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 Tennessee's law banning religious entities from operating public charter schools violate the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause?
Likely yes. The U.S. Supreme Court's recent free-exercise rulings (Trinity Lutheran, Espinoza, Carson) hold that excluding religious entities from generally available public benefits 'solely on accoun…
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…
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…
Can Tennessee constitutionally limit which surname goes on a newborn's birth certificate?
Yes. The AG concluded that § 68-3-305 likely survives a First Amendment challenge because a birth certificate is government property in a limited or nonpublic forum, and restrictions there only need t…
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…
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…
Did the Seventh Circuit's 2014 ruling against Indianapolis's adult-bookstore hours rule mean Tennessee's similar restrictions are now unconstitutional?
No. Tennessee sits in the Sixth Circuit, where Richland Bookmart upheld Tennessee's hours-of-operation restrictions under intermediate scrutiny based on the secondary-effects doctrine. The Seventh Cir…
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…
Can Tennessee force private colleges to recognize religious student groups that limit their leaders to coreligionists?
Probably not as applied to private institutions. The AG concluded SB2294 was constitutionally suspect under the First Amendment because it would force private colleges to abandon all-comers policies a…
Can Tennessee make it a separate crime to engage in mass picketing during a labor strike or lockout?
Probably not. The AG concluded that HB 1688, which would have singled out mass picketing in labor disputes for criminal sanction and easier injunctive relief, was a content-based speech restriction un…
Could Tennessee criminalize a movie theater letting a minor watch an R-rated film?
The pre-2013 statute that tied criminal liability to MPAA ratings was unconstitutional under the First Amendment because it borrowed a private, voluntary rating system to define a crime and was not na…
Is Tennessee's proposed pre-suit notice law for establishment clause claims constitutional?
No. SB 965's pre-litigation notice and 120-day response window for state establishment clause claims violates the Tennessee Constitution's freedom-of-worship and open-courts provisions. The bill's cri…
Is Tennessee's 1949 private act creating the DeKalb County Democratic Party Executive Committee still enforceable today?
No. The private act unconstitutionally restricts the Democratic Party's First Amendment associational rights. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that a political party gets to set its own internal struct…
Can a Tennessee bar or restaurant refuse entry to people wearing motorcycle club colors, or does that violate civil rights laws?
Yes, a private bar, restaurant, or similar establishment can deny admittance to people wearing motorcycle club insignia. The First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment constrain only government action; …
Can Tennessee criminalize the use of a bank's name or non-public loan information in a solicitation without specific disclosures, or does the First Amendment protect that speech?
Yes, Tenn. Code Ann. § 45-2-1709(a)(1)(D) and (E) are constitutional. The mandatory bold-face disclosures (solicitor identity, non-affiliation statement, no-sponsorship statement, and source of loan i…
Can Tennessee legally ban billboard advertising of alcohol in counties that vote dry, and what happens if a city inside a dry county votes wet?
Yes. Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0100-03-.05(1), which bans sign and billboard advertising of alcohol in counties that have not legalized alcohol sales, survives First Amendment review under Central Hudson…
Can the state require people who record livestock abuse to turn over the videos and report to law enforcement within 48 hours, or does that violate the First Amendment?
The AG concluded HB1191 was constitutionally suspect on three First Amendment grounds (underinclusiveness, possible prior restraint if the bill required surrender of all copies, and burden on newsgath…
Can the state ban journalists from photographing inside polling places during elections?
Yes, on a facial challenge. The AG concluded HB921, which would have generally banned photographic and recording devices in polling places while letting county election commissions permit press use un…
Can the state make handgun carry permit records public but then make it a crime to republish them?
The AG concluded yes for the part that makes permit records confidential, but no for the parts that allow inspection while criminalizing publication. SB76 and its amendment would have left the records…
Would a Tennessee law requiring the governor to designate a 'Tennessee's Day of Prayer' violate the First Amendment's Establishment Clause?
No. The AG concluded that the proposed Tennessee's Day of Prayer legislation could not be successfully challenged under the Establishment Clause. The law imposed no obligation on citizens, paralleled …
Can Tennessee issue a 'Jesus is Lord' specialty license plate even if the proceeds go to a secular charity?
No. The AG concluded a 'Jesus is Lord' specialty earmarked license plate would violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and Article I, Section 3 of the Tennessee Constitution. Because t…
After Citizens United, can Tennessee still ban corporations from spending money to support or oppose state candidates?
Probably not, at least for independent expenditures. The Tennessee AG concluded that Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-19-132 is likely unconstitutional to the extent it bars corporations from independently spendin…
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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.