Breaking News for June 09, 2006

Breaking: Knox County No Longer Home Ruled

Chancellor John Weaver ruled today that the official charter defining Knox County as a home rule government is "invalid and ineffective," meaning Knox County government is no longer operating under a home rule charter that allows local governments to function independent of "private acts" sponsored by the State Legislature. Most metro areas in the state are governed by home rule. The practical effect of the ruling means that the state Supreme Court ruling that term limited incumbent County Commissioners in Shelby Co. does not apply to Knox County. Previous legal interpretations of the ruling indicated it did apply to Knox Co. since the county goverment operated as a home-rule county since 1992 and had passed a ballot intiative limiting County Commissioners to two terms. Because the Chancellor ruled the county never properly adopted the charter, term limits for County Commissioners must be approved by a private act of the legislature - which means that incumbent lawmakers who suspended their campaign following the Supreme Court ruling will be eligible to serve additional terms.

Posted by Adam Groves | Email This |