House committee approves Morgan County private act to make county attorney an appointed four-year post
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Summary
A House committee voted 11-0 to pass House Bill 1440, a private act for Morgan County that would change the county attorney from an elected to an appointed position, set a four-year term and remove the county residency requirement; the bill was referred to the State and Local Government committee.
A House committee on April 21 approved House Bill 1440, a private act for Morgan County that would convert the county attorney from an elected office to an appointed position selected by the county commission, set the term at four years and remove the county residency requirement. The committee voted 11-0 to pass the bill and referred it to the State and Local Government committee.
Representative Butler, the bill sponsor, told the committee the measure "is a private act for Morgan County. The bill amends the following of the county attorney and makes the position appointed or hired by the county commission to a 4 year term and it removes the residency requirement in Morgan County which only has about 22,000 people and the position is currently vacant." He said the change is intended for the small county’s current staffing needs.
Mark Dobie of the Office of Legal Services advised the committee that the bill’s phrase "practicing attorney" would effectively require the county attorney to be licensed to practice in Tennessee. "It's sort of, this language is not uncommon that they use practicing attorney. Sort of wrapped up in that would be the necessity that they would be licensed in Tennessee," Dobie said, noting that without Tennessee bar membership the office could risk unlicensed practice of law.
During questions, Butler told members the position had been elected previously but the incumbent resigned to expand a private practice. He said Morgan County budgets about $10,000 a year for attorney services and treats the role as a part-time position. Committee members confirmed the appointment would be made by the county commission and that the term established by the bill is four years.
The clerk reported the tally as 11 ayes and 0 nos. The committee chair declared that House Bill 1440 "passes and goes on to State and Local Government." No individual roll-call votes were read aloud on the record in committee; the clerk supplied only the total.