The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- Tennessee
- Level
- State
- Authority
- Police power of the State; Tenn. Code Ann. title 68, ch. 2, pt. 6 (county health departments); subdivision (a)(4) added by 2021 Tenn. Pub. Acts ch. 550, sec. 4 (Ex. TN-065)
- Issued
- 2021-05-26 May 26, 2021
- Effective
- standing (read as 2021-05-26)
- End
- standing (read as 2021-09-30)
- In force
- Standing since May 26, 2021 (a statutory duty; in force throughout the six quarters)
- Quarters
- 2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
- Limitation types
- Business closureQuarantine and isolationStanding dutyOperating condition
- Addressees
- owners or persons in control of premises; specified businesses (public establishments, facilities, buildings); persons subject to quarantine
- Character
- statutory authority
- Collection
- Standing duties: Tennessee DUT-TN
Operative words
(a)... the county health officer may order: (1) The quarantine of a place or person, if the county health officer finds that quarantine is necessary to protect the public health from an epidemic; (2) The closure of a public establishment, facility, or building, if the county health officer finds unsanitary conditions of such a nature and extent to significantly threaten the public health...
Penalty
Enforcement through the county health director's duty to enforce State regulations (sec. 68-2-603(b), Ex. DUT-TN-004) and the health officer's 'medical enforcement actions' (sec. 68-2-603(c)); in the six locally run health departments, orders were issued under this authority (Exs. MET-BNA-001 to -073, TN-069 to TN-071)
What it required
Empowered every county health officer to order the quarantine of a place or person to protect the public health from an epidemic and to order the closure of a public establishment, facility or building for unsanitary conditions or where otherwise authorized by law; the Attorney General read the section as empowering the officer 'to order certain actions, such as quarantine and the closure of public establishments in specified instances' (Ex. DUT-TN-016). Character as recorded: statutory_authority (enabling power; binds through the orders issued under it).
Retrieval noteText read in the saved exhibit (LawServer mirror, 'current as of 2024'). Subdivisions (a)(1)-(3) are the standing text in force throughout the six quarters; Pub. Ch. 550, sec. 4 (Ex. TN-065) added subdivision (a)(4) on May 26, 2021 by 'adding the following as a new subdivision,' which confirms that (a)(1)-(3) preexisted. The exception for worship services in subsection (b) and the voidness clause in subsection (c) appear in the current text; their enactment dates were not verified and they are not relied on.