Terms Used In Tennessee Code > Title 32 > Chapter 3 - Construction, Operation and Effect

• Accumulated contributions: means the sum of all the amounts deducted from the compensation of a member, together with any amount transferred to the account of the member established pursuant to chapters 34-37 of this title from the respective account of the member under one (1) or more of the superseded systems, with interest thereon, as provided in §. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• 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
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Art supplies: includes :
  (A) Any raw or processed material or manufactured product marketed or being represented by the manufacturer, repackager or retailer as being suitable for use in any phase of the creation of any work of visual or graphic art of any medium. See Tennessee Code 68-131-303
• Attorney general: means the attorney general and reporter and any assistant thereto by whatever name known, any district attorney general and any assistant thereto by whatever name called, and any officer or full-time employee of the general assembly or any committee thereof established by statute, who is duly licensed to practice law in Tennessee, whose duty it is to provide facilities for drafting bills or to assist individual legislators in drafting bills or who renders legal advice and services to the members of the general assembly or committees thereof. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• board: means the board provided for in part 3 of this chapter. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• Code: includes the Tennessee Code and all amendments and revisions to the code and all additions and supplements to the code. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Commerce: means any and all commerce within the state of Tennessee and subject to the jurisdiction of the state of Tennessee, and includes the operation of any business or service establishment. See Tennessee Code 68-131-303
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of agriculture or the commissioner's legally authorized representative or agent. See Tennessee Code 68-131-303
• Commissioner: means any person in office as a member of the public service commission, as prescribed by title 65, chapter 1, prior to June 30, 1996. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Creditable service: means prior service plus membership service, as provided in part 6 of this chapter. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Department: means the department of agriculture. See Tennessee Code 68-131-303
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Donee: The recipient of a gift.
• Employer: means :
  (A) The state or any department, commission, institution, board or agency of the state government by which a member is paid, with respect to members in its employ. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Firefighter: means a person in the employ of a political subdivision participating under chapter 35, part 2 of this title who is a member of the fire department of such political subdivision, and is trained in firefighting and actively engaged in such work or subject to call for such services, providing such person's primary livelihood is derived from such work. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• General employee: means any person who is a state official, including legislative officials elected by the general assembly, or who is employed in the service of, and whose compensation is payable in whole or in part by, the state, including employees under supervision of the state whose compensation is paid, in whole or in part, from federal or other funds, or any person in the employ of a political subdivision participating under chapter 35, part 2 of this title, or of the Tennessee County Services Association, but does not include any teacher, state police officer, wildlife officer, firefighter, police officer, state judge, county judge, attorney general, governor, or county official or public service commissioner, or any person performing services on a contractual or percentage basis. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Grantor: The person who establishes a trust and places property into it.
• Gross estate: The total fair market value of all property and property interests, real and personal, tangible and intangible, of which a decedent had beneficial ownership at the time of death before subtractions for deductions, debts, administrative expenses, and casualty losses suffered during estate administration.
• Habeas corpus: A writ that is usually used to bring a prisoner before the court to determine the legality of his imprisonment. It may also be used to bring a person in custody before the court to give testimony, or to be prosecuted.
• Hazardous materials: includes :
  (A) Materials designated as hazardous by any governmental agency. See Tennessee Code 68-131-201
• Hazardous substance: means :
  (i) Any substance or mixture of substances that:

  (a) Is toxic. See Tennessee Code 68-131-102
• Human carcinogen: means any substance listed as a human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. See Tennessee Code 68-131-303
• In-service: means a member who has not retired, has not been refunded and is within one hundred fifty (150) days of such member's last paid day of employment. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
• 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.
• Label: means a display of written, printed, or graphic matter upon the immediate container of any substance, or in the case of an article that is unpackaged or is not packaged in an immediate container intended or suitable for delivery to the ultimate consumer, a display of such matter directly upon the article involved or upon a tag or other suitable material affixed to the article, and a requirement made by or under authority of this part that any word, statement or other information appearing on the label shall not be considered to be complied with, unless such word, statement or other information also appears:
  (A) On the outside container or wrapper, if any there be, unless it is easily legible through the outside container or wrapper. See Tennessee Code 68-131-303
• Lands: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights thereto and interests therein, equitable as well as legal. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Legatee: A beneficiary of a decedent
• Local retirement fund: means any teachers' retirement fund or other arrangement for payment of retirement benefits to teachers, except this retirement system, supported wholly or in part by contributions made by an employer as defined by chapters 34-37 of this title. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• Marital deduction: The deduction(s) that can be taken in the determination of gift and estate tax liabilities because of the existence of a marriage or marital relationship.
• Member: means any person included in the membership of the retirement system, as provided in chapter 35, part 1 of this title. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• Minor: means any person who has not attained eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Month: means a calendar month. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: includes any individual, partnership, corporation, association or other entity. See Tennessee Code 68-131-201
• Personal property: includes money, goods, chattels, things in action, and evidences of debt. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Personal 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
• Police officer: means a person in the employ of a political subdivision participating under chapter 35, part 2 of this title who is a member of the police department of such political subdivision and is trained in police work and actively engaged in such work. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Prior class member: means a member who, on the day preceding the date of establishment, shall have been a member of a superseded system and who elects to remain covered by the benefit and contribution provisions of the superseded system, or who fails to elect to become covered by the benefit and contribution provisions of the retirement system applicable to new employees, as the case may be, in accordance with chapter 35, part 1 of this title. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probate: Proving a will
• Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Public school: means any school conducted within the state under the authority and supervision of a duly elected or appointed city or county school board, and any educational institution supported by and under the control of the state. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• 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
• Retirement: means withdrawal from membership with a retirement allowance granted under chapters 34-37 of this title. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• Retirement allowance: means the sum of the member annuity and the state annuity. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• Retirement system: means the Tennessee consolidated retirement system as defined in §. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• Revocable trust: A trust agreement that can be canceled, rescinded, revoked, or repealed by the grantor (person who establishes the trust).
• Service: means service as a general employee, a teacher, a state police officer, a wildlife officer, a firefighter, a police officer, a state judge, a county judge, an attorney general, a commissioner or a county official which is paid for by an employer, and also includes service for which a former member of the general assembly is entitled to under former §. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• signed: includes a mark, the name being written near the mark and witnessed, or any other symbol or methodology executed or adopted by a party with intention to authenticate a writing or record, regardless of being witnessed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• State: means the state of Tennessee. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• State judge: means any person in office as a judge of a court of record in this state, whose salary for the judge's judicial position has been paid during the period of the judge's service wholly from the treasury of the state, including the administrative director of the courts. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• Superseded system: means , where applicable, the Tennessee state retirement system, the Tennessee teachers' retirement system, the Tennessee judges' retirement system, the retirement system for county paid judges of Tennessee, the attorneys general retirement system of Tennessee, the public service commissioners' retirement system, and the Tennessee retirement system for county officials, any one (1) of them, or any combination thereof. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• Temporary employment: means any general employee can be considered as a temporary employee for a period not to exceed six (6) months before becoming eligible for membership in the retirement system, except as provided in §. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
• Toxic: includes any substance that, when ingested, inhaled or absorbed through the skin, has the capacity to produce personal injury or illness. See Tennessee Code 68-131-303
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Trustor: The person who makes or creates a trust. Also known as the grantor or settlor.
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Wildlife officer: means any commissioned employee of the wildlife resources agency engaged in law enforcement activities on a day-to-day basis. See Tennessee Code 8-34-101
• written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105