Attorney General Opinions
Relating to County Government

2013 Records

The determination of whether a particular offense would satisfy the criteria under T.C.A. § 40-32-101, which allows nonviolent offenders to petition for expunction of their criminal records, is necessarily factual and must be made on a case-by-case basis. The determination is not affected by the classification of the felony, or by whether the person’s actual sentence served was less than the time mandated by statute for the offense. The person can only apply for expunction if the offense to be expunged is the only offense for which the person was convicted. Opinion No. 13-86 (November 6, 2013).

The archives and record management fees that a county is authorized to charge under T.C.A. § 10-7-408 may be used only for “duplicating, storing, and maintaining any records required by law to be permanently kept.” These fees could not be used to purchase, build, lease, or reimburse the county for providing any portion of a building that is not used for the purposes set out in that statute. Opinion No. 13-67 (August 23, 2013).

The destruction of records within the county mayor’s office and other county offices is within the jurisdiction of the county public records commission. The destruction of county public records is primarily governed by T.C.A. §§ 10-7-404 and -406 which grant the county public records commission the authority to authorize destruction of such records. A county office may destroy public records without authorization of the public records commission only if authorized by other applicable law. Opinion No. 13-48 (July 1, 2013).