TN Opinion No. 17-18 March 9, 2017

Did the Tennessee AG issue an opinion on the constitutionality of population-bracket exemptions in March 2017?

Short answer: No. The opinion request was withdrawn, so no opinion was issued. The slot for Opinion No. 17-18 is preserved on the AG's website as a withdrawn record.

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This page answers the general question as of 2017. Ezel answers yours: what it means for your facts, under current Tennessee law, with citations.

Disclaimer: This is an official Tennessee Attorney General opinion record. AG opinions are persuasive authority but not binding precedent. This summary is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed Tennessee attorney for advice on your specific situation.

About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official AG opinion. The original opinion (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

View original AG opinion (PDF)

Plain-English summary

No opinion was issued in this slot. The published record for Opinion No. 17-18 states: "No opinion is posted; the opinion request was withdrawn." Tennessee's AG opinion archive keeps the slot to maintain the numerical sequence of opinion IDs, but there is no analysis or holding to report.

Population-bracket statutes are Tennessee laws that apply by reference to county or municipal population (for example, "in any county having a population of not less than X nor more than Y"). They are a recurring topic of constitutional debate in Tennessee because Art. XI, § 8 of the state constitution restricts the legislature from suspending general laws for the benefit of particular individuals, and a population bracket carefully drawn to match a single county can be challenged as functionally a private act dressed up as general legislation. Without an opinion to interpret, this page cannot say more about the specific question that was withdrawn.

Currency note

This record is from 2017. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have addressed population-bracket questions. Treat this page as a placeholder reflecting that no substantive opinion exists at this slot. Verify current law before relying on any rule about population brackets.

Common questions

Q: Why isn't there a substantive opinion at this slot?
A: The opinion request was withdrawn before the AG issued an answer. Tennessee's archive keeps the slot to preserve the numerical sequence.

Q: Where can I find Tennessee AG opinions on population-bracket statutes?
A: Search the AG's opinion archive at the landing page below for other opinions on population-bracket or special-legislation challenges. Several pre-2017 opinions address related questions.

Q: Are population-bracket statutes constitutional in Tennessee?
A: The Tennessee Supreme Court has analyzed them under Art. XI, § 8 of the state constitution. Whether a particular bracket is constitutional depends on whether it bears a reasonable relation to the legislative purpose or operates as a disguised private act. This opinion does not address that question because it was withdrawn.

Source

Landing page: https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/opinions.html
Original PDF: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/ops/2017/op17-018.pdf

Original opinion text

STATE OF TENNESSEE
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
March 9, 2017
Opinion No. 17-18
Constitutionality of Population Bracket Exemptions

No opinion is posted; the opinion request was withdrawn.

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