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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Can the Tennessee General Assembly delegate emergency powers to the governor or another department, or does the state constitution's separation-of-powers clause forbid that?
The legislature cannot delegate raw lawmaking power, but it can grant the governor or an agency the authority to carry out emergency statutes through rules and orders, as long as the statute itself se…
What does the Tennessee statute requiring the Commissioner of Education to be of 'literary and scientific attainments' actually mean, and what happens if the appointee doesn't meet the requirements?
The Commissioner must satisfy all three statutory tests in § 4-3-802(b): literary and scientific attainments, skill and experience in school administration, and qualification to teach in the highest-s…
Could Tennessee legally pass a law letting the state nullify federal laws, executive orders, or court decisions it considers unconstitutional?
No. Senate Bill 1092 is constitutionally infirm. Tennessee's separation-of-powers doctrine bars the legislature and governor from declaring federal action unconstitutional (that's a judicial function)…
Can the Tennessee House of Representatives require visitors to get a ticket before sitting in the public gallery during a session?
Yes. The 'open doors' clause in Article II, § 22 of the Tennessee Constitution doesn't guarantee public seating; it just says the doors stay open. A ticketing system manages limited gallery space rath…
Can the Tennessee House of Representatives expel a member for conduct that happened more than two decades before he took office and that voters knew about when they re-elected him?
It can, but the AG counseled that historical practice, sound policy, and constitutional limits all weigh against doing so. The expulsion power should be used only in extreme circumstances and with gre…
Can Tennessee create a dedicated business court, and would its judges have to be elected?
Only the Tennessee Legislature can create a business court (an inferior court), the Supreme Court may instead create a business docket, and either way the judge must be elected, not appointed.
Can Tennessee fix the constitutional problem with the whiskey-barrel tax exemption by adding a legislative interpretation of 'manufactured article'?
No. SB 2076/HB 2038 (2018) as amended by Amendment No. 2 (HA 0942) is unconstitutional. The amendment tried to fix the constitutional problem identified in Tenn. Att'y Gen. Op. 18-06 (March 5, 2018) b…
In 2017, would Tennessee SB 1085/HB 1111's 'ordinary meaning' rule create a separation-of-powers problem or undermine Obergefell when courts read gender-specific terms in statutes?
Mostly no. The AG concluded that the bill codified an existing canon of statutory construction, so a separation-of-powers challenge was possible but unlikely. Gender-specific words read literally coul…
Could the Tennessee legislature require its own joint resolution before the governor agreed to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act?
Yes. The AG concluded the statute did not violate separation of powers. The governor could negotiate and investigate Medicaid expansion, but could not make any final, binding decision without a joint …
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…
Can the Tennessee legislature abolish specific judgeships in one judicial district mid-cycle, even when nominating petitions for those very seats are already circulating?
Yes. Article VI, § 1 of the Tennessee Constitution lets the General Assembly create and abolish circuit and chancery courts, and Tennessee Supreme Court decisions going back to 1899 confirm the legisl…
Is the Tennessee Claims Commission part of the judicial branch?
No. The Claims Commission is an administrative tribunal within the executive branch of Tennessee government, attached to the Department of Treasury for administrative purposes. Claims Commissioners ar…
Can the Tennessee Governor still appoint judges after the Judicial Nominating Commission was 'sunset' and shut down?
Yes. Tenn. Code Ann. § 17-4-113 (added in 2009) is a failsafe: if the JNC doesn't furnish a list of nominees within 60 days of the governor's notice of a vacancy, the governor may appoint any qualifie…
Can the Tennessee legislature pass a private act forcing one county's general sessions court to use the county probation office (and only that office) to supervise misdemeanor probationers?
Yes. Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-302 doesn't require courts to consider all qualified providers, so a private act picking one county provider doesn't conflict with general law. And because supervising pro…
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 …
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…
Would Tennessee's 2011 Exclusionary Rule Reform Act (HB 401), which would let courts admit search-warrant evidence despite statutory or Rule 41 violations as long as the error was a 'good faith mistake or technical violation' and no constitutional rights were violated, survive constitutional review?
The AG concluded the bill is constitutional. It does not purport to admit evidence obtained in violation of the U.S. or Tennessee constitutions, so it does not create a statutory good-faith exception …
Can the Tennessee legislature require the governor to give 10 days' notice to the attorney general, district attorney general, and the victim before announcing a grant of clemency (reprieve, pardon, commutation, or exoneration)?
The AG concluded that the bill is unconstitutional as applied to reprieves, pardons, and commutations because those are powers vested in the governor alone by Tenn. Const. art. III, § 6 and the legisl…
In a Tennessee city under the City Manager-Commission Charter, who has authority over personnel decisions and salaries: the city manager or individual city commissioners?
The AG concluded that the city manager held exclusive authority over personnel decisions for department heads and city employees, working within the appropriations ordinance and comprehensive pay plan…
Can the Tennessee legislature require the Governor to appoint members of a state board only from a list of names submitted by a private trade or professional association?
Yes. Tennessee statutes that require the Governor to appoint state board or agency members from lists submitted by private trade associations are constitutional. The Governor still holds the appointin…
Can Tennessee's State Comptroller serve on a state procurement commission that the Comptroller's office also audits?
Yes. The Comptroller's service on a proposed State Procurement Commission would not violate Tennessee's separation of powers (the Comptroller's role is substantially executive). And serving on a board…
Can the Tennessee legislature stop saying when a defendant's diversion statement is admissible at trial?
Yes, no separation-of-powers problem. HB 3283 would remove the existing legislative declaration that a defendant's pretrial-diversion statement is admissible only for impeachment if the defendant test…
Can a Tennessee metro government performance-audit the state trial courts that sit in its county?
Partly. Nashville's Metro government can audit the physical space, the programs, and the personnel that Metro funds for the 20th Judicial District trial courts. It cannot audit purely state-funded tri…
Can the Tennessee legislature force the Supreme Court to discipline lawyers, or make breaking the lawyer ethics rules a crime?
Forcing the Supreme Court to discipline lawyers in particular ways violates the separation of powers, because the Tennessee Supreme Court has the constitutional authority to regulate the practice of l…
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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.