Tennessee § 7-56-201 - Establishment of authority — General powers.

§ 7-56-201. Establishment of authority — General powers.

Any municipality or any county or any combination of municipalities and counties may establish an authority to provide for the continuation of rail service within the area of the governments establishing the authority. An authority shall come into existence under the terms of this part when any government or combination of governments specified in subsection (a) vote by majority vote of its governing body to establish an authority. Evidence of such authorization shall be proclaimed and countersigned by the presiding officer of each participating county or city and certified by such officer to the secretary of state. The governing bodies of all governments voting to become members of an authority shall indicate their willingness to appropriate sufficient funds to provide for the initial administration of the authority as a part of the authorization process. Within the region of the authority, it may acquire, construct, operate, maintain, and dispose of railroad facilities, properties, and equipment, and may, in addition to continuing railroad service, provide any other rail service in the region as it is needed and feasible. Acts 1983, ch. 221, § 1. Compiler's Notes. The rail service authorities, created by this section, terminates June 30, 2028. See §§ 4-29-112 , 4-29-249 . Acts 2015, ch. 146, § 3 provided that the representatives of the Rail Service Authorities and related state rail authorities shall appear before the Government Operations Joint Evaluation Committee on Commerce, Labor, Transportation and Agriculture no later than November 1, 2015, in order to update the Committee regarding the status of pending litigation related to the state’s Short Line Equity Fund. Cross-References. Assessment of property for tax purposes, title 67, ch. 5, part 13. Situs of property for tax purposes, § 67-5-502 . Textbooks. Tennessee Jurisprudence, 5 Tenn. Juris., Carriers, § 58; 23 Tenn. Juris., Street Railroads, § 2. Law Reviews. Public Utilities — Municipal Corporations — Extraterritorial Control of Street Railways, 1 Vand. L. Rev. 464 (1947). Selected Tennessee Legislation of 1983 (N. L. Resener, J. A. Whitson, K. J. Miller), 50 Tenn. L. Rev. 785 (1983).