Tennessee § 8-19-101 - Execution of bonds — Form — Blanket bonds.

§ 8-19-101. Execution of bonds — Form — Blanket bonds.

The official bonds of all state and county officers, now required by law to furnish official bonds, shall be executed by such officials as principal and may be executed by some surety company authorized to do business in the state of Tennessee, as surety. The form of all official bonds of all state officials and employees and all county officials and employees shall be prescribed by the comptroller of the treasury, with the approval of the attorney general and reporter. Such prescribed forms shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state. All official bonds of all such officers and employees executed hereafter shall be in the prescribed form if one has been provided. To the extent any such official bond is not in the prescribed form, the same shall stand reformed by implication of law so as to comply with the prescribed form. Should the prescribed form be amended, the amendment shall affect only bonds and undertakings executed subsequently thereto. Bonds shall continue to be executed in their present form until a form is prescribed therefor under this law. Forms shall be prepared so as to comply with the requirements of statutes of Tennessee relating to such bonds. Where the conditions of bonds are prescribed by statute, the statute shall prevail. Nothing in this chapter or elsewhere in this code shall be construed as prohibiting the use by any county, municipality, or metropolitan government, of a blanket bond for coverage of two (2) or more of its officials. A separate rider or attachment to the blanket bond shall be prepared for each principal, and wherever in this chapter the term “bond” is used, it likewise includes a blanket bond and each rider or attachment thereto. Each rider or attachment to a blanket bond shall be signed by the named principal, shall be acknowledged by the bond sureties, shall expressly incorporate the conditions stated in § 8-19-111, shall refer specifically to the blanket bond of which it is a part, and shall be filed, approved, and otherwise processed in the manner required for bonds under this chapter. The governing body of any county by a two-thirds (2/3) vote shall elect whether or not the county officials of the county shall make a surety bond or a bond with two (2) or more good sureties, approved by the legislative body, prior to the time such official is inducted and sworn into office. County governments shall either: Obtain and maintain blanket surety bond coverage for all county employees not covered by individual bonds referenced elsewhere in statute. The minimum amount of such blanket bonds shall be one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000); or Obtain and pay the premiums or other costs with respect to a policy of insurance issued by an insurance company duly authorized to do business in this state or an agreement with a pool established pursuant to § 29-20-401 or any entity established pursuant to § 29-20-401(b)(2) for administration of such agreement, that provides government crime coverage, employee dishonesty insurance coverage, or equivalent coverage that insures the lawful performance by officials and their employees of their fiduciary duties and responsibilities. Any such policy or agreement maintained shall have limits of not less than four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000) per occurrence; A policy or agreement satisfying the requirements set forth in subdivision (e)(2)(A) shall be deemed to be a blanket official bond for each official or office identified in the policy or agreement for all purposes under this chapter. The officials who may be covered under the policy or agreement include the following: County mayors, pursuant to § 5-6-109; County directors of accounts and budgets, pursuant to § 5-13-103; County purchasing agents, pursuant to § 5-14-103(c); County finance directors, pursuant to § 5-21-109; Board members, executive committee members, employees, officers, and other authorized persons of an emergency communications district who handle public funds, pursuant to § 7-86-119; Sheriffs, pursuant to § 8-8-103; Special deputies appointed by a sheriff, pursuant to § 8-8-303; Coroners, pursuant to § 8-9-103; County trustees, pursuant to §§ 8-11-102 and 8-11-103; County surveyors, pursuant to § 8-12-102; County registers, pursuant to §§ 8-13-101 — 8-13-103; County officials with the authority to administer state-shared funds, pursuant to § 9-3-301(c); Board members, executive committee members, employees, officers, and other authorized persons of a development district who handle public funds, pursuant to § 13-14-114; Board members, policy council members, employees, officers, and other authorized persons of a human resource agency who handle public funds, pursuant to § 13-26-110; Clerks of court and county clerks, pursuant to §§ 18-2-201 - 18-2-213; County directors of schools, pursuant to § 49-2-102; Treasurers or fiscal agents of local education agencies, pursuant to § 49-3-315(b)(3); Persons who administer county highway and bridge funds, pursuant to § 54-4-103(c); Chief administrative officers of county highway departments, pursuant to § 54-7-108; County road commissioners, pursuant to § 54-9-119; County road engineers, pursuant to § 54-9-132; and County assessors of property, pursuant to § 67-1-505; In the event that the policy of insurance maintained by the county ceases to provide coverage to the officeholder for any reason, the officeholder has thirty (30) days from the date of termination of coverage to file a bond or other proof of insurance coverage; A certificate of insurance or a policy or endorsement shall satisfy the requirement for the filing of the official bond by the named officials. If a governmental entity obtains and pays premiums on an insurance policy or agreement pursuant to this subdivision (e)(2), then the monetary limits pursuant to the Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act, compiled in title 29, chapter 20 shall not increase. Acts 1941, ch. 138, § 1; C. Supp. 1950, § 1839.1; Acts 1957, ch. 289, § 1; 1976, ch. 616, § 1; 1978, ch. 620, § 1; 1978, ch. 689, §§ 6, 12; impl. am. Acts 1978, ch. 934, §§ 7, 36; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 8-1901; Acts 2013, ch. 315, § 30; 2016, ch. 749, § 1; 2019, ch. 260, § 1. Compiler's Notes. Acts 2013, ch. 315, § 31 provided that the act, which amended subsection (e), shall apply to the renewal or obtaining an official bond for any bonding after April 29, 2013. Amendments. The 2016 amendment, at the beginning of (e), substituted “County governments shall either:” for “County governments are required to obtain:”; added the designation (e)(1); substituted “; or” for “;” at the end of (e)(1); and added (e)(2). The 2019 amendment rewrote (e)(2)(B) which read: “(B)(i) A policy or agreement satisfying the requirements set forth in subdivision (e)(2)(A) shall be deemed to be a blanket official bond for each official or office identified in the policy or agreement for all purposes, including § 4-4-108 and this chapter;“(ii) A certificate of insurance evidencing the officials and offices covered, the amount of coverage maintained, and the type of coverage provided shall be filed in the register's office for the county in which the official is located;“(iii) A certificate of insurance shall satisfy the requirement for the filing of the official bond by the named officials;”. Effective Dates. Acts 2016, ch. 759, § 2. April 12, 2016. Acts 2019, ch. 260, § 3. April 30, 2019. Cross-References. Auditors, county, § 8-15-102 . Bond of superintendent of workhouse, § 41-2-107 . Constable, § 8-10-106 . Coroner, § 8-9-103 . County public officials, form of bond, § 8-19-111 . Development districts, bonds of persons receiving public funds, § 13-14-114 . Grand jury inquiry as to sufficiency of bonds, § 18-2-212 . Human resource agencies, bonds of persons receiving public funds, § 13-26-110 . New or additional bond or sureties may be required of state or county officers, § 8-19-402 . Notaries public, § 8-16-104 . Payable to state, § 8-19-111 . Registers, county, § 8-13-102 . Sheriff, § 8-8-103 . Surety bond, authorized persons, emergency communications districts, § 7-86-119 . Surveyors, county, § 8-12-102 . Trustees, county, §§ 8-11-102 , 8-11-103 . Textbooks. Tennessee Jurisprudence, 6 Tenn. Juris., Clerks of Court, § 14; 8 Tenn. Juris., Counties, § 14; 21 Tenn. Juris., Public Officers, § 7; 22 Tenn. Juris., Sheriffs, § 20. Attorney General Opinions. Public Chapter 749, by its plain language, has modified T.C.A. § 8-19-101(a) -(d) to allow a county government to purchase an insurance policy in lieu of individual official bonds for those officers who have specific statutes requiring a bond to be posted. It provides a new alternative for a county government to meet its bonding requirements. OAG 16-31, 2016 Tenn. AG LEXIS 31 (8/22/2016).