Tenn. Code Ann. § 33-1-303

This is the official text of Tenn. Code Ann. § 33-1-303, part of Tennessee’s Code Ann — part of the compiled statutory law of Tennessee, published by the state as "Code Ann." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.

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Powers of commissioner

Official statutory text

The commissioner may: (1) Select and recommend to the appropriate state officials the employment of the chief officers of all facilities of the department, all central office personnel, and all professional, technical and other personnel required for the operation of the department; (2) Recommend to the appropriate state officials the salaries and compensation of all officers and employees of the department; (3) Adopt rules and policies for the governance, management, and supervision of the department's facilities; prescribe the powers and duties of officers and employees; and provide for admission, discharge, treatment, habilitation, and support of persons with mental illness or serious emotional disturbance; (4) Publish a report on the operation of the department and the facilities and programs under its supervision and the department's three-year plan; furnish the report and plan to the governor and members of the general assembly; and further distribute them as the commissioner, with the approval of the governor, may consider proper; (5) Publish compilations of this title and other relevant statutes to improve public knowledge of the laws by compiling them separately for services to children and adults and mental health service recipients and make the compilations available in print and on the internet; (6) Prescribe and distribute the forms to be used in connection with the admission, hospitalization or release of service recipients in the department's facilities; (7) Alter the department's facilities and grounds and name them; (8) Order the transfer of service recipients between state facilities; (9) Procure insurance to indemnify full-time or part-time physicians, licensed psychologists designated as health service providers, and non-physician chief officers of all facilities of the department against actions by service recipients and others that are alleged to arise out of acts of omission or commission of those personnel; (10) Delegate responsibilities as the commissioner deems necessary for the effective conduct of the functions of the department; and (11) Assume general responsibility for the proper and efficient operation of the department, its facilities, services and supports. Amended by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 688,s 17, eff. 7/1/2024. Amended by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 688,s 16, eff. 7/1/2024. Acts 1965, ch. 82, §§ 4, 7; 1974, ch. 802, §§ 4, 7; 1975, ch. 248, § 1; T.C.A., §§ 33-104, 33-107; Acts 1990, ch. 1024, § 17; 1992, ch. 991, § 12; T.C.A., § 33-1-203 , former § 33-1-303 ; Acts 2000, ch. 947, §§ 1, 6.
The commissioner may:
(1) Select and recommend to the appropriate state officials the employment of the chief officers of all facilities of the department, all central office personnel, and all professional, technical and other personnel required for the operation of the department;
(2) Recommend to the appropriate state officials the salaries and compensation of all officers and employees of the department;
(3) Adopt rules and policies for the governance, management, and supervision of the department's facilities; prescribe the powers and duties of officers and employees; and provide for admission, discharge, treatment, habilitation, and support of persons with mental illness or serious emotional disturbance;
(4) Publish a report on the operation of the department and the facilities and programs under its supervision and the department's three-year plan; furnish the report and plan to the governor and members of the general assembly; and further distribute them as the commissioner, with the approval of the governor, may consider proper;
(5) Publish compilations of this title and other relevant statutes to improve public knowledge of the laws by compiling them separately for services to children and adults and mental health service recipients and make the compilations available in print and on the internet;
he general assembly; and further distribute them as the commissioner, with the approval of the governor, may consider proper;
(5) Publish compilations of this title and other relevant statutes to improve public knowledge of the laws by compiling them separately for services to children and adults and mental health service recipients and make the compilations available in print and on the internet;
(6) Prescribe and distribute the forms to be used in connection with the admission, hospitalization or release of service recipients in the department's facilities;
(7) Alter the department's facilities and grounds and name them;
(8) Order the transfer of service recipients between state facilities;
(9) Procure insurance to indemnify full-time or part-time physicians, licensed psychologists designated as health service providers, and non-physician chief officers of all facilities of the department against actions by service recipients and others that are alleged to arise out of acts of omission or commission of those personnel;
(10) Delegate responsibilities as the commissioner deems necessary for the effective conduct of the functions of the department; and
(11) Assume general responsibility for the proper and efficient operation of the department, its facilities, services and supports.
Amended by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 688,s 17, eff. 7/1/2024.
Amended by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 688,s 16, eff. 7/1/2024.
Acts 1965, ch. 82, §§ 4, 7; 1974, ch. 802, §§ 4, 7; 1975, ch. 248, § 1; T.C.A., §§ 33-104, 33-107; Acts 1990, ch. 1024, § 17; 1992, ch. 991, § 12; T.C.A., § 33-1-203 , former § 33-1-303 ; Acts 2000, ch. 947, §§ 1, 6.

Status: in_force

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.