Tennessee § 5-1-208 - Charter commission — Duties.

§ 5-1-208. Charter commission — Duties.

Each charter commission shall prepare and file the charter proposed by it not later than nine (9) months after the date of its initial meeting, or within such extended limit of time as may be authorized by resolution of the legislative body of the county. The chair of the charter commission shall certify and file copies of such proposed charter with the county clerk and with the county election commission. Such copies shall be public records, available for inspection or examination by any interested person. Such charter commission shall also furnish or make available to every daily or weekly newspaper published in the county a complete copy of such charter. Such charter commission shall take such other steps within the limitation of its available funds as it deems reasonable and appropriate to inform the public throughout the county of the contents of the proposed charter, and the same may be published or summarized in pamphlets and booklets to be made available for general distribution. Acts 1979, ch. 402, § 8; T.C.A., § 5-128. Attorney General Opinions. A county charter commission is not authorized to use public funds to advocate adoption of the charter county form of government in an upcoming referendum. OAG 12-86, 2012 Tenn. AG LEXIS 85 (9/11/12). Once elected, members of a charter commission have a duty to prepare and file a charter for consideration by the people. The applicable statutes place no limits on a county legislative body’s authority to extend the time a charter commission has to prepare and file its proposed charter. State law does not provide any other specific remedies for a charter commission’s failure to fulfill its duty, but a county legislative body has some implied authority over the continued existence of the commission. OAG 18-36, 2018 Tenn. AG LEXIS 35 (7/30/2018).