Is the Tennessee Claims Commission part of the judicial branch?

Subject

Opinion No. 13-111, The Tennessee Claims Commission, December 30, 2013

Plain-English summary

Rep. Susan Lynn asked whether the Tennessee Claims Commission is part of the judicial branch, whether a Claims Commissioner is a member of the judiciary, and whether commissioners and staff are subject to Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-19-207. The Attorney General answered no, no, and yes.

The General Assembly created the Commission as an “administrative tribunal” under Title 9 and attached it to the Department of Treasury for administrative purposes. The opinion cites the Tennessee Court of Appeals' conclusion in Stewart Title Guar. Co. v. McReynolds that the Commission is an administrative agency. It explains that an agency may perform quasi-judicial functions without becoming part of the judicial branch. The Commission belongs to the executive branch.

A Claims Commissioner is also outside the judiciary. The opinion cites the rule that Article VI's provisions on electing state judges do not apply to administrative judges and personnel. It does not address judicial removal procedures.

Finally, the opinion concludes that commissioners and staff are “employed by the state” for purposes of § 2-19-207's political-activity restrictions. Commissioners are appointed by the governor and confirmed by both legislative houses, so they are not within the cited exclusion for officials elected by the General Assembly.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2013. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

What this means for you

If you work for the Claims Commission, this opinion says § 2-19-207 applies to commissioners and staff. If your question concerns the Commission's place in state government, the opinion classifies it as an executive-branch administrative tribunal. It does not decide removal, restructuring, or appeal procedures.

Common questions

Is the Claims Commission a Tennessee court?

The opinion says no. The General Assembly created it as an administrative tribunal, and the cited Court of Appeals decision describes it as an administrative agency. Its power to decide monetary claims against the state does not make it part of the judicial branch.

Does Article VI's election rule for state judges apply to Claims Commissioners?

No. The opinion cites Tennessee decisions holding that the Article VI provisions concerning election of state judges do not apply to administrative judges and personnel. It does not decide how a commissioner may be removed.

Why are commissioners covered by the political-activity law if the legislature confirms them?

The opinion says they are state officials who receive state compensation. They are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature, which is different from being elected by the General Assembly, an exclusion listed in Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-19-201(3).

Did the opinion decide how Commission decisions are appealed?

No. Its three questions concern branch membership, commissioners' status, and § 2-19-207. It does not describe the appeal route.

Citations

Tenn. Const. art. I, § 17; art. II, § 1; art. VI, §§ 1, 4. Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 2-19-201(3), 2-19-207, 8-42-101(3)(A), 9-8-301, 9-8-302(a), 9-8-303, 9-8-305, 9-8-306, 9-8-307, 9-8-404, 20-13-102(a). Cases: Underwood v. State, 529 S.W.2d 45 (Tenn. 1975); Richardson v. Young, 125 S.W. 664 (Tenn. 1910); Stewart Title Guar. Co. v. McReynolds, 886 S.W.2d 233 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1994); Town of South Carthage v. Barrett, 840 S.W.2d 895 (Tenn. 1992); Barrett v. Tenn. Occupational Safety and Health Review Comm'n, 284 S.W.3d 784 (Tenn. 2009); Plasti-Line v. Tenn. Human Rights Comm'n, 746 S.W.2d 691 (Tenn. 1988); State v. Tenn. Coal, Iron & R.R. Co., 29 S.W. 116 (Tenn. 1895).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/opinions.html
• Original PDF: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/ops/2013/op13-111.pdf

Original opinion text

December 30, 2013

Opinion No. 13-111

The Tennessee Claims Commission

QUESTIONS

1. Is the Tennessee Claims Commission, as found in Title 9 of the Tennessee Code, part of the judicial branch of government?

2. Is a Claims Commissioner, as found in Title 9, a member of the judiciary?

3. Are employees of the Claims Commission and the Claims Commissioners subject to Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-19-207?

OPINIONS

1. No. The Tennessee Claims Commission is part of the executive branch of government.

2. No. A Tennessee Claims Commissioner is not a member of the judiciary.

3. Yes. Employees of the Tennessee Claims Commission and Claims Commissioners are subject to Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-19-207.

ANALYSIS

1. The Tennessee Constitution decrees that "[t]he powers of the Government shall be divided into three distinct departments: the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial." Tenn. Const. art. II, § 1. Although "it is impossible to preserve perfectly the theoretical lines of demarcation" between the three branches, Underwood v. State, 529 S.W.2d 45, 47 (Tenn. 1975), "the legislative power is the authority to make, order, and repeal, the executive, that to administer and enforce, and the judicial, that to interpret and apply, laws." Id. (quoting Richardson v. Young, 125 S.W. 664 (1910)).

"Suits may be brought against the State in such manner and in such courts as the Legislature may by law direct." Tenn. Const. art. I, § 17. The General Assembly has directed that "[n]o court in the state shall have any power, jurisdiction or authority to entertain any suit against the state with a view to reach the state, its treasury, funds or property." Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-13-102(a). Instead of creating a court under Title 16, the General Assembly created "an administrative tribunal . . . known as the 'Tennessee claims commission'" under Title 9. Tenn. Code Ann. § 9-8-301(a). The Claims Commission "has exclusive jurisdiction to determine all monetary claims against the state." Tenn. Code Ann. § 9-8-307. It is attached to the Tennessee Department of Treasury for administrative purposes. Tenn. Code Ann. § 9-8-301(b).

The Tennessee Court of Appeals has concluded that the Claims Commission is an administrative agency. See Stewart Title Guar. Co. v. McReynolds, 886 S.W.2d 233, 238 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1994). In Stewart, the plaintiff argued that Tenn. Code Ann. § 9-8-404, which allows a Claims Commissioner to transfer some cases to circuit or chancery court, violates the separation-of-powers doctrine because "it gives the claims commission concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit or chancery courts." Id. A grant of concurrent jurisdiction to a municipal-corporation court over violations of criminal laws had been found unconstitutional in Town of South Carthage v. Barrett, 840 S.W.2d 895 (Tenn. 1992). Id. In Town of South Carthage, the Supreme Court determined that the municipal court had been vested with judicial power under Article VI, § 1, of the Tennessee Constitution, and so the judges must be elected under § 4 of the same article. Id. In Stewart though, the Court concluded that there was no constitutional violation because suits against the State are fundamentally different and that "it is proper for the legislature to give the power to adjudicate such claims to an administrative agency." Id.

"Administrative agencies are part of the executive branch of government." Barrett v. Tenn. Occupational Safety and Health Review Comm'n, 284 S.W.3d 784, 789 (Tenn. 2009). Although an administrative agency "may have judicial characteristics and may be required to perform quasi-judicial functions, an agency is not part of the judicial branch of government." Id. Thus, even administrative tribunals are part of the executive branch. See, e.g., Barrett, 284 S.W.3d at 784; Plasti-Line v. Tenn. Human Rights Comm'n, 746 S.W.2d 691, 692 (Tenn. 1988).

The Claims Commission has both quasi-judicial functions, see Tenn. Code Ann. § 9-8-305, and quasi-legislative functions, see Tenn. Code Ann. § 9-8-306. However, the Commission primarily acts as part of the executive branch to administer the statutory provisions created by the General Assembly.

Therefore, the Claims Commission is not part of the judicial branch but rather is part of the executive branch of government. This conclusion is consistent with an earlier opinion of this Office concluding that the Board of Claims, the precursor to the Claims Commission, was part of the executive branch of government. See Tenn. Att'y. Gen. Op. 83-207 (Apr. 22, 1983).

2. The General Assembly prescribed the appointment, term, necessary qualifications, compensation, and powers of a Claims Commissioner exclusively in Title 9. It is well settled that "[a]dministrative judges and personnel are not subject to the constitutional provisions [in article VI] pertaining to the election of state judges." Barrett, 284 S.W.3d at 789 (citing Plasti-Line, 746 S.W.2d at 694). "While [an administrative official] . . . exercises a judicial or quasi-judicial function, still he is not a judge of a supreme or inferior court in the sense of the constitutional provision . . . ." Id. (quoting State v. Tenn. Coal, Iron & R.R. Co., 29 S.W. 116, 123 (Tenn. 1895)). Therefore, a Claims Commissioner is not a member of the judiciary.

3. Tennessee Code Ann. § 2-19-207 provides in relevant part:

It is unlawful for any person employed by the state to engage actively in a political campaign on behalf of any party, committee, organization, agency or political candidate, or to attend political meetings or rallies or to otherwise use such person's official position or employment to interfere with or affect the result of any regular of special primary election conducted within the state, or to perform political duties or functions of any kind not directly at part of such person's employment, during those hours of the day when such person is required by law or administrative regulation to be conducting the business of the state.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-19-207(a). By its plain language, the statute applies to any person "employed by the state." Id.

A "state employee" is defined as "any person who is a state official, including members of the general assembly and legislative officials elected by the general assembly, or any person who is employed in the service of and whose compensation is payable by the state." Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-42-101(3)(A). The members of the Claims Commission's staff are employed in the service of, and their compensation is paid by, the State. Tenn. Code Ann. § 9-8-301. Similarly, a Claims Commissioner is a state official who receives the same compensation as a Class 1 Commissioner. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 9-8-303. Accordingly, both a Claims Commissioner and the employees of the Claims Commission are "employed by the state."

The following state employees are excluded from § 2-19-207: "[P]opularly elected officials, officials elected by the General Assembly, qualified candidates for public office, teachers, as defined by § 49-1501 [repealed], members of the governor's cabinet, and members of the governor's staff." Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-19-201(3). A Claims Commissioner is not elected by the General Assembly but rather "appointed by the governor with confirmation by resolution of both houses of the general assembly." Tenn. Code Ann. § 9-8-302(a). Therefore, a Claims Commissioner and the employees of the Claims Commission are subject to the provisions of Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-19-207.

ROBERT E. COOPER, JR.
Attorney General and Reporter

JOSEPH F. WHALEN
Associate Solicitor General

STEPHANIE A. BERGMEYER
Assistant Attorney General

Requested by:

The Honorable Susan Lynn
State Representative
104 War Memorial Building
Nashville, Tennessee 37243