Tennessee § 10-7-401 - County public records commission created — Membership.

§ 10-7-401. County public records commission created — Membership.

In order to provide for the orderly disposition of public records created by agencies of county government, the county legislative body shall create within the county a county public records commission, composed of at least six (6) members. The county mayor shall appoint three (3) members and the county legislative body shall confirm each appointee. Of the three (3) appointees, one (1) shall be a member of the county legislative body, one (1) shall be a judge of one of the courts of record or designee of such judge which holds court in the county and one (1) shall be a genealogist. The county clerk, or the designee of the county clerk, county register, or the designee of the county register, and the county historian shall be ex officio members of the commission. In counties having a duly appointed county archivist, that person shall also serve as an ex officio member of the commission. In counties having a technology department or information technology department, the county legislative body may designate the director of such department as an ex officio member of the commission, and if so designated, the director or designee of the director shall also serve as an ex officio member of the commission. Each elected member of the commission shall hold office during the term for which the member was elected to office. If a vacancy occurs in one (1) of the appointed positions, the county mayor shall appoint a person in the same manner as the original appointment. Acts 1959, ch. 253, § 1; 1965, ch. 316, § 1; 1968, ch. 507, § 1; 1977, ch. 78, § 1; 1977, ch. 486, § 1; impl. am. Acts 1978, ch. 934, §§ 7, 36; T.C.A., § 15-501; Acts 1987, ch. 195, § 1; 1994, ch. 884, § 1; 1998, ch. 793, §§ 3, 4; 2002, ch. 606, § 1; 2003, ch. 90, § 2; 2006, ch. 605, § 1; 2013, ch. 135, §§ 1, 2. Compiler's Notes. Acts 2003, ch. 90, § 2, directed the code commission to change all references from “county executive” to “county mayor” and to include all such changes in supplements and replacement volumes for the Tennessee Code Annotated. Attorney General Opinions. Records in a county mayor’s office are within the jurisdiction of a county public records commission. A county office has the authority to destroy public records without authorization of the commission if authorized by law pursuant to T.C.A. § 10-7-404(d)(1) or 10-7-404(d)(2) . The statutes creating county public records commissions do not establish any penalties for destruction of public records without authorization. OAG 13-48, 2013 Tenn. AG LEXIS 49 (7/1/13).