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 passes a law shielding pesticide manufacturers from failure-to-warn lawsuits when their labels comply with state and federal law (S.B. 527/H.B. 809), what tort claims would still survive, and would the law conflict with FIFRA?
The proposed Tennessee bill would shield manufacturers and sellers from civil claims 'related to the labeling' of a registered pesticide whose label complied with FIFRA at the time of sale, but only w…
Can Tennessee enforce its weather-modification ban on activities like cloud seeding when the chemicals are released in federally controlled airspace?
It depends. The AG concluded Tennessee can almost certainly enforce the ban against ground-based weather-modification activities. For releases in navigable airspace, federal preemption may bar enforce…
Can Tennessee bar its National Guard from active-duty combat overseas unless Congress formally declares war?
Probably not. House Bill 1609 (2024) is constitutionally suspect under the Supremacy Clause. Federal law already lets Congress and the President order Guard members into active service in war, nationa…
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 Tennessee require U.S. citizenship for funeral director, embalmer, polygraph, or security licenses, and does federal law allow it?
No to citizen-only requirements (preempted and unconstitutional under Equal Protection); preempted in part for citizen-or-resident-alien requirements. The Tennessee AG instructed the Department of Com…
Could Tennessee public colleges and universities offer in-state tuition to undocumented students if state law gave each institution authority to set its own tuition eligibility rules?
No, according to the AG. Federal law (8 U.S.C. § 1621) makes unlawfully present aliens ineligible for state and local public benefits, including in-state tuition, unless the state legislature passes a…
Would a Tennessee bill regulating motorboats carrying passengers for hire in tourist resort counties be preempted by federal law, and does its narrow application violate equal protection?
Partial preemption, no equal-protection problem. The AG concluded that the bill's state inspection and licensure requirements would likely be preempted as applied to inspected vessels (federal field p…
Does federal law (Title IX, Clery Act, or due process) preempt Tennessee's UAPA contested-case procedures when a public-college student faces discipline for an alleged campus sexual assault?
The UAPA does not violate the Due Process Clause, and neither Title IX nor the Clery Act preempts Tennessee's UAPA contested-case procedures applied to public-college student discipline for alleged se…
Does Tennessee's $60,000 income cap for disabled-veteran property tax relief illegally tax federally exempt veterans' benefits when it counts those benefits as income?
No. The AG concluded that using VA benefits as part of the income calculation for property-tax-relief eligibility does not tax the benefits, so it does not conflict with 38 U.S.C. § 5301(a)(1)'s prohi…
Could Tennessee's governor or legislature refuse to accept Syrian refugees (or refugees from any particular country or religion) that the federal government had already admitted?
No. The AG concluded that any such refusal would be preempted by federal law under the Supremacy Clause. Immigration and the admission of aliens is an exclusively federal power, and Tennessee could on…
Did the amended version of HB1687 fix the First Amendment problems that the AG flagged in the original anti-corporate-campaign bill?
Mostly. By dropping labor-specific language and applying the extortion offense to 'any entity,' the amended HB1687 was no longer a content-based speech restriction. But it remained at risk of federal …
Would Tennessee's proposed HB1687 changes to bribery, extortion, riot, and trespass laws survive constitutional challenge?
The Tennessee AG concluded that HB1687's extortion provision was vulnerable as a content-based speech restriction and could be preempted by federal law. A later official opinion says the bill's briber…
Could Tennessee declare all federal weapons regulations void in the state and create a private cause of action against any government that tried to enforce one?
No. The AG concluded that SB 1756, which would have voided all federal arms regulations within Tennessee and locked out any local firearms rules, would violate the Supremacy Clause to the extent it re…
Could Tennessee pass a law declaring federal firearms regulations void within the state?
No. The AG concluded that SB 1607, which would have amended the Tennessee Firearms Freedom Act to declare federal firearms laws void as to any gun, accessory, or ammunition present in Tennessee, would…
Can Tennessee regulate pole-attachment rates for TVA-supplied electric cooperatives, or does federal law preempt that?
Probably yes, with caveats. The TVA Act does not expressly preempt state regulation, and the federal Pole Attachment Act expressly preserves state authority to regulate cooperatives' pole attachments.…
Can Tennessee let local emergency communications districts collect the 911 fee on landline and VoIP service?
Yes. No federal or Tennessee law prevents the General Assembly from restructuring the 911 funding model so that emergency communications districts collect 911 fees on both wireline and non-wireline (i…
Can Tennessee require a prescription for all pseudoephedrine products, even though federal law doesn't?
Yes. State laws regulating sale of drugs are a legitimate exercise of police power. The federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act preempts most state OTC drug rules under 21 U.S.C. § 379r, but § 379r(c)(1)…
Does Tennessee's service-dog law for restaurants and stores still hold up after the 2013 update, or does the federal ADA preempt it?
Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-7-112, as amended in 2013, is consistent with the ADA's service-animal regulations (28 C.F.R. § 36.302(c)) and is not preempted. The statute now mirrors the federal rules: no docu…
Could the Tennessee legislature pass a law declaring federal firearms regulations unenforceable inside the state?
No. The AG concluded that both HB42 and SB250 would violate the Supremacy Clause if enacted. Tennessee cannot nullify validly enacted federal law, cannot criminalize federal officers performing their …
Can Tennessee require drug tests for people applying for welfare or other public assistance benefits?
Not as broadly as the bills proposed. The opinion concluded that federal law (Title XIX of the Social Security Act, the TennCare waiver, the federal Food Stamp program) bars conditioning eligibility o…
Must a Tennessee flight school be authorized by THEC, and is that state oversight preempted by federal FAA and veterans benefits law?
Yes, the opinion said, a flight school operating in Tennessee must be authorized by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. Federal law likely preempts state regulation of flight course content and…
Can Tennessee make homeschooled kids take the TCAP and other state tests?
Yes, with one limit. Tennessee can require homeschooled students to participate in TCAP, Gateway, End of Course, and similar state assessments. Federal law (No Child Left Behind, 20 U.S.C. § 7886(b)) …
Was Tennessee's 2011 'Lawful Immigration Enforcement Act' constitutional?
The AG flagged three serious constitutional problems with the proposed Lawful Immigration Enforcement Act. Sections that let private voters sue to compel state and local officials, including the Gover…
How do Tennessee's substance abuse coverage statutes interact with the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, who enforces them in Tennessee, and is there a private right of action under § 56-7-2602?
The AG concluded that the Tennessee Commissioner of Commerce and Insurance enforces Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-7-2602 and may also enforce the federal parity law against Tennessee-licensed group health insu…
Do federal HUD Section 8 voucher regulations override Tennessee's Administrative Procedures Act when a tenant fights a voucher termination?
No. The Tennessee AG concluded in 2010 that HUD's Housing Choice Voucher regulations did not preempt the Tennessee Administrative Procedures Act. The state APA gave voucher participants extra due proc…
Did Tennessee accidentally legalize pirated movies and post-1972 music in 2009?
No, Tennessee did not accidentally decriminalize piracy. The 2009 amendment to Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-139 reflected federal copyright preemption (17 U.S.C. § 301), which bars state prosecution of pir…
Can Tennessee automatically extend a wireline carrier's ETC designation to its wireless services without separate FCC or state review?
Likely no. A proposed Tennessee amendment that would automatically extend the TRA's prior designation of a wireline carrier as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier to that carrier's wireless service…
Is Tennessee's narrower Health Care Freedom Act bill (HB 2622/SB 2560) constitutional?
Yes, with one fix. The AG concluded HB 2622/SB 2560 (a narrower companion to the Health Freedom Act analyzed in Opinion 10-43) is constitutionally valid because it only restricts State action and is n…
Can Tennessee pass a law saying residents don't have to comply with the federal health insurance mandate?
No. The AG concluded that the Tennessee Health Freedom Act (SB 3498/HB 3433) and the proposed constitutional amendment in HJR 745, both of which would have barred enforcement of the federal individual…
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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.