(a) Each county shall be responsible for paying the base salary, any supplements and any annual adjustments for all of the general sessions judges in the county. Counties are authorized to impose a local litigation tax on each civil case filed in general sessions court, or in a court where the general sessions judge serves as judge, except juvenile court, and are authorized to impose a local litigation tax on each criminal conviction in general sessions court. In order for the tax to be effective, it must be approved by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the county legislative body of any county wishing to impose it. Its approval by the county legislative body must be proclaimed by the presiding officer of the body and certified by the presiding officer to the secretary of state. The litigation tax authorized by this section may be effective on or after July 1, 1990, and may be in any amount up to six dollars ($6.00) per case. Proceeds of the litigation tax shall be paid to the county general fund. It is the intent of the general assembly that the proceeds of this local tax aid in defraying the cost to counties of paying the general sessions court judges. If, during any fiscal year, the amount of revenue generated by the local tax enacted pursuant to this section does not sufficiently fund the increase in the general sessions judge’s compensation mandated by this part or the salary supplement as provided for under [former] § 16-15-205(d)(2) [repealed], the local litigation tax may be raised to an amount more than six dollars ($6.00) necessary to fund the increase mandated by this part or the salary supplement as provided for under [former] § 16-15-205(d)(2) [repealed]; provided, that any increase to fund the supplement shall be adjusted annually.
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 16-15-5006
Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
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.
Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
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.
(b) Any increase in expenditures by a county resulting from the increase provided by this part shall be appropriated from funds that the county receives from the state government that are not earmarked by statute for a particular purpose.
