(a) Any affected person may petition an agency for a declaratory order as to the validity or applicability of a statute, rule or order within the primary jurisdiction of the agency. The agency shall:

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 4-5-223

  • Agency: means each state board, commission, committee, department, officer, or any other unit of state government authorized or required by any statute or constitutional provision to make rules or to determine contested cases. See Tennessee Code 4-5-102
  • Contested case: means a proceeding, including a declaratory proceeding, in which the legal rights, duties or privileges of a party are required by any statute or constitutional provision to be determined by an agency after an opportunity for a hearing. See Tennessee Code 4-5-102
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Order: means an agency action of particular applicability that determines the legal rights, duties, privileges, immunities or other legal interests of a specific person or persons. See Tennessee Code 4-5-102
  • Person: means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, governmental subdivision, or public or private organization of any character, including another agency. See Tennessee Code 4-5-102
  • Rule: includes the establishment of a fee and the amendment or repeal of a prior rule. See Tennessee Code 4-5-102
  • 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
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
(1) Convene a contested case hearing pursuant to this chapter and issue a declaratory order, which shall be subject to review in the chancery court of Davidson County, unless otherwise specifically provided by statute, in the manner provided for the review of decisions in contested cases; or
(2) Refuse to issue a declaratory order, in which event the person petitioning the agency for a declaratory order may apply for a declaratory judgment as provided in § 4-5-225.
(b) A declaratory order shall be binding between the agency and parties on the state of facts alleged in the petition unless it is altered or set aside by the agency or a court in a proper proceeding.
(c) If an agency has not set a petition for a declaratory order for a contested case hearing within sixty (60) days after receipt of the petition, the agency shall be deemed to have denied the petition and to have refused to issue a declaratory order.
(d) Each agency shall prescribe by rule the form of such petitions and the procedure for their submission, consideration and disposition.
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