(a) The board shall elect a chair from among its members. The chair shall be a citizen of the state and an honorably discharged veteran of the United States armed forces. The chair shall serve a two-year term. A chair may be reelected; provided, that no person shall serve as chair for more than two (2) consecutive terms.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 58-7-103

  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. Source: OCC
  • Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Personal property: includes money, goods, chattels, things in action, and evidences of debt. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) The board shall also select other officers as the board finds necessary and appropriate. The positions are for a period of one (1) year, but members may be reelected to serve additional terms; provided, that no person shall serve for more than two (2) consecutive terms.
(c) The board, pursuant to applicable state and federal law, is hereby vested and charged with those powers and duties necessary and proper to enable it to fully and effectively carry out this chapter, including, but not limited to:

(1) The authority to determine the location of the Tennessee state veterans’ homes. In selecting the sites, preference shall be given to publicly owned land. Land for the sites may be purchased only if suitable publicly owned land is not available;
(2) The duty to adopt written policies and procedures to govern its internal operations;
(3) The authority to acquire, in the name of the board, real or personal property or any interest therein, including rights or easements, on either a temporary or long-term basis by gift, purchase, transfer, foreclosure, lease or otherwise;
(4) The authority to hold, sell, assign, lease, rent, encumber, mortgage or otherwise dispose of any real or personal property, or any interest therein, or mortgage interest owned by it or in its control, custody or possession and release or relinquish any right, title, claim, lien, interest, easement or demand however acquired, including threat of foreclosure;
(5) The authority to incur debts, to borrow money, to issue debt instruments and to provide for the rights of the holders thereof;
(6) The authority to procure insurance against any loss in connection with its property and other assets in amounts and from insurers which it deems desirable;
(7) The authority to have employees authorized by the Tennessee state veterans’ homes board solicit and receive bequests and donations for:

(A) The improvement of the general comfort and welfare of the members of the home or homes; or
(B) The future construction of a new home or homes;
(8) The authority to seek advice from the United Tennessee Veterans’ Association (UTVA);
(9) The authority to seek assistance from the commissioner of finance and administration, the comptroller of the treasury, the state treasurer, and other state agencies;
(10) Do other acts necessary or convenient to exercise the powers granted or reasonably implied in this section;
(11) The authority to provide guidance to future administrators at state veterans’ nursing homes based upon the collective institutional memory of the state veterans’ homes board; and
(12) The authority to notify members of the general assembly and appropriate persons in the executive branch of potential problems in state veterans’ nursing homes.