Tennessee Code 68-105-116 – Authority of department – Promulgation of rules and regulations – Inspections – Warrants – Disposal of unclaimed explosives
(a) The department may promulgate rules and regulations concerning the manufacture, transportation, sale, storage, or use of explosives and the maintenance of such explosives, and any other rules and regulations necessary to effectuate this chapter.
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 68-105-116
Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
Commissioner: means the commissioner of commerce and insurance or the commissioner's designee. See Tennessee Code 68-105-102
Delay: means a period of time until detonation after application of energy to the ignition system. See Tennessee Code 68-105-102
Explosives: means any chemical compound or other substance or mechanical system intended for the purpose of producing an explosion, or that contains oxidizing and combustible units or other ingredients in such proportion or quantities that ignition by detonation may produce an explosion, capable of causing injury to persons or damage to property. See Tennessee Code 68-105-102
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.
Person: means an individual, public or private corporation, political subdivision, government agency, municipality, industry, copartnership, association, firm, trust, estate or other entity whatsoever. See Tennessee Code 68-105-102
Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. 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
(b) In order to carry out the purposes of this chapter, the commissioner or the commissioner’s authorized representative may enter, without delay and without advance notice, any place where explosives are in use or stored or where blasting records are kept, during regular working hours and at other reasonable times, in order to inspect such places and to question any explosives user or seller for the purpose of ascertaining compliance or noncompliance with this chapter.(c) If an explosives user or seller refuses entry, the commissioner or the commissioner’s authorized representative may apply to the circuit court within the county in which the premises to be entered are located for an order to enforce the right of entry.(d) If, during the course of a lawful inspection, the commissioner or the commissioner’s authorized representative discovers explosives stored or kept in an unlawful manner and such unlawfully stored or kept explosives constitute an imminent and substantial danger to life or property, the commissioner or the commissioner’s authorized representative may, upon proper affidavit before a magistrate with authority and jurisdiction to issue search warrants, obtain a warrant authorizing seizure of such unlawfully stored or kept explosives and thereby seize and store such explosives in a lawful and safe manner.
(1) No warrant pursuant to this subsection (d) shall be issued upon an affidavit that does not aver that an arrangement has been made between the commissioner or the commissioner’s authorized representative and public or private sources for the lawful and safe storage of the explosives to be seized.(2) No warrant pursuant to this subsection (d) shall be issued upon an affidavit that does not specifically describe the place in which the explosives are to be stored and identify the city, county, street address and name of the person, company, or agency accepting the explosives for storage.(3) Any owner or person entitled to lawful possession of explosives seized pursuant to this subsection (d) shall be entitled to recovery of the seized explosives upon written or verbal notification to the commissioner or the commissioner’s authorized representative stating the person’s capability to lawfully and safely store the seized explosives, and upon an inspection by the commissioner or the commissioner’s authorized representative of the person’s storage facilities and methods that reveals the person’s capability to lawfully and safely store the explosives.(4) The commissioner or the commissioner’s authorized representative shall make the inspection within five (5) days of receipt of the notification.(5) If the commissioner or the commissioner’s authorized representative receives no communication from the owner or person entitled to lawful possession of the seized explosives within thirty (30) days after the seizure of such explosives, then the commissioner or the commissioner’s authorized representative may dispose of the seized explosives in a safe and lawful manner.
