Terms Used In Tennessee Code > Title 6 > Municipal Government Generally > Chapter 55 - Licensing and Taxing Powers

• advertising: means every kind of conveying to the public notice of sale or notice of intention to conduct a sale, whether by word of mouth, newspaper advertising, magazine advertisement, handbill, written notice, printed notice, printed display, billboard display, poster, radio announcement, and, any and all means including oral, written or printed. See Tennessee Code 6-55-401
• Agricultural district: means those properties residing within a contiguous boundary and meeting appropriate criteria for designation as such by the local soil and water conservation district. See Tennessee Code 43-34-103
• Agricultural production: means those operations including associated land and facility management activities engaged in the commercial propagation, raising, harvesting and/or processing of any plant or animal or products thereof for purposes of consumption, utilization, goods, or service either on-site or for distribution. See Tennessee Code 43-34-103
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• board of directors: means the governing board of a corporation, whether denominated the board of directors or otherwise, except that no person or group of persons is the board of directors because of powers delegated to that person or group pursuant to §. See Tennessee Code 48-51-201
• Board of supervisors: means the governing body of the local soil and water conservation district. See Tennessee Code 43-34-103
• Bonds: means bonds, notes, interim certificates, or other obligations of a corporation issued pursuant to this part. See Tennessee Code 48-101-301
• Business: means any lawful activity, excepting a farm operation, conducted primarily:
  (A) For the purchase, sale, lease and rental of personal and real property, and for the manufacture, processing, or marketing of products, commodities, or any other personal property. See Tennessee Code 13-11-103
• Business: includes every trade, occupation, profession, investment activity and other lawful purpose for gain or the preservation of assets whether or not carried on for profits. See Tennessee Code 48-202-101
• Bylaws: means the code or codes of rules (other than the charter) adopted pursuant to chapters 51-68 of this title for the regulation or management of the affairs of the corporation irrespective of the name or names by which such rules are designated. See Tennessee Code 48-51-201
• Caucus: From the Algonquian Indian language, a caucus meant "to meet together." An informal organization of members of the legislature that exists to discuss issues of mutual concern and possibly to perform legislative research and policy planning for its members. There are regional, political or ideological, ethnic, and economic-based caucuses.
• Chambers: A judge's office.
• City: means any city or territory to be incorporated that may adopt chapters 30-36 of this title. See Tennessee Code 6-30-102
• Code: includes the Tennessee Code and all amendments and revisions to the code and all additions and supplements to the code. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Collector: includes any person entrusted with the collection of public revenue. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Commissioner: means the commissioner or such official designated by the city ordinance, to be appointed by the municipality. See Tennessee Code 6-55-401
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of transportation. See Tennessee Code 13-10-101
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Corporation: means any corporation organized pursuant to this part. See Tennessee Code 48-101-301
• County: means the county in which any such city or territory to be incorporated under chapters 30-36 of this title is located, or in which the major portion of the population of any such city or territory to be incorporated is located as indicated by the last federal census. See Tennessee Code 6-30-102
• County mayor: means and includes "county executive" unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Court: includes every court and judge having jurisdiction in the case. See Tennessee Code 48-202-101
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• delivery: means any method of delivery used in conventional commercial practice, including delivery by hand, mail, commercial delivery, and, if authorized in accordance with §. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• Department: means the department of transportation. See Tennessee Code 13-10-101
• Directors: means natural persons, designated in the charter or bylaws or elected or appointed by the incorporators, and their successors and natural persons elected or appointed to act as members of the board, irrespective of the names or titles by which such persons are described. See Tennessee Code 48-51-201
• Displaced person: means , except as provided in subdivision (2)(B):
  (A) Any person who moves from real property, or moves such person's personal property from real property:

  (i) As a direct result of a written notice of intent to acquire or the acquisition of such real property in whole or in part for a program or project undertaken by a state agency or with federal financial assistance. See Tennessee Code 13-11-103
• Displacing agency: means any state agency undertaking a program or project with or without federal financial assistance, which causes a person to be displaced, a local agency undertaking a program or project with federal or state financial assistance, which causes a person to be displaced, or a person undertaking a program or project with federal financial assistance, which causes a person to be displaced. See Tennessee Code 13-11-103
• Employee: includes an officer but not a director. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Farm operation: means any activity conducted solely or primarily for the production of one (1) or more agricultural products or commodities, including timber, for sale or home use, and customarily producing such products or commodities in sufficient quantity to be capable of contributing materially to the operator's support. See Tennessee Code 13-11-103
• Farmland: means land and associated facilities involved in agricultural production activities. See Tennessee Code 43-34-103
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• 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}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Governing body: means the legislative body of a county or the board or other body in which the general legislative powers of a city or town are vested. See Tennessee Code 48-101-301
• Hospital institution: means any city, county, metropolitan government, or other local governmental entity, or any institution organized for-profit or not for profit authorized by law to provide congregate elderly facilities or extended care, hospital, or nursing home facilities in this state, or any finance subsidiary of such hospital institution. See Tennessee Code 48-101-301
• Housing: means any multi-family housing facilities to be occupied by persons of low and/or moderate income, and/or elderly, and/or handicapped persons as may be determined by the board of directors, which determination shall be conclusive. See Tennessee Code 48-101-301
• Impeachment: (1) The process of calling something into question, as in "impeaching the testimony of a witness." (2) The constitutional process whereby the House of Representatives may "impeach" (accuse of misconduct) high officers of the federal government for trial in the Senate.
• Individual: includes the estate of an incompetent or deceased individual. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• Inspector: means an inspector of the department of licenses. See Tennessee Code 6-55-401
• Institution for higher education: means any institution organized for-profit or not for profit authorized by law to provide a program of education at the primary level, secondary level or beyond the secondary level in this state. See Tennessee Code 48-101-301
• Interest: means either or both of the following rights under the organic law of an unincorporated entity:
  (A) The right to receive distributions from the entity either in the ordinary course or upon liquidation. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
• Joint resolution: A legislative measure which requires the approval of both chambers.
• 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.
• Lands: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights thereto and interests therein, equitable as well as legal. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Lease: includes a lease containing an option to purchase the project for a nominal sum upon payment in full, or provision therefor, of all bonds issued in connection with the project and all interest thereon and all other expenses in connection with the project, and a lease containing an option to purchase the project at any time, as provided therein, upon payment of the purchase price which shall be sufficient to pay all bonds issued in connection with the project and all interest thereon and all other expenses incurred in connection with the project, but which payment may be made in the form of one (1) or more notes, debentures, bonds, or other secured or unsecured debt obligations of the lessee providing for timely payments, including, but not limited to, interest thereon sufficient for such purposes and delivered to the corporation or to the trustee under the indenture pursuant to which the bonds were issued. See Tennessee Code 48-101-301
• 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}
• Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
• License: means a license issued pursuant to this part. See Tennessee Code 6-55-401
• Licensee: means any person to whom a license has been issued pursuant to this part. See Tennessee Code 6-55-401
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Loan agreement: means an agreement providing for a corporation to loan the proceeds derived from the issuance of bonds pursuant to this part to one (1) or more contracting parties to be used to pay the cost of one (1) or more projects and providing for the repayment of such loan by the other contracting party or parties, and which may provide for such loans to be secured or evidenced by one (1) or more notes, debentures, bonds or other secured or unsecured debt obligations of the contracting party or parties, delivered to the corporation or to the trustee under the indenture pursuant to which the bonds were issued. See Tennessee Code 48-101-301
• Local agency: means any political subdivision of the state or any department, agency, or instrumentality of a political subdivision of the state or any department, agency, or instrumentality of two (2) or more political subdivisions of the state when carrying out or undertaking programs or projects with federal or state financial assistance. See Tennessee Code 13-11-103
• Local government: means an incorporated municipality, county, agency or instrumentality of an incorporated municipality or county, two (2) or more of the foregoing acting jointly, or an authority established by law to provide mass transportation services, or a nonprofit corporation authorized to provide mass transportation services. See Tennessee Code 13-10-101
• Mass transportation project: means the planning, acquisition, construction, reconstruction, improvement, maintenance or operation of any mass transportation system or capital equipment used in connection therewith. See Tennessee Code 13-10-101
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Municipality: means any county or incorporated city or town in this state with respect to which a corporation may be organized. See Tennessee Code 48-101-301
• Municipality: means any incorporated city or any incorporated town. See Tennessee Code 6-55-401
• Oath: includes affirmation. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Officer: means the mayor, aldermen, city attorney and city judge. See Tennessee Code 6-1-101
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Owners: means members in the case of an LLC, shareholders in the case of a corporation, partners in the case of general or limited partnerships and the equivalent with respect to other entities. See Tennessee Code 48-202-101
• Ownership: means any individual, family, company, corporation, or organization holding title to property within a proposed or established agricultural district. See Tennessee Code 43-34-103
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Person: means and includes, but is not limited to, a partnership, company, corporation, association, individual, or family who is undertaking programs or projects with federal financial assistance, or such other person, business or farm operation which is entitled to any financial or other benefit as a result of federal financial assistance, or the undertaking of any program or project by a state agency. See Tennessee Code 13-11-103
• Person: includes individual and entity. See Tennessee Code 48-202-101
• 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.
• Petition: means the application and application process for designation of an agricultural district as submitted to the local soil and water conservation district. See Tennessee Code 43-34-103
• project: means the purchase of the accounts receivable of any hospital institution. See Tennessee Code 48-101-301
• Project cost: means actual or estimated cost of a mass transportation project, including relocation assistance payments, or the estimated reasonable cost thereof as approved by the commissioner, whichever is lower, less any federal assistance received or to be received for the project. See Tennessee Code 13-10-101
• Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• real property: include lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights thereto and interests therein, equitable as well as legal. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• relative: means a parent, foster parent, parent-in-law, child, spouse, brother, foster brother, sister, foster sister, grandparent, grandchild, son-in-law, brother-in-law, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, or other family member who resides in the same household. See Tennessee Code 3-1-202
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• 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
• Road: includes public bridges and may be held equivalent to the words "county way" "county road" or "state road". See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Sales: means the sale or any offer to sell to the public goods, wares and merchandise of any and all kinds and descriptions on hand and in stock in connection with a declared purpose, as set forth by advertising, on the part of the seller that such sale is anticipatory to the termination, closing, liquidation, revision, windup, discontinuance, conclusion or abandonment of the business in connection with such sale. See Tennessee Code 6-55-401
• Secretary: means the corporate officer to whom the bylaws or the board of directors has delegated responsibility under §. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• Series: means a category of membership interests, within a class of membership interests, that have some of the same rights and preferences as other membership interests within the same class, but that differ in one (1) or more rights and preferences from another category of membership interests within that class. See Tennessee Code 48-202-101
• Soil and water conservation district: means that governmental body established by chapter 14, part 2, of this title. See Tennessee Code 43-34-103
• 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
• State agency: means any department, agency, or instrumentality of the state when carrying out or undertaking programs or projects with or without federal financial assistance, or when providing state financial assistance. See Tennessee Code 13-11-103
• State financial assistance: means a grant, loan, or contribution provided by the state, except any state guarantee or insurance, any interest reduction payment to an individual in connection with the purchase and occupancy of a residence by that individual, and any annual payment or capital loan to the state. See Tennessee Code 13-11-103
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Subpoena duces tecum: A command to a witness to produce documents.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Tennessee soil and water conservation commission: means that governmental body established by chapter 14, part 2, of this title. See Tennessee Code 43-34-103
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• United States: includes district, authority, bureau, commission, department, and any other agency of the United States. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• written: means any information in the form of a document. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• 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