Amends TCA Title 8, Chapter 31 and Title 8, Chapter 6.

This bill makes changes relative to the Tennessee State Employees Uniform Nepotism Policy Act of 1980 as described below.<br /> <br /> The Tennessee State Employees Uniform Nepotism Policy Act of 1980 generally prohibits state employees who are relatives from being placed within the same direct line of supervision within the same state governmental entity whereby one relative is responsible for supervising the job performance or work activities of another relative.<br /> <br /> This bill makes it a Class A misdemeanor for a state employee to knowingly violate and thereafter willfully fail to remedy a violation of this prohibition. This bill further provides that upon a violation of this prohibition, there is created a rebuttable presumption that a willful failure to remedy the violation constitutes an actionable basis to institute ouster proceedings, impeachment proceedings, or quo warranto proceedings.<br /> <br /> This bill also authorizes the attorney general and reporter to conduct an investigation and to initiate the criminal prosecution of any judge, chancellor, judicial elected official, or district attorney general whenever the attorney general and reporter receives a report of a violation of the prohibition.<br /> <br /> Under the Tennessee State Employees Uniform Nepotism Policy Act of 1980, a state employee is defined as a person who is employed by a state agency, authority, board, commission, department, or office within the executive or judicial branch of state government or an autonomous state agency, authority, board, commission, department, office, or institution of higher education. However, state employees who are employed by an agency or office of the legislative branch, or spouses serving together as house parents at any of the state's special schools, are not covered.<br /> <br /> This bill clarifies that:<br /> <br /> (1) The receipt of funding from various state, federal, or local governmental sources, including county or municipal funding, does not change the applicability of the Tennessee State Employees Uniform Nepotism Policy Act of 1980 to a governmental entity; and<br /> <br /> (2) A person who receives a salary or other compensation from or through one of the aforementioned governmental entities is an employee of that entity for purposes of the Tennessee State Employees Uniform Nepotism Policy Act of 1980 regardless of whether the entity receives funding for the employee's salary or compensation from a source other than this state.<br />