After the legislature transferred land from Davidson to Wilson County, could Mount Juliet immediately annex it despite the state annexation moratorium?

Subject

Opinion No. 14-07, Moratorium's Effect Upon City Annexation of Property, January 10, 2014

Plain-English summary

In 2013, the General Assembly passed two related acts. Chapter 399 transferred certain properties from Davidson County to Wilson County, effective January 1, 2014. Chapter 441 imposed a statewide moratorium, from April 15, 2013, through May 15, 2014, on municipal annexation by ordinance on the municipality's own initiative under Tenn. Code Ann. § 6-51-102, where the territory is being used primarily for residential or agricultural purposes (codified at Tenn. Code Ann. § 6-51-122(a)(1)).

Rep. Darren Jernigan asked whether, after the boundary transfer took effect, the City of Mount Juliet could immediately annex the newly-Wilson-County properties despite the moratorium. The AG broke the answer in two:

• Annexation by ordinance on the city's own initiative under § 6-51-102: Blocked by the moratorium. Mount Juliet could not proceed that way until after May 15, 2014. The statute uses the phrase "notwithstanding the provisions of this part or any other law to the contrary," which the AG treated as a strong supersession trigger.
• Annexation by ordinance on petition of a majority of the affected residents and property owners under § 6-51-102: Not blocked. The moratorium targets only municipality-initiated annexation, not annexations driven by the people who actually live on the land.
• Annexation by referendum under §§ 6-51-104 and -105: Not blocked. The moratorium also does not reach the voter-initiated process.

So Mount Juliet could not unilaterally annex by ordinance, but the residents and landowners could petition for annexation or call for a referendum and the City could act on either immediately after the January 1, 2014, transfer (assuming the properties adjoin the City, which is required by §§ 6-51-102(a)(1) and 6-51-104(a)).

The opinion also flags a footnote about TACIR's December 11, 2013, recommendation to extend the moratorium through at least May 15, 2015, or until new legislation is enacted. Any extension would require legislative action.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2014. 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.

The moratorium described here ran by its own terms only through May 15, 2014, and Tennessee annexation law in Title 6, Chapter 51 has been amended since. Anyone applying this opinion in a current dispute should review the current text of Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 6-51-101 et seq.

Background and statutory framework

Chapter 399 (county boundary transfer). The General Assembly has constitutional authority to alter county lines under Tenn. Const. art. X, § 4, within the specific criteria set out there. Giles County v. Marshall County, 133 Tenn. 414, 181 S.W. 308 (1915). The AG had already concluded in Op. 13-08 (Feb. 1, 2013) that the constitutional requirements for transferring certain properties from Davidson to Wilson County had been met. Chapter 399 made the transfer effective January 1, 2014. Nothing in Chapter 399 itself altered Mount Juliet's municipal boundaries.

Municipal annexation authority. Under Tenn. Const. art. XI, § 9, the General Assembly has exclusive authority to set the process for changing municipal boundaries. The Tennessee Code authorizes three routes:

1. Annexation by ordinance on the municipality's own initiative. § 6-51-102. The city council passes an ordinance bringing in adjoining territory.
2. Annexation by ordinance on petition. Same statute, § 6-51-102, but initiated by a petition of a majority of affected residents and property owners.
3. Annexation by referendum. §§ 6-51-104 and -105. Voters within the affected territory approve the annexation.

The moratorium, Chapter 441. Codified at § 6-51-122(a)(1): "Notwithstanding the provisions of this part or any other law to the contrary, from April 15, 2013, through May 15, 2014 no municipality shall extend its corporate limits by means of annexation by ordinance upon the municipality's own initiative, pursuant to § 6-51-102, in order to annex territory being used primarily for residential or agricultural purposes; and, except as otherwise permitted pursuant to subdivision (a)(2), no such ordinance to annex such territory shall become operative during such period." Counties with a metropolitan form of government are excluded.

Two key textual hooks.

• "upon the municipality's own initiative." This phrase distinguishes city-initiated annexations from petition-initiated ones. The moratorium reached only the former.
• "by ordinance . . . pursuant to § 6-51-102." The moratorium specifically targeted § 6-51-102 ordinance procedure, not the referendum procedure in §§ 6-51-104 and -105.

The "adjoining" requirement. A municipality can annex only territory adjoining its existing boundaries. §§ 6-51-102(a)(1), 6-51-104(a). The opinion assumes the transferred properties adjoin Mount Juliet.

TACIR recommendation. The opinion notes that the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations unanimously recommended on December 11, 2013, that the moratorium be extended to May 15, 2015, or until new legislation passed. The General Assembly would need to enact that extension; an administrative recommendation is not self-executing. § 6-51-122(b) directs TACIR to complete a comprehensive review and report to the legislature.

Common questions

Why does the moratorium block city-initiated annexation but not petition annexation?

Because the statutory text targets only municipality-initiated ordinance annexation. The legislature was responding to concerns about cities unilaterally absorbing residential and agricultural territory; the moratorium was not aimed at residents who wanted to be annexed.

Could Mount Juliet have annexed by referendum during the moratorium?

Yes. The moratorium does not reach §§ 6-51-104 and -105 referendum annexation. The text refers specifically to annexation by ordinance under § 6-51-102.

What if the properties are used for commercial purposes, not residential or agricultural?

The moratorium covers only territory "being used primarily for residential or agricultural purposes." Commercial property would not be within the moratorium. The AG's analysis assumes the territory at issue is residential or agricultural; commercial property would face a different analysis (likely unaffected by the moratorium).

Did the moratorium expire on May 15, 2014?

The statute says yes, and the opinion treats that as the operative end date. TACIR recommended an extension, but absent legislative action the moratorium expired as written.

Why use a moratorium at all instead of just reforming the statute?

The opinion notes that § 6-51-122(b) directs TACIR to complete a comprehensive review and report to the legislature, which suggests the moratorium was meant to pause new annexations while that study proceeded. The opinion does not describe what reforms, if any, the legislature later adopted.

Does this opinion apply outside the Davidson-Wilson transfer?

Yes, the moratorium analysis is generally applicable. Any municipality during April 15, 2013, through May 15, 2014, was bound by the same rules regarding residential and agricultural territory.

Citations

Constitutional: Tenn. Const. art. X, § 4; Tenn. Const. art. XI, § 9. Statutory: Tenn. Code Ann. § 6-51-101 et seq. (annexation generally); § 6-51-102 (annexation by ordinance); § 6-51-102(a)(1); § 6-51-104; § 6-51-104(a); § 6-51-105 (annexation by referendum); § 6-51-122 (moratorium); § 6-51-122(a)(1); § 6-51-122(b); 2013 Tenn. Pub. Acts, ch. 399 (boundary transfer); 2013 Tenn. Pub. Acts, ch. 441 (moratorium). Cases: Giles County v. Marshall County, 133 Tenn. 414, 181 S.W. 308 (1915). Prior AG opinions: Tenn. Att'y Gen. Op. 13-08 (Feb. 1, 2013); Tenn. Att'y Gen. Op. 13-58 (July 25, 2013).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/opinions.html
• Original PDF: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/ops/2014/op14-007.pdf

Original opinion text

STATE OF TENNESSEE
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

January 10, 2014

Opinion No. 14-07

Moratorium's Effect Upon City Annexation of Property

QUESTION

The Tennessee General Assembly, pursuant to 2013 Tenn. Pub. Acts, ch. 399, approved the transfer of several properties from Davidson County to Wilson County, effective January 1, 2014. Following this transfer, is the City of Mount Juliet prohibited from immediately annexing these properties into the municipality by the moratorium on annexation in 2013 Tenn. Pub. Act, ch 441?

OPINION

Tennessee Code Annotated § 6-51-122 creates a moratorium on certain municipal annexation and prohibits the City of Mount Juliet from annexing properties into the municipality by means of annexation by ordinance upon the municipality's own initiative, pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 6-51-102, until May 15, 2014. The annexation moratorium, however, does not apply to annexation by ordinance upon petition of a majority of the affected residents and property owners, pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 6-51-102, nor does the moratorium apply to annexation by referendum, pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 6-51-104 and -105.

ANALYSIS

The General Assembly has the power to establish counties and to determine and alter county lines, within the specific criteria set forth in Article X, Section 4, of the Tennessee Constitution. Giles County v. Marshall County, 133 Tenn. 414, 181 S.W. 308 (1915); see also Tenn. Att'y Gen. Op. 13-08 (Feb. 1, 2013) (concluding that constitutional requirements have been met for the General Assembly to authorize the transfer of certain properties from Davidson County to Wilson County). Acting pursuant to this authority, the General Assembly enacted 2013 Tenn. Pub. Acts, ch. 399 ("Chapter 399"), which transfers certain properties from Davidson County to Wilson County effective January 1, 2014. Nothing on the face of Chapter 399 alters the existing municipal territorial limits of the City of Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

The General Assembly, as set forth in Article XI, Section 9, of the Tennessee Constitution, also has the exclusive authority to develop the process for creating and altering authorized municipal boundaries in Tennessee. Acting pursuant to this authority, the General Assembly has authorized municipalities to annex adjoining territory in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 6-51-101 to -121. See Tenn. Att'y Gen. Op. 13-58 (July 25, 2013) (finding that absent invidious discrimination or an intent to circumvent the "one person, one vote principle," annexation by municipal ordinance is constitutional).

Soon after enacting Chapter 399, the General Assembly also enacted an annexation moratorium, which provides in pertinent part:

Notwithstanding the provisions of this part or any other law to the contrary, from April 15, 2013, through May 15, 2014 no municipality shall extend its corporate limits by means of annexation by ordinance upon the municipality's own initiative, pursuant to § 6-51-102, in order to annex territory being used primarily for residential or agricultural purposes; and, except as otherwise permitted pursuant to subdivision (a)(2), no such ordinance to annex such territory shall become operative during such period. As used in this subsection, "municipality" does not include any county having a metropolitan form of government.

2013 Tenn. Pub. Acts, ch. 441, § 1 ("Chapter 441") (codified at Tenn. Code Ann. § 6-51-122(a)(1)) (emphasis added). This annexation moratorium applies to any municipality-initiated annexations by ordinance, pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 6-51-102, of properties being used primarily for residential or agricultural purposes and prohibits the City of Mount Juliet from annexing by such ordinance any residential and agricultural properties to be transferred to Wilson County pursuant to Chapter 399 until after May 15, 2014.

The Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, an appointed panel of 25 state and local government officials and private citizens who study issues affecting state and local governmental public policies, unanimously recommended on December 11, 2013, that the moratorium on annexation by ordinance set forth in Chapter 441 be extended at least another year to May 15, 2015, or until new legislation is enacted. The General Assembly must approve this recommendation through legislation for it to be effective. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 6-51-122(b) (providing for the Commission to complete a comprehensive review and to submit its report to the legislature).

This annexation moratorium, however, does not apply to annexation by ordinance when the municipality is petitioned by a majority of the residents and property owners of the affected territory, pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 6-51-102. The moratorium also does not apply to annexation by referendum, pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 6-51-104 and -105. Following transfer of the properties into Wilson County pursuant to Chapter 399 on January 1, 2014, therefore, either the affected residents and property owners or the City of Mount Juliet may immediately take steps toward annexation pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 6-51-102(a)(1) or Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 6-51-104 and -105.

This opinion assumes that the transferred properties adjoin the City of Mount Juliet. See Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 6-51-102(a)(1) and 6-51-104(a) (authorizing a municipality to annex territory adjoining its existing boundaries).

ROBERT E. COOPER, JR.
Attorney General and Reporter

JOSEPH F. WHALEN
Associate Solicitor General

STEVEN A. HART
Special Counsel

Requested by:

The Honorable Darren Jernigan
State Representative
24 Legislative Plaza
Nashville, TN 37243