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 HIPAA stop Tennessee from releasing legislators' health insurance enrollment and premium data in response to a public records request?
No. Even assuming the data was protected health information disclosed by a HIPAA-covered entity, the Privacy Rule's 'required by law' exception lets a covered entity disclose PHI when a state public r…
Can a Tennessee mayor or judge perform a wedding ceremony in another state using a marriage license from a Tennessee county clerk?
No. Tennessee statute authorizes elected and former elected officials to solemnize marriages 'in any county of this state.' The AG read that as excluding any out-of-state ceremony.
Would Tennessee's proposed expansion of the highway-obstruction crime, adding 'driveways' and 'public safety' and 'private property rights' language, be unconstitutionally vague?
No. The AG concluded the amendments would not render the statute void for vagueness. 'Public safety' and 'rights of private property' are commonly understood and, even as catch-all phrases, fit within…
Did the 2014 Tennessee law that bars local officials from waiving back property taxes apply to property tax bills that were already overdue before the law took effect?
Yes. The AG concluded the statute applied to all existing property tax liabilities as of July 1, 2014. It was a remedial law that did not create new obligations on taxpayers, so applying it forward di…
Can the Tennessee Department of Revenue share tax information with a city or county about taxpayers located outside that city or county's borders?
Generally no. The disclosure exception only authorizes sharing tax data for taxpayers inside the requesting local government's jurisdiction, because outside-jurisdiction data does not help that govern…
Can a city industrial development board route farm-rent income into local school workforce training programs?
Yes, by one of two routes. The IDB can donate the rents directly to a local board of education if doing so furthers its purposes, or it can pay net earnings to its organizing city, which can then appr…
When does a Tennessee city or county 'lend its credit' to a private party in a way that triggers the constitutional requirement of a 3/4 voter approval?
Only when the local government takes on a new financial obligation, like a debt, guarantee, or pledge that benefits the private party. Paying in advance with cash, selling on credit, or selling proper…
Can the county legislative body force its uniform pay plan on employees of the County Assessor of Property's office?
No, with one exception. The Assessor controls hiring and pay for her own staff within the budget the county appropriates. The county legislative body only sets pay for a secretary in counties too smal…
If a county is forced to buy property at a back-taxes auction and the property catches fire or floods during the one-year redemption window, who pays for the damage?
The county is on the hook. As the tax-sale purchaser, it must hold the property in good condition during the redemption year. If no one redeems, the county absorbs damage costs and the loss in value.
Was Tennessee's 2014 Healthy Workplace Act unconstitutional because it told a state commission to draft an anti-workplace-bullying model policy?
No. The AG concluded the Act survived constitutional review because asking TACIR to draft a voluntary model policy, with the legislature's purpose spelled out in the statute, was not an unlawful deleg…
Can a Tennessee city require taxicabs from outside the county to pass the city county's vehicle emissions test before operating in the city?
No. Tennessee law lets owners register vehicles only in their county of residence or where the vehicle is based, and emissions tests are tied to registration. A city cannot force a vehicle lawfully re…
Could Tennessee constitutionally tax out-of-state companies under the 2015 Revenue Modernization Act's 'economic nexus' rules, even if they had no physical presence in the state?
Yes. The AG concluded the Act's 'substantial nexus' definition, which reached companies with $500,000 in Tennessee sales or comparable economic ties, fit the Commerce Clause framework most state court…
Can a Tennessee court enter a civil contempt order by default when the alleged contemnor was served but didn't show up or respond?
Yes. The 2015 opinion concluded that a Tennessee court can enter a civil contempt default judgment if the alleged contemnor was properly served, given at least 5 days' notice of the hearing under Rule…
Can a Tennessee city pass an ordinance that prevents courts from sending school-zone speeders to driver education in lieu of conviction?
No. The 2015 opinion concluded an Oak Ridge ordinance disallowing diversion-to-driver-education for school-zone speeding directly conflicted with the discretion state law (Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-301)…
Would a Tennessee law making the Holy Bible the official state book violate the U.S. Constitution or the Tennessee Constitution?
Yes. The 2015 opinion concluded designating the Bible as the official state book would violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and Article I, § 3, of the Tennessee Constitution, which …
Can someone with a felony or domestic violence conviction in Tennessee get a hunting license, and can they hunt with a firearm?
Yes to the license: hunting licenses in Tennessee have no felony or domestic-violence bar. No (generally) to hunting with a firearm: violent felons and drug felons can't possess firearms even for hunt…
When making a left turn on a green arrow in Tennessee, do I have to turn into the lane closest to the center line, or can I turn into any lane to the right of center?
State law doesn't specify which lane to turn into, only that the turn end up on the right side of the center line. Drivers still have a duty to exercise due care. The AG declined to assign fault in an…
Can a Tennessee county sheriff's office and a school board pool their food orders into one larger bid to get better prices?
Yes. The 2015 opinion read Tenn. Code Ann. § 12-3-1203 to let any local governmental unit purchase supplies and services on behalf of another, or piggyback on another's existing contracts. Equipment p…
Can Tennessee retroactively cut state-shared revenue to a city to claw back money tied to annexations made during a recent moratorium window?
Yes. The 2015 opinion concluded the General Assembly has the constitutional authority to change state-shared revenue distributions, retroactively or prospectively. Cities are creatures of the state an…
Can a Tennessee county commission change the county wheel tax rate with a simple majority vote, or does it need the same two-thirds supermajority that's required to enact the tax in the first place?
Two-thirds. The 2015 opinion concluded a county commission must follow the same procedure it used to enact the wheel tax: a two-thirds vote at two consecutive regularly-scheduled meetings, subject to …
If the Tennessee legislature doesn't pass enabling rules under Amendment 2, can the governor still appoint state appellate judges?
Yes. The 2015 opinion read Amendment 2 to make the governor's appointment power self-executing. Legislative inaction does not strip the governor of authority; if the legislature fails to act on a nomi…
Can a Tennessee county use proceeds from its adequate facilities tax to pay debt service on bonds issued to build a new justice center?
Yes, if the justice center is reasonably related to new development. The 2015 opinion read the Maury County Adequate Facilities Tax act to permit using the funds either to pay project costs directly o…
Does Tennessee's 2014 textbook quality law apply to textbooks already in use, and is the textbook commission liable for approving books that turn out to have errors?
The 2015 opinion concluded the law applies only going forward, so it does not reach textbooks already in use before January 1, 2015. The Textbook Commission can technically violate the law by recommen…
Who gets to fill a vacant seat on a Tennessee county school board: the county commission or the school board itself?
The county legislative body (the county commission). Article VII, section 2, of the Tennessee Constitution requires it. The 2015 opinion said amending state law to let the school board fill its own va…
Can the Tennessee legislature hand off to another body the job of setting maximum interest rates on short-term loans?
No. The 2015 opinion concluded article XI, section 7, of the Tennessee Constitution gives the General Assembly the exclusive, non-delegable power to define and cap interest rates. Delegating that auth…
Does Tennessee's grandfather clause that exempts one specific distillery from the Lincoln County Process violate the Constitution?
Yes. The 2015 opinion concluded the subsection that exempted a single distillery (Prichard's) from the maple-charcoal filtering requirement was impermissible class legislation under article XI, sectio…
How much interest does a Tennessee taxpayer owe when filing a motion to redeem property that was sold at a delinquent tax sale?
1% imposed on the date of the tax sale, plus another 1% on the first day of each month following the sale, including any month-start within the 30-day window after the motion to redeem is filed. Usual…
Can Tennessee impose a new fuel surcharge and per-mile fee on trucks but give a tax credit only to in-state motor carriers?
No. The 2015 opinion concluded SB 354 would have violated the dormant Commerce Clause and federal Equal Protection Clause by giving the credit only to motor carriers domiciled in Tennessee, effectivel…
Can a Tennessee arrest warrant list more than one criminal charge on the same piece of paper?
No. The 2015 opinion concluded Tennessee's warrant statutes and Rule 4 are written entirely in the singular, so an arrest warrant should contain only one criminal charge. Multiple charges should be on…
Can the Tennessee Board of Regents require its employees to clear all legislative funding requests through a central office before going to the General Assembly?
The 2015 opinion said the proposed TBR policy would not violate the Tennessee statute protecting public employees' communications with elected officials, but might run into First Amendment trouble bec…
Can a Tennessee city or county reduce future pension accruals for already-vested public employees if the plan reserves the right to amend?
Yes, but only if the retirement plan's reservation-of-right-to-amend language is specific enough to tell vested members their future accruals are subject to change. A generic 'we can amend this plan' …
Can Tennessee let bail bondsmen charge a higher premium when the defendant lives out of state?
The 2015 opinion concluded a proposed 5% surcharge on bonds for nonresident defendants would probably survive equal protection challenge, but was vulnerable under the federal Privileges and Immunities…
Can a competing (non-incumbent) Tennessee telecommunications carrier exercise eminent domain to lay fiber or other lines on private property?
Yes. Tennessee's telephone-line eminent-domain statute (Tenn. Code Ann. § 65-21-204) applies to all telecommunications providers, including competing carriers certified after June 6, 1995.
Would Tennessee bills requiring assisted-living and adult-care homes to meet the same staffing and safety standards as nursing homes violate the federal ADA's integration mandate?
Possibly. The bills (HB 604/SB 567 and HB 413/SB 583) would raise costs and reduce the availability of community-based residential alternatives, increasing the risk of unjustified institutional placem…
Can someone who got 'ordained' online by the Universal Life Church legally officiate a wedding in Tennessee?
No. Tennessee's marriage-solemnization statute requires ordination through a 'considered, deliberate, and responsible act' under a religious group's customs. Online ULC ordination, which requires only…
After Tennessee voters passed Amendment 1 in 2014, did the state's old abortion-restriction laws automatically come back into effect, and would re-enacted versions survive constitutional challenge?
Amendment 1 superseded the Tennessee Supreme Court's strict-scrutiny holding in Sundquist, but the struck-down statutes remained void unless re-enacted. Any re-enacted restrictions would still have to…
Is it illegal in Tennessee for a private citizen to mix Tannerite or similar binary exploding targets to shoot at the range?
Yes. Mixing the binary components creates an explosive under Tennessee law, and Tennessee, unlike federal law and some other states, has no personal-use exception. No state license is even available t…
If a Tennessee school board and a city or county fight over liquor-by-the-drink tax money, can one side force binding arbitration with the Comptroller without the other side's agreement?
Yes, in narrow circumstances. If one party timely requested arbitration on or before December 31, 2014, and no party filed in Davidson County Chancery Court by that date, all parties are bound to bind…
Can a Tennessee municipal school district charge students a fee to ride the school bus?
Yes. Tennessee statute prohibits transportation fees only at county boards of education (Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-6-2103). Municipal school boards face no comparable statutory restriction.
Is filing for a Tennessee statutory writ of certiorari the same as bringing a 'cause of action' in court?
No. The writ of certiorari is a process for asking a superior court to review the decision of an inferior tribunal. It doesn't itself create or constitute a substantive cause of action.
Can a Tennessee public hospital board meet in closed session under § 68-11-238 to discuss executive pay and bonuses?
No. The closed-session authority in § 68-11-238 only covers marketing strategies and strategic plans for the hospital's products and services, not executive compensation.
When someone appeals a municipal court judgment to circuit court, does the city court clerk have to send the $250 appeal bond along with the case file?
Yes. The municipal court clerk must transmit the $250 appeal bond required under Tenn. Code Ann. § 16-18-307 along with the rest of the record to the circuit court clerk. Without it, the circuit court…
Could Tennessee adopt the Insure Tennessee Medicaid waiver, fund the state share with a hospital assessment, and back out later if federal funding changed?
Yes on each piece, with conditions. The AG concluded CMS could not unilaterally rewrite the waiver, hospital assessment revenues could fund Insure Tennessee under existing statutes, and Tennessee coul…
To appeal a Tennessee general sessions court ruling to circuit court, do I have to post a surety bond, or will a cash bond work?
A bond with security is required, but it doesn't have to be a surety bond. After the Tennessee Supreme Court's Griffin v. Campbell Clinic decision, a cash bond satisfies § 27-5-103.
Is Tennessee's law banning beer brand names, prices, and pictures on outdoor signs at retail beer stores constitutional under the First Amendment?
Probably not. The statute restricts truthful commercial speech about a lawful product, and under the Supreme Court's Central Hudson test the restriction likely fails because it does not directly advan…
Can the Tennessee Collection Service Board require out-of-state attorneys (those not licensed in Tennessee) to get a collection-service license even though attorneys are statutorily exempt?
No. The Collection Service Act's attorney exemption (Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-20-103(a)(2)) covers all attorneys, with no licensure-state limitation. A Board rule narrowing it to Tennessee-licensed attorn…
If a Tennessee county commission cut the debt service allocations in its budget below what the budget committee set, who can sue to enforce the rule that says it can't?
Yes, the commission violated § 5-21-111(e)(1). Enforcement goes through quo warranto (typically by the district attorney general) or a declaratory judgment action by the county. Bondholders, creditors…
Does the Tennessee Healthy Workplace Act let employees sue government employers for workplace bullying, and what does the model-policy immunity cover?
The Act created no new cause of action against either public employers or employees for workplace bullying. Adopting the model anti-abuse policy gave a public employer a narrow extra immunity from sui…
After Tennessee's July 2014 meth-law overhaul, did a simple-possession meth conviction land you on the new statewide drug offender registry, did the felony mandatory minimums still apply, and did any of this reach back to older convictions?
Yes for registry and mandatory minimums; no for retroactive reach. A misdemeanor meth possession under new § 39-17-455(b) puts you on the drug offender registry, the mandatory sentencing in §§ 39-17-4…
When a Tennessee county assesses property tax on oil-and-gas mineral interests by looking at the income those minerals produced, is that a backdoor income tax or severance tax?
No. The income approach is a standard appraisal method for valuing income-producing real property. Considering the income a mineral interest generated is a way to value the property, not a separate ta…
Can a Tennessee school board lock in a director of schools by writing a contract that requires a supermajority (two-thirds) board vote to fire her, instead of the usual majority?
No. A state statute (§ 49-2-202(g)) says a majority of all board members transacts board business. The board cannot rewrite that majority rule by contract, even to add a supermajority hurdle to firing…
When a Tennessee officer is handed an out-of-state protective order requiring child custody transfer or firearm removal, does the officer have to take it to a local judge first?
No for firearm removal: an out-of-state order is enforced as written, no local ratification required. For child custody, the order may be registered under the UCCJEA but enforcement runs through a Ten…
Is a pharmacy a 'health care entity' under Tennessee's physician self-referral law, so that a doctor with an ownership stake in a pharmacy generally cannot send prescriptions there?
Yes. A pharmacy is a health care entity under Tenn. Code Ann. § 63-6-601, so a physician with an investment interest in a pharmacy generally cannot refer patients to that pharmacy unless one of the § …
After a California court struck down that state's teacher-tenure law in Vergara v. State, were Tennessee's teacher-tenure and dismissal statutes also unconstitutional?
No. The AG concluded the Tennessee statutes differed in material ways from the California ones at issue in Vergara. Tennessee has a five-year tenure probation (vs. two), a faster and cheaper dismissal…
Do Tennessee's health-related licensing boards have to follow the state Central Procurement Office's rules when they hand out impaired-professional peer-assistance grants?
Yes. Health-related regulatory boards are not exempt from Title 12 procurement rules or the Central Procurement Office rules, and those rules apply to peer-assistance grant contracts authorized by § 6…
Can I legally drive my four-wheeler on a Tennessee state highway?
Only if you register it as a 'medium speed vehicle' (four-wheeled, top speed 30 to 35 mph, meeting federal safety standards or with helmet and eye protection), have a valid Class D license, and stay o…
Can members of a Tennessee county commission form a Democratic or Republican caucus, and do those caucus meetings have to be open to the public?
Yes, county commissioners can establish partisan caucuses. But if the caucus deliberates on actual county business that the commission has authority to decide, the meeting is a 'meeting' under Tenness…
Can a Tennessee hospital open an off-campus outpatient facility (including a 24/7 ER) without a certificate of need?
Sometimes. Hospitals could provide outpatient diagnostic and therapeutic services off campus, including 24/7 emergency-style care, under § 68-11-209(f) without a separate license, but a free-standing …
After Tennessee's 2014 expansion of the sex-offender 1,000-foot rule, do colleges and universities have to fire a registered offender hired before July 1, 2014?
No. Section 40-39-211(a)(2) regulates the offender's conduct (accepting new residence or new employment), not the employer's. A person already employed before the law took effect is not 'accepting emp…
How did Tennessee's 2014 changes to arrest-warrant procedure affect security officers, merchants, and warrants already issued?
Chapter 531 created presumptions favoring summonses over warrants when private citizens (not police) seek criminal process, but did not change citizens' or security officers' warrantless arrest author…
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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.