Terms Used In Tennessee Code > Title 6 > Municipal Government Generally > Chapter 54 - Municipal Powers Generally

• Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Agricultural chemical: means fertilizers or agricultural chemicals that are applied to crops or to land that is used for raising crops, including fertilizer material, plant amendment, plant food and soil amendment, and pesticide as defined in §. See Tennessee Code 43-31-102
• Agricultural production input: means crop production inputs. See Tennessee Code 43-31-102
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Alternate delegate: means an individual elected as an alternate delegate as provided by this chapter. See Tennessee Code 3-18-102
• 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.
• Annual event: means an event:
  (A) Authorized by two-thirds (2/3) vote of all members elected to each house of the general assembly. See Tennessee Code 3-17-102
• Annual event application: means the application made to the secretary of state to operate an annual event. See Tennessee Code 3-17-102
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• 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.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• 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
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Article V convention: means a convention for proposing amendments to the . See Tennessee Code 3-18-102
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Authority: means a governing body identified in §. See Tennessee Code 13-8-102
• 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}
• bingo: means a specific game of chance in which participants use cards or paper sheets divided into horizontal and vertical spaces, each of which is designated by a letter and a number, and prizes are awarded on the basis of the letters and numbers on the card conforming to a predetermined and preannounced configuration of letters and numbers selected at random. See Tennessee Code 3-17-102
• Board: means the mayor and the aldermen. See Tennessee Code 6-1-101
• board of directors: means the governing board of a corporation, whether denominated the board of directors or otherwise, except that no person or group of persons is the board of directors because of powers delegated to that person or group pursuant to §. See Tennessee Code 48-51-201
• Bonds: means bonds, notes, interim certificates, or other obligations of a corporation issued pursuant to this part. See Tennessee Code 48-101-301
• Business: includes every trade, occupation, profession, investment activity and other lawful purpose for gain or the preservation of assets whether or not carried on for profits. See Tennessee Code 48-202-101
• Caucus: From the Algonquian Indian language, a caucus meant "to meet together." An informal organization of members of the legislature that exists to discuss issues of mutual concern and possibly to perform legislative research and policy planning for its members. There are regional, political or ideological, ethnic, and economic-based caucuses.
• Charter: includes amended and restated charters and articles of merger. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• City: means any city or territory to be incorporated that may adopt chapters 30-36 of this title. See Tennessee Code 6-30-102
• Code: means and includes any published compilation of rules and regulations that have been prepared by various technical trade associations and shall include specifically, but not be limited to, building codes. See Tennessee Code 6-54-501
• 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
• Collector: includes any person entrusted with the collection of public revenue. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of agriculture. See Tennessee Code 43-29-103
• Committee: as used in this chapter , except when more particularly provided in this chapter, includes:
  (1) A committee appointed by either the house of representatives or the senate. See Tennessee Code 3-3-101
• Committee membership: Legislators are assigned to specific committees by their party. Seniority, regional balance, and political philosophy are the most prominent factors in the committee assignment process.
• Commodity: means beef, corn, pork, and eggs, produced on a commercial basis. See Tennessee Code 43-29-103
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corn: means all kinds of varieties of corn except popcorn, sweet corn, and ornamental corns. See Tennessee Code 43-29-103
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Corporation: means any corporation organized pursuant to this part. See Tennessee Code 48-101-301
• County: means the county in which any such city or territory to be incorporated under chapters 30-36 of this title is located, or in which the major portion of the population of any such city or territory to be incorporated is located as indicated by the last federal census. See Tennessee Code 6-30-102
• County executive: means and includes "county mayor" unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• County mayor: means and includes "county executive" unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Credit bureau: An agency that collects individual credit information and sells it for a fee to creditors so they can make a decision on granting loans. Typical clients include banks, mortgage lenders, credit card companies, and other financing companies. (Also commonly referred to as consumer-reporting agency or credit-reporting agency.) ^{Source: OCC}
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• day: means a twenty-four-hour period beginning at twelve o'clock (12:00) midnight and ending at eleven fifty-nine post meridiem (11:59 p. See Tennessee Code 3-17-102
• Debtor: means a farmer who is or has requested financial assistance from a lender through a supplier. See Tennessee Code 43-31-102
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Delegate: means an individual elected as provided by this chapter to represent Tennessee at an Article V convention. See Tennessee Code 3-18-102
• delivery: means any method of delivery used in conventional commercial practice, including delivery by hand, mail, commercial delivery, and, if authorized in accordance with §. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• Department: means the fire department or police department of any municipality that pays wages to its employees for services rendered. See Tennessee Code 6-54-801
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Directors: means natural persons, designated in the charter or bylaws or elected or appointed by the incorporators, and their successors and natural persons elected or appointed to act as members of the board, irrespective of the names or titles by which such persons are described. See Tennessee Code 48-51-201
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Driveway: means a vehicular access roadway less than twenty-four feet (24') in width and serving no more than two (2) single-family dwellings. See Tennessee Code 13-8-102
• Egg: means a pullet egg or a hen egg and excludes all other types of eggs. See Tennessee Code 43-29-103
• egg dealer: means any person engaged as a wholesale distributor in the business of distributing or marketing eggs in Tennessee, regardless of where the eggs are produced. See Tennessee Code 43-29-103
• Election: includes all elections, local, municipal, primary, general, state, federal and special and any election in the state or any county, municipality or other political subdivision thereof, but does not include referenda or issues submitted to a vote of the people, political convention or caucus. See Tennessee Code 2-19-201
• Employee: includes an officer but not a director. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• Employee: means any person who, on the adoption of this part, is a paid employee in the fire department or police department of any municipality and a member of a municipal retirement system or pension plan. See Tennessee Code 6-54-801
• Enterprise: means the health, educational or housing operations to be carried on with the facilities of a project. See Tennessee Code 48-101-301
• Entity: includes the following, whether foreign or domestic: LLCs. See Tennessee Code 48-202-101
• Equal Credit Opportunity Act: Prohibits creditors from discriminating against credit applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, or because an applicant receives income from a public assistance program. ^{Source: OCC}
• Event date: means the day of an annual event. See Tennessee Code 3-17-102
• 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.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• Financial accounting: means a report of funds collected and expended for the annual event that is filed after completion of an annual event. See Tennessee Code 3-17-102
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• Gated facility or community: means a multifamily residential property or commercial or industrial development or compound that has a security gate or barrier to block the entrance to the facility or community from a public street to a private street, parking lot or driveway of the facility or community. See Tennessee Code 13-8-102
• Generally applicable local law: means an ordinance, resolution, regulation, rule, or other requirement of any type other than zoning enacted, maintained, or enforced by a local governing body that applies to all property or use of all property and does not apply only to property used as a short-term rental unit. See Tennessee Code 13-7-602
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Governing body: means the official or officials authorized by law to exercise ordinance or other law-making power of a municipality. See Tennessee Code 6-54-701
• Governing body: means the legislative body of a county or the board or other body in which the general legislative powers of a city or town are vested. See Tennessee Code 48-101-301
• Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Highway: includes public bridges and may be held equivalent to the words "county way" "county road" or "state road". See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Hospital institution: means any city, county, metropolitan government, or other local governmental entity, or any institution organized for-profit or not for profit authorized by law to provide congregate elderly facilities or extended care, hospital, or nursing home facilities in this state, or any finance subsidiary of such hospital institution. See Tennessee Code 48-101-301
• House of representatives: means the house of representatives of the general assembly. See Tennessee Code 3-18-102
• Housing: means any multi-family housing facilities to be occupied by persons of low and/or moderate income, and/or elderly, and/or handicapped persons as may be determined by the board of directors, which determination shall be conclusive. See Tennessee Code 48-101-301
• Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
• Individual: includes the estate of an incompetent or deceased individual. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Institution for higher education: means any institution organized for-profit or not for profit authorized by law to provide a program of education at the primary level, secondary level or beyond the secondary level in this state. See Tennessee Code 48-101-301
• Interest: means either or both of the following rights under the organic law of an unincorporated entity:
  (A) The right to receive distributions from the entity either in the ordinary course or upon liquidation. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
• Joint resolution: A legislative measure which requires the approval of both chambers.
• Joint session: When both chambers of a legislature adopt a concurrent resolution to meet together.
• 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.
• Lands: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights thereto and interests therein, equitable as well as legal. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Lease: includes a lease containing an option to purchase the project for a nominal sum upon payment in full, or provision therefor, of all bonds issued in connection with the project and all interest thereon and all other expenses in connection with the project, and a lease containing an option to purchase the project at any time, as provided therein, upon payment of the purchase price which shall be sufficient to pay all bonds issued in connection with the project and all interest thereon and all other expenses incurred in connection with the project, but which payment may be made in the form of one (1) or more notes, debentures, bonds, or other secured or unsecured debt obligations of the lessee providing for timely payments, including, but not limited to, interest thereon sufficient for such purposes and delivered to the corporation or to the trustee under the indenture pursuant to which the bonds were issued. See Tennessee Code 48-101-301
• Lender: means a person in the business of lending money identified in a security interest notification statement. See Tennessee Code 43-31-102
• Letter of commitment: means a binding, irrevocable and unconditional agreement by a lender to honor drafts or other demands for payment upon the supplier presenting invoices signed by the purchaser or other proof of delivery. See Tennessee Code 43-31-102
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Livestock: means all equine as well as animals that are being raised primarily for use as food or fiber for human utilization or consumption including, but not limited to, cattle, sheep, swine, goats, and poultry. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Loan agreement: means an agreement providing for a corporation to loan the proceeds derived from the issuance of bonds pursuant to this part to one (1) or more contracting parties to be used to pay the cost of one (1) or more projects and providing for the repayment of such loan by the other contracting party or parties, and which may provide for such loans to be secured or evidenced by one (1) or more notes, debentures, bonds or other secured or unsecured debt obligations of the contracting party or parties, delivered to the corporation or to the trustee under the indenture pursuant to which the bonds were issued. See Tennessee Code 48-101-301
• Local governing body: means the legislative body of a city, municipality, county, or other political subdivision of this state that has authority to enact a zoning ordinance, resolution, regulation, rule, or other requirement of any type regarding land use in its jurisdiction. See Tennessee Code 13-7-602
• Local transfer and storage business: means the business of transferring and/or storing for a profit the household goods and effects of another within the confines of the territorial limits of the municipality adopting this part. See Tennessee Code 6-54-701
• Member: means a person reflected in the required records of an LLC as the owner of some governance rights of a membership interest of the LLC. See Tennessee Code 48-202-101
• 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.
• Municipality: means and includes any city or town organized and operating under the general or special laws of the state. See Tennessee Code 6-54-501
• Municipality: means any incorporated city or incorporated town of this state, with a population in excess of four hundred thousand (400,000), according to the federal census of 1960 or any subsequent federal census. See Tennessee Code 6-54-701
• Municipality: means any municipality having its own employees retirement system or pension plan. See Tennessee Code 6-54-801
• Municipality: means any county or incorporated city or town in this state with respect to which a corporation may be organized. See Tennessee Code 48-101-301
• Nonprofit organization: means :
  (A) A 501(c)(3) organization that is exempt from federal income taxation under §. See Tennessee Code 3-17-102
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Oath: includes affirmation. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• 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.
• Officer: means the mayor, aldermen, city attorney and city judge. See Tennessee Code 6-1-101
• other contracting party: means any party to a sale contract or loan agreement except the corporation. See Tennessee Code 48-101-301
• Paired delegate: means the delegate with whom an alternate delegate is paired as provided by this chapter. See Tennessee Code 3-18-102
• 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.
• pension plan: means an existing system or plan by which a municipality is paying or will pay the retired employees of its fire department or police department a retirement allowance after such employees have complied with certain conditions or requirements of employment or service to the municipality. See Tennessee Code 6-54-801
• Person: means any individual, organization, trust, foundation, group, association, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, society, or any combination of them, or any other entity. See Tennessee Code 3-17-102
• Person: means an individual or an organization and includes a corporation, firm or association. See Tennessee Code 43-31-102
• Person: includes individual and entity. See Tennessee Code 48-202-101
• Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Personal property: includes money, goods, chattels, things in action, and evidences of debt. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Petroleum product: means motor fuels and special fuels that are used in the production of crops, including "petroleum products" as defined in §. See Tennessee Code 43-31-102
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
• Principal office: means the office (in or out of this state) so designated in the annual report where the principal executive offices of a domestic or foreign corporation are located. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• Proceeds: means proceeds as defined in §. See Tennessee Code 43-31-102
• Producer: means any person who produces a commodity and thereafter causes the commodity to be marketed. See Tennessee Code 43-29-103
• Prohibit: means to forbid or ban the operation of short-term rental units, either permanently or temporarily, within a local governing body's jurisdiction, portion of the local governing body's jurisdiction, or a portion of an owner's property. See Tennessee Code 13-7-602
• project: means the purchase of the accounts receivable of any hospital institution. See Tennessee Code 48-101-301
• Property: means a tract of land as recorded with the register of deeds office of the county where the property is located. See Tennessee Code 13-7-602
• Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Provider: means any person engaged in renting a short-term rental unit and includes an owner of a residential unit that is made available through a vacation lodging service as that term is defined in §. See Tennessee Code 13-7-602
• public record: include the state laws, rules or regulations of any state other than the state of Tennessee. See Tennessee Code 6-54-501
• Published: means printed, lithographed, multigraphed, or otherwise reproduced. See Tennessee Code 6-54-501
• Purchaser: means any dealer or processor who purchases or receives such commodity from producers on a commercial basis. See Tennessee Code 43-29-103
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• real property: include lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights thereto and interests therein, equitable as well as legal. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Recess: A temporary interruption of the legislative business.
• Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• 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
• Residential dwelling: means a cabin, house, or structure used or designed to be used as an abode or home of a person, family, or household, and includes a single-family dwelling, a portion of a single-family dwelling, or an individual residential dwelling in a multi-dwelling building, such as an apartment building, condominium, cooperative, or timeshare. See Tennessee Code 13-7-602
• Retired employee: means any person who has been a paid employee in the fire department or police department of any municipality and who, on the adoption of this part, is receiving from such municipality a retirement allowance based upon such person's service in such department. See Tennessee Code 6-54-801
• Retirement allowance: means the monthly payment for life made to a retired employee or the retired employee's survivors or beneficiaries under a municipal employees retirement system or pension plan. See Tennessee Code 6-54-801
• Road: includes public bridges and may be held equivalent to the words "county way" "county road" or "state road". See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Sale contract: means a contract providing for the sale of one (1) or more projects to one (1) or more contracting parties and includes a contract providing for payment of the purchase price in one (1) or more installments. See Tennessee Code 48-101-301
• Secretary: means the secretary of state or the secretary of state's authorized representative. See Tennessee Code 3-17-102
• Secretary: means the corporate officer to whom the bylaws or the board of directors has delegated responsibility under §. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• Secretary of state: means the person who holds the office of secretary of state of Tennessee. See Tennessee Code 48-202-101
• Security gate or barrier: means a gate or barrier, electrically operated, that controls the passage of authorized vehicles and persons from a public street to access roads, driveways or parking lots of the gated facility or community. See Tennessee Code 13-8-102
• Seed: means agricultural seeds that are used to produce crops, including "agricultural seed" as defined in §. See Tennessee Code 43-31-102
• Senate: means the senate of the general assembly. See Tennessee Code 3-18-102
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• 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
• Standing committee: means any standing committee, or subcommittee thereof, of the general assembly created by the rules of proceedings of the house of representatives or the senate. See Tennessee Code 3-4-104
• 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
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Subscription: includes a mark, the name being written near the mark and witnessed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Subsidiary: means a corporation more than fifty percent (50%) of whose outstanding voting shares are owned by its parent and/or the parent's other wholly-owned subsidiaries. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• Supplier: means a person who furnishes agricultural production inputs. See Tennessee Code 43-31-102
• Teacher: means any person employed in a public school system as a teacher, helping teacher, teacher's aide, librarian, principal, supervisor, director of schools, or member of the administrative staff. See Tennessee Code 2-19-201
• Termination: means the end of an LLC's existence as a legal entity and occurs when the articles of termination are filed with the secretary of state under §. See Tennessee Code 48-202-101
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Transfer and storage regulatory board: means any regulatory board created pursuant to §. See Tennessee Code 6-54-701
• Transferred: means :
  (A) An interest in real estate was conveyed on or after May 17, 2018. See Tennessee Code 13-7-602
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Type of lottery game: means a game of chance played by a person eighteen (18) years of age or older, including bingo, raffles, reverse raffles, cakewalks and cakewheels, but expressly prohibiting pulltabs, punchboards, instant bingo, video lottery, instant and online lottery games of a type operated by the Tennessee education lottery corporation, keno and games of chance associated with casinos including, but not limited to, slot machines, roulette wheels, and the like. See Tennessee Code 3-17-102
• Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. ^{Source: OCC}
• unit: means a residential dwelling that is rented wholly or partially for a fee for a period of less than thirty (30) continuous days and does not include a hotel as defined in §. See Tennessee Code 13-7-602
• United States: includes district, authority, bureau, commission, department, and any other agency of the United States. See Tennessee Code 48-11-201
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Used as a short-term rental unit: means the property was held out to the public for use as a short-term rental unit, and:
  (A) For property that began being held out to the public for use as a short-term rental unit within the jurisdiction of a local governing body that required a permit to be issued or an application to be approved pursuant to an ordinance specifically governing short-term rental units prior to using the property as a short-term rental unit, a permit was issued or an application was approved by the local governing body for the property. See Tennessee Code 13-7-602
• video lottery: means a lottery that allows a game to be played utilizing an electronic computer and an interactive terminal device, equipped with a video screen and keys, a keyboard or other equipment allowing input by an individual player, into which the player inserts coins or currency as consideration in order for play to be available, and through which terminal device, the player may receive free games or a voucher that can be redeemed for a cash or non-cash prize, or nothing, determined wholly or predominantly by chance. See Tennessee Code 3-17-102
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
• Writ of certiorari: An order issued by the Supreme Court directing the lower court to transmit records for a case for which it will hear on appeal.
• 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