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2003 Tennessee Attorney General Reports and Opinions 1 (2003)

handle is hein.sag/sagtn0001 and id is 1 raw text is: STATE OF TENNESSEE
OFFICE OF THE
ATTORNEY GENERAL
P. 0. Box 20207
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE 37202
January 3, 2003
Opinion No. 03-001
County Legislative Body - Voting Requirement to Transact Business
QUESTION
Does Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-5-110, which provides methods for presenting business to a
county legislative body, conflict with Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-5-109, which requires a majority vote
of all members of the county legislative body to transact business?
OPINION
No. The methods prescribed by Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-5-110 for presenting business to the
county legislative body do not conflict with the requirement of a majority vote to transact business
prescribed by Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-5-109.
ANALYSIS
Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-5-109 provides that a majority of all the members constituting the
county legislative body, and not merely a majority of the quorum, shall be required to elect county
officials required by law to be elected by the body, fix salaries, appropriate money, and transact all
other business coming before the county legislative body in regular or special sessions. By the plain
meaning of the statute, the transaction of all business coming before the county legislative body
requires a majority vote of all the members constituting the county legislative body.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-5-110 provides two methods by which business to be transacted by the
county legislative body may be presented to it. Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-5-1 10(a) provides that all
business for action by the body shall be presented to the chair, who shall announce the same to the
body and take the vote thereon. Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-5-1 10(b) provides that no business shall be
acted on by the body unless presented as provided in subsection (a), unless the majority of the
members present consent. A majority of the members present, of course, could be no more than a
simple majority of the quorum and not the majority of all the members constituting the county
legislative body required by Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-5-109 to transact business.
No conflict exists between these two statutes. Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-5-110 merely prescribes
the methods by which business may be presented for action. One method, in fact, requires no vote

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