a Tennessee business be sued if its publicly displayed AED is used by an untrained employee or stranger?
Possibly, depending on the facts. The Tennessee AG concluded an untrained user is covered by the Good Samaritan Law (no liability without gross negligence), but a business that lets untrained people u…
Would Tennessee marijuana legalization violate the federal Controlled Substances Act, and would legislators be liable for voting for it?
It depends on the bill text. The Tennessee AG concluded the federal Controlled Substances Act preempts state marijuana laws only if there's a direct positive conflict, not by occupying the field, so a…
Can a Tennessee DA file a civil lawsuit to stop a junkyard or dumping along a scenic highway?
Yes. The Tennessee AG concluded the district attorney for the judicial district where a Scenic Highway System Act violation occurs may bring an injunction, mandamus, abatement, or other civil action t…
Can Tennessee's POST Commission charge retired officers a fee for the firearm certification that lets them carry under LEOSA?
Yes. The Tennessee AG concluded the POST Commission has express authority to set a reasonable fee for the in-state retired-officer firearm certification, and general rulemaking authority to set a fee …
Browse Tennessee opinions by topic
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.