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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When state employees get a big raise, what is the cap on a Tennessee certified elections administrator's annual pay increase: 5% (the cap on county-officer raises) or 10% (the cap in the elections administrator statute)?
10%. Tennessee Code Annotated § 2-12-208(f) specifically governs elections administrators and caps their annual increase at 10% of the prior year's state-employee raise. The 5% cap in § 8-24-102(d) ap…
If a Tennessee parent signs a 'blanket consent' for a school or provider to treat a minor's physical ailments and administer medication, does that consent also waive the parental-consent requirement for psychological or counseling services?
Likely no. The AG concluded that a blanket consent in Tennessee covers only the activity it specifically authorizes. A consent listing physical treatment and medication does not extend to psychologica…
If a Nashville-style stadium has 25,000 permanent seats and 5,000 temporary seats, can the city still levy the 'municipal stadium' privilege tax?
Yes. The 30,000-seat threshold in § 7-3-202(a)(3) for the metropolitan government's privilege tax counts both permanent and movable/temporary seats. The statute requires that the stadium 'contain seat…
If a fertility clinic discards an unused human embryo that was created in a lab and never transferred to a uterus, is that a crime under Tennessee's Human Life Protection Act?
No. The AG concluded that Tennessee's Human Life Protection Act does not apply to embryos that have never been transferred to a woman's uterus. The Act's text limits 'abortion' to terminating the preg…
Does a Tennessee police chief or sheriff have to attach evidence when certifying to a court that a confiscated weapon is inoperable or unsafe?
No. The AG concluded that the official's signed attestation, by itself, satisfies the certification requirement of Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1317(i). The plain meaning of 'certify,' the absence of statu…
In a Tennessee county that uses the County Financial Management System of 1981, can the finance director count as a 'full-time purchasing agent' so the county can raise the competitive-bid threshold to $25,000?
No. The AG concluded that the director of a county finance department appointed under the County Financial Management System of 1981 was not a 'full-time purchasing agent' under Tenn. Code Ann. § 12-3…
When the chancellor who serves both Tennessee's Fourth and Fifth Judicial Districts retires, does the next chancellor still serve both districts, or does each district get its own?
One chancellor still serves both districts. Tenn. Code Ann. § 16-2-506(4)(A) does not tie the shared-chancellor arrangement to a specific person. Read in context, terms like 'incumbent chancellor' or …
Does TRICOR's authority to contract with Tennessee counties and cities for inmate 'work training programs' include traditional work release?
Yes. The AG concluded that the phrase 'work training programs' in Tenn. Code Ann. § 41-22-415 was broad enough to include traditional work release programs for inmates in county and city jails. Work r…
What counts as a 'note' under Tennessee's Collection Services Act exemption, and does the Collection Services Board have to investigate whether the underlying debt is a note?
'Notes' in the exemption means written promissory notes only, not ordinary credit accounts dressed up as 'written promises to pay.' Reading it broadly would swallow the rest of the statute. The Board,…
After the 2019 amendments, can a Tennessee correctional officer who has finished probation but isn't yet vested in retirement get the state ID card needed to carry a firearm off-duty?
No. The 2019 amendment let TDOC officers carry off-duty after completing the one-year probationary period, but the legislature did not change subsection (f), which still says only 'vested' employees (…
Does Tennessee's race-track insurance law apply only to automobile races, or to motorcycle and other motor-vehicle races too?
All of them. The AG concluded that 'motor vehicle race' under Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 55-22-101 to -105 is broader than 'automobile race' and reaches any contest of speed among self-propelled wheeled conve…
Do Tennessee private high schools have to use the state's 4.0 grading scale for their students to qualify for HOPE scholarship eligibility?
No. The AG concluded HOPE eligibility can be established either through the state's uniform 4.0 grading scale or through any other grading method that allows mathematical conversion to that scale.
When Tennessee said the Foreign Language Institute is 'attached to the board of regents for administrative purposes,' did that make TFLI staff Board of Regents employees instead of state employees?
No. Attaching one agency to another 'for administrative purposes' covers management and supervision, but does not change employee classification. TFLI staff remain State of Tennessee employees for ben…
Can a Tennessee county or city create more than one tourism development authority under the 2012 enabling statute?
Yes. Although the statute mostly refers to 'the authority' in the singular, Tennessee's default canon reads singular references to include the plural absent a contrary intent, and nothing in the act l…
Did Tennessee's 2015 law reclassifying high-volume abortion clinics as ambulatory surgical treatment centers force them to get a Certificate of Need before they could be licensed?
No. The AG concluded that the legislature, in shifting these existing practices into the ASTC licensing regime, did not silently impose a multi-month CON pre-requirement that would have made complianc…
Can a Tennessee mayor or judge perform a wedding ceremony in another state using a marriage license from a Tennessee county clerk?
No. Tennessee statute authorizes elected and former elected officials to solemnize marriages 'in any county of this state.' The AG read that as excluding any out-of-state ceremony.
Can married parents in Tennessee give their child a 'mashed-up' surname combining parts of each parent's last name on the birth certificate?
No. The statute lets married parents use the father's surname, the mother's surname or maiden name, or those names combined (typically hyphenated), but does not permit a hybrid like 'Johnister' built …
Is the 10% Tennessee county clerk fee on late motor vehicle registration renewals mandatory?
No. The clerk's fee was permissive at the county clerk's discretion. It only applied at vehicle registration renewal time, only to motor vehicle registration fees the owner owed (on any vehicle), and …
Can Tennessee terminate a parent's rights under Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-113(g)(6) for a long criminal sentence imposed while the child was under 8, even after the parent has finished the sentence and been released?
The AG concluded yes. Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-113(g)(6) requires only that the parent was confined under a sentence of ten or more years entered when the child was under eight; the statute does not req…
When a Tennessee court reporter has a conflict of interest under Tenn. Code Ann. § 24-9-136, how quickly do they have to disclose it, and is disclosure at the deposition enough?
The AG read 'timely fashion' in Tenn. Code Ann. § 24-9-136(b)(1) to require that potential conflicts be brought to the parties' attention as soon as reasonably possible, by analogy to the recusal-timi…
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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.