[See Note]

(a) The commissioner is designated as the state official responsible for cooperating with the United States secretary of agriculture under the federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. § 601 et seq.). The commissioner shall cooperate with the United States secretary of agriculture in developing and administering the meat inspection program of this state under this part to assure that its requirements will be at least equal to those imposed by the federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. § 601 et seq.), and in developing and administering the program of this state under this part in a manner that will effectuate the purposes of this part and federal law.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 53-7-221

  • Agriculture: means :
    (i) The land, buildings and machinery used in the commercial production of farm products and nursery stock. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • Commissioner: means the commissioner of agriculture, or any person authorized to act in the commissioner's stead. See Tennessee Code 53-7-202
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Intrastate commerce: means commerce within this state. See Tennessee Code 53-7-202
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Livestock: means cattle, sheep, swine, goats or rabbits. See Tennessee Code 53-7-202
  • Meat: means the edible part of the muscle of cattle, deer, sheep, swine or goats that is skeletal or that is found in the tongue, in the diaphragm, in the heart, or in the esophagus, with or without the accompanying and overlying fat, and the portions of bone, skin, sinew, nerve and blood vessels that normally accompany the muscle tissue and that are not separated from it in the process of dressing. See Tennessee Code 53-7-202
  • Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) The commissioner may accept from the United States secretary of agriculture advisory assistance in planning and developing the state program, technical and laboratory assistance and training, and financial and other aid for administration of the program.
(c) The commissioner may spend public funds of this state, subject to appropriation in the general appropriations act, for administration of this part to pay this state’s cost of the cooperative programs developed under this section.
(d) The commissioner may recommend to the United States secretary of agriculture such officials or employees of this state as the commissioner designates for appointment to the advisory committee provided for in 21 U.S.C. § 661(a)(4), and the commissioner shall serve as the representative of the governor of this state for consultation with the United States secretary of agriculture under 21 U.S.C. § 661(c), unless the governor designates another representative.
(e) For the purpose of preventing and eliminating burdens on intrastate commerce with respect to meat and meat products, the jurisdiction of the commissioner within the scope of this part is exclusive, and a county or municipal board of health or other county or municipal agency does not have any power or jurisdiction to regulate the slaughtering of any livestock or the processing or transportation of the carcasses or parts thereof or the meat and meat food products of such animals, nor does any county or municipal board of health or other county or municipal agency have any power or jurisdiction with regard to the inspections provided for in this part, nor with respect to any other activity committed to the authority of the commissioner by this part.
(f)

(1) In carrying out this part, the commissioner may cooperate with all other branches of government, county and municipal, and with county and municipal health departments or other agencies and may conduct such examinations, investigations, and inspections as provided for in this part and as the commissioner determines practical through any officer or employee of this state or any municipality or county in this state qualified for such purpose.
(2) The commissioner may contract with any municipal or county health departments to carry out the duties and requirements of this part. Any municipal or county health department may contract with the commissioner for the purpose of meeting the requirements of this part.
(g) This section does not preclude or restrict any municipality or county from the exercise of its police powers with regard to the establishment and maintenance of the facilities at which the activities regulated by this part are conducted.
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