TN Bar Tennessee Constitutional and Administrative Law 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The Tennessee Constitution provides for how many branches of state government?
- Two (legislative and executive)
- Three (legislative, executive, and judicial) (Correct answer)
- Four (adding an administrative branch)
- Five (adding military and regulatory branches)
Correct answer: Three (legislative, executive, and judicial)
The Tennessee Constitution establishes three branches of government: the General Assembly (legislative), the Governor (executive), and the courts (judicial).
Question 2: Tennessee's Governor may veto legislation, but the General Assembly may override a veto by a vote of:
- A simple majority of members present
- Two-thirds of all members elected to each house (Correct answer)
- Three-fifths of members present and voting
- A majority of all elected members of each house
Correct answer: Two-thirds of all members elected to each house
Article III, Section 18 of the Tennessee Constitution allows the General Assembly to override a gubernatorial veto by a majority of all members elected to each house (not just those present).
Question 3: Under the Tennessee Constitution, a judge of the Tennessee Supreme Court serves a term of:
- 6 years
- 8 years (Correct answer)
- Life tenure with good behavior
- 4 years
Correct answer: 8 years
Article VI, Section 3 of the Tennessee Constitution provides that Tennessee Supreme Court justices serve 8-year terms, subject to retention elections.
Question 4: Tennessee's Uniform Administrative Procedures Act (UAPA, T.C.A. § 4-5-101 et seq.) governs rulemaking and contested cases before:
- Federal agencies operating in Tennessee
- State administrative agencies (Correct answer)
- Municipal governments
- Private arbitration panels
Correct answer: State administrative agencies
The Tennessee UAPA provides procedural rules for rulemaking and contested case hearings before Tennessee state administrative agencies.
Question 5: Under the Tennessee UAPA, a final order in a contested case before a state agency may be appealed to:
- The Tennessee Supreme Court directly
- The Chancery Court in the county where the agency is located or the affected party resides (Correct answer)
- The federal administrative law courts
- The Governor's office for executive review
Correct answer: The Chancery Court in the county where the agency is located or the affected party resides
Under T.C.A. § 4-5-322, judicial review of a final agency order in a contested case is initiated in the Chancery Court of Davidson County or the county where the petitioner resides.
Question 6: Tennessee's open records law, the Tennessee Public Records Act (T.C.A. § 10-7-503), provides that public records must generally be made available for inspection within:
- Immediately upon request during business hours (Correct answer)
- 5 business days of the request
- 7 calendar days of the request
- 30 days of the written request
Correct answer: Immediately upon request during business hours
The Tennessee Public Records Act requires public agencies to make records immediately available for inspection during business hours upon request, with limited exceptions.
TN Bar Tennessee Constitutional and Administrative Law 1
The Tennessee Constitution provides for how many branches of state government?