reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
TN Code § 69-6-121 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 69 - Waters, Waterways, Drains and Levees|Chapter 6 - Watershed Districts|§ 69-6-121. Certification of Results — Issuance of Amended Charter — Recordation

  The result shall be certified to the state soil conservation committee in accordance with §§ 69-6-106 — 69-6-110.   If the vote is favorable, an amended charter shall be issued and shall substantially follow the form prescribed in §§ 69-6-111 and 69-6-112, but shall show on its face that it is an amended charter, issued in accordance with this section.   The amended charter shall become effective after it has been duly recorded in the register's office in every county having lands lying within the district.
TN Code § 69-6-122 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 69 - Waters, Waterways, Drains and Levees|Chapter 6 - Watershed Districts|§ 69-6-122. Board of Directors of District

  All powers granted to watershed districts incorporated under this chapter shall be exercised by a board of directors, which shall be composed of not less than five (5) nor more than nine (9) members.   Representation on the board shall be fairly spread among the counties included within the boundaries of the district. Each county with more than fifteen (15) landowners owning land within the boundaries of the district shall be entitled to at least one (1) director.   The exact number of directors shall be specified in the petition filed with the state soil conservation committee for the creation of the district.    Membership on the board may be staggered in the manner as set forth in such petition. Each director shall serve for a period of six (6) years and until such director's successor is duly elected and qualified.    The bylaws of the board of directors shall establish the manner in which the directors shall be appointed or reappointed following such initial six-year term. The bylaws, at a minimum, shall:   Provide for representation on the board to be fairly spread among the counties included within the boundaries of the district; and   Designate which county or municipal officials shall be the appointing authorities.     A public hearing shall be held on the proposed bylaws or any amendments to the bylaws. Prior to the public hearing, publication shall be made for two (2) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation published in each county within the boundaries of the district as to the date, time and purpose of the hearing.   The bylaws, and any amendments to the bylaws, shall be filed with the county clerk of each county within the boundaries of the watershed district.       Directors shall serve without compensation, but shall be allowed actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their actual duties.   Vacancies shall be filled by the remaining members, or by petition of five percent (5%) of the landowners. The county legislative body or chancery court may fill such vacancies if the remaining members fail to act within ninety (90) days after such vacancy occurs.
TN Code § 69-6-123 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 69 - Waters, Waterways, Drains and Levees|Chapter 6 - Watershed Districts|§ 69-6-123. Election of Directors — Failure of Board to Perform Duties — Election of New Board

  Within thirty (30) days after the permanent boundaries of the district are established as prescribed in §§ 69-6-119 — 69-6-121, an election shall be held for the election of directors. Notice of this election shall be given at least ten (10) days prior to the date of the election by one (1) publication in a newspaper of general circulation in each of the counties of which the district is a part. Such election shall be by ballot, and shall be conducted in the same manner as prescribed in §§ 69-6-106 — 69-6-110. Subsequent elections shall be called by the board from time to time as membership on the board shall expire.    In the event the board of directors fails or refuses to take steps to proceed with the promotion of watershed district activities, or fails to take steps to effectuate the purposes for which the district was organized, or fails to hold two (2) consecutive quarterly board meetings as required by § 69-6-124, five percent (5%) of the qualified voters of the watershed district may petition the county legislative bodies of the counties having lands within the district to elect a new board.   The petition may be filed with the county clerk of any county having lands within the district. Such petition shall be presented to the next regular or special meeting of the county legislative body, and such county legislative body shall proceed to consider the merits of the petition and if a majority of the members present vote to sustain the petition, the county legislative body shall proceed to elect successors to the members of the board residing in that county.   The county clerk of that county shall then certify a copy of the petition to each of the other counties having lands in the district and, at the next special or regular meeting of the county legislative bodies of such counties, it shall be mandatory that such county legislative bodies elect successors to the members of the board residing in the respective counties.     The action of the county legislative body in which the petition is first filed determining whether the petition should be sustained shall be final and conclusive and is not be subject to review by any court.   The incumbent board members shall be ineligible to be elected to the new board. The new board members shall serve during the unexpired terms of their predecessors.   In the event a petition is rejected by any county, a similar petition shall not be entertained by any county within the district for a period of one (1) year after such rejection.
TN Code § 69-6-124 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 69 - Waters, Waterways, Drains and Levees|Chapter 6 - Watershed Districts|§ 69-6-124. Board Meetings — Executive Sessions Prohibited

  Regular meetings of the board of directors shall be held quarterly at the offices of the corporation on such day as is selected by the board. Notice of such meeting shall be mailed to each director at least five (5) days prior to the date of the meeting, and special meetings may be held at any time upon waiver of notice of a meeting by all directors, or may be called by the president or any two (2) directors at any time.   A majority of the directors constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business.   Each meeting of the board, whether regular or special, is open to the public, and the board shall at no time go into executive session.   Watershed districts are authorized to compensate each member of the board a reasonable amount for attending any meeting of such board. Such compensation shall not exceed the rate at which county commissioners of the county in which the watershed district is headquartered are compensated for attending county commission meetings. Compensation shall be paid out of funds available to the watershed district and not otherwise appropriated.
TN Code § 69-6-125 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 69 - Waters, Waterways, Drains and Levees|Chapter 6 - Watershed Districts|§ 69-6-125. Employment of Counsel

 The directors of a watershed district are authorized to employ attorneys to assist in all matters relating to the affairs of the district, including preliminary matters necessary for the establishment of the district. The cost of such legal services shall be an obligation of the district and paid in the same manner as the expenses of the district.
TN Code § 69-6-126 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 69 - Waters, Waterways, Drains and Levees|Chapter 6 - Watershed Districts|§ 69-6-126. Contribution by County, City or Town — Tax Levy

 The county legislative body of any county, any part of which is located within a watershed district, or the governing body of any city or town within, adjacent to or in the proximity of a watershed district, has the right to contribute, out of the general fund of such county or city, such amount as such legislative body sees fit, to be used in the preliminary expenses of the district, or in the maintenance of the district, or for capital improvements or projects of the district. County legislative bodies and governing bodies of cities or towns are empowered to levy and collect ad valorem taxes for the purpose of contributing to a watershed district, which are hereby declared to be for municipal and county public purposes.
TN Code § 69-6-127 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 69 - Waters, Waterways, Drains and Levees|Chapter 6 - Watershed Districts|§ 69-6-127. District by Mutual Agreement

 The landowners may provide for the establishment of a watershed district upon their own lands and at their own expense by mutual agreement in writing duly signed, acknowledged and filed with the county clerk.
TN Code § 69-6-128 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 69 - Waters, Waterways, Drains and Levees|Chapter 6 - Watershed Districts|§ 69-6-128. Merger of Districts

 Watershed districts may be merged or consolidated by the unanimous vote of the board of directors of such districts, concurred in by a majority of the voters of each district in an election conducted as provided in §§ 69-6-106 — 69-6-110. Such resolutions shall be recorded in the register's office in every county having lands within such merged or consolidated district.
TN Code § 69-6-129 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 69 - Waters, Waterways, Drains and Levees|Chapter 6 - Watershed Districts|§ 69-6-129. District Projects or Improvements — Petition — Bond

   Before any contract is let or work begun upon any plan, improvement or project within the district, the cost of which, excepting rights-of-way and maintenance, is to be financed by special assessments, by obligations of the district, or by any method of deferred payments, and not exclusively financed by funds on hand, grants in aid, or gifts to the district, there shall be filed by the board of directors of the district in the county court of the county in which the lands embraced in such district are located or in the event the district covers more than one (1) county, in the county court of the county in which the greatest number of acres of land in the district is situated, a petition describing in detail:  Such work plan or project;   Its scope and geographical location, including starting point, route and terminus;   The tracts of land considered to be benefited and in what proportion or ratio, if all of the lands in the district are not benefited by the plan or project;   The estimated cost of the project;   The economic feasibility of the plan or project; and   The proposed method of financing the costs of the plan or project.     The petition shall be accompanied by a general plat and general specifications for the plan or project contemplated.     A cost or prosecution bond shall be required as in other cases in such court.
TN Code § 69-6-130 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 69 - Waters, Waterways, Drains and Levees|Chapter 6 - Watershed Districts|§ 69-6-130. Hearing on Petition — Publication of Notice — Objections

  Upon the filing of a project petition, the court in which the petition is filed shall set a day for the hearing and direct that publication be made as to all landowners, lienholders, encumbrancers, mortgagees, occupants, or other persons interested in any way in the lands to be affected by the proposed improvement in some newspaper of general circulation published in each county in which are located lands affected by the proposed project, the publications to be run once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks, the last of which shall be at least ten (10) days before the date set for the hearing.   Such publication shall:  Notify the interested persons and landowners of the general nature and scope of the proposed project, the estimated cost of the project, the proposed method for the payment of the cost and the time and place of the hearing, and shall notify them to appear and show cause why such project should not be approved and performed and the cost provided or apportioned in accordance with the prayer of the petition; and   Set forth the names of the owners of the lands in the area affected by the proposed project to the best of the information and belief of the board, but such publication need not set forth the names of the persons concerned other than as owners of the lands affected.     The notice of publication shall have the same force and effect upon concerned non-landowners as landowners whether they are specifically named or not, and whether they are residents or nonresidents of the state of Tennessee, for all purposes of the proceedings as process would have, if such process were issued from a court and served personally upon the defendants, named or unnamed, by a qualified officer of the law.   The landowners or other interested persons shall make their appearance in person or by attorney on or before the time set for such hearing and file in writing any objections that they may have to such proposed project or the proposed method of financing such project.
TN Code § 69-6-131 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 69 - Waters, Waterways, Drains and Levees|Chapter 6 - Watershed Districts|§ 69-6-131. Matters to Be Determined at Hearing — Appeal

  At the time and place set for such hearing, or at any subsequent date to which such hearing may be adjourned by order of court, the court shall proceed to hear proof and determine by decree:  The soundness and economic feasibility of the proposed plan or project;   The probable cost of the project;   The benefits to be derived from the proposed project, and whether such benefits are manifestly in the best interest of the lands affected;   Whether these benefits will be conferred generally upon all of the lands of the district, or upon only certain lands in the district, in the latter event the lands calculated to be benefited shall be described as to acreage, boundaries and ownership; and   The recommended method of financing the cost of the project, whether by some general obligation of the district to be defrayed by revenues from the project or work, or by ad valorem tax to be levied by special act of the general assembly upon all of the lands of the district in case all of the lands are benefited generally by such project, or by special assessment against the lands benefited by the proposed improvement.     Any landowner or other interested party aggrieved by the watershed improvement decree of the court has the same right of appeal as provided to any other litigant in the court or to any interested party in connection with any court decree affecting them as provided under the drainage laws of Tennessee, compiled in chapter 5 of this title.
TN Code § 69-6-132 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 69 - Waters, Waterways, Drains and Levees|Chapter 6 - Watershed Districts|§ 69-6-132. Revenue Bonds

 If the cost of the proposed improvement is to be paid from the proceeds of revenue bonds of the district, the county legislative body may authorize the issuance of the necessary revenue bonds, in accordance with title 9, chapter 21, with respect to a local government.
TN Code § 69-6-133 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 69 - Waters, Waterways, Drains and Levees|Chapter 6 - Watershed Districts|§ 69-6-133. Appointment of Commissioners

 If the cost of the proposed improvement is to be raised by special assessment upon the lands to be benefited by the project, the court shall appoint three (3) commissioners who shall be disinterested financially in such proposed project.
TN Code § 69-6-134 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 69 - Waters, Waterways, Drains and Levees|Chapter 6 - Watershed Districts|§ 69-6-134. Report of Benefits and Costs

  The commissioners shall study the plans for the proposed improvement and the cost of the same. They shall then go upon the lands within the district for the purpose of determining to what extent and in what proportion the lands affected by such project will be benefited accordingly. They will apportion the cost of the proposed project, including the cost of maintenance, for a period of not more than twenty (20) years among the lands benefited; except that maintenance costs shall be provided for throughout the period during which the credit of the district is pledged, or special assessments or taxes levied for the use and benefit of any project.   The commissioners shall report their actions in writing to the court, and in the report they shall set forth in detail their conclusions and findings, listing the lands benefited by the names of their owners, acreage and description and the lump sum assessment for benefits against each tract of land, if such assessment were paid in cash, and also, the amount of the annual assessments required upon each tract, if the cost is to be defrayed by bonds or other obligations of the district for the period of years over which such bonds or obligations are payable. The proposed assessment shall also include interest and other costs in connection with such bonds or obligations.
TN Code § 69-6-135 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 69 - Waters, Waterways, Drains and Levees|Chapter 6 - Watershed Districts|§ 69-6-135. Hearing on Report — Notice — Objections — Decree — Restriction on Assessments

  When the commissioners have filed their written report, including the proposed assessment for benefits upon the lands benefited by the project, the court shall set a date for the hearing of the matter upon the report of the commissioners and direct that publication be made for all landowners and other persons interested in the lands to be affected by the proposed improvement in some newspaper of general circulation in each county in which are located lands affected by the proposed improvement. This publication shall be once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks, the last publication to be at least ten (10) days before the date set for the hearing. The publication shall notify all known landowners and other interested persons generally without being named of the hearing of the report of the commissioners apportioning the cost of the proposed plan, the improvement or project between the lands benefited in proportion to such benefits and setting out the proposed assessments against each tract of land benefited. In addition, the publication should notify such landowners or other interested parties of the time and place of such hearing, when and where they should appear, and show cause why the report of the commissioners should not be approved, and why the assessment should not be levied upon the lands to create the funds necessary for such proposed improvement.   The landowners or other interested persons shall make their appearance and file their objections, if any, in writing on or before the time fixed for such hearing.   At the time and place fixed for such hearing, the court shall proceed to consider the report of the commissioners and any exceptions or objections filed, as well as any proof offered in support of the exceptions or objections or in support of the commissioners' report. Whereupon, the court will sustain or overrule each of the exceptions or modify or amend the proposed assessment to which such exception or objection was filed. The court will then either reject or accept the report of the commissioners and ratify it with or without modifications or amendments in regard to the proposed assessments.   If the court shall accept and ratify the report of the commissioners, either with or without modifications, the court will then by decree proceed to make or levy an assessment for the amount determined upon the respective tracts of land to be benefited by the project in proportion to such benefits; provided, that in watershed districts of a size of two hundred fifty thousand (250,000) acres, or larger, no tract of land shall be assessed for such benefits in an amount in excess of twenty-five percent (25%) of its assessed valuation for county taxation.
TN Code § 69-6-136 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 69 - Waters, Waterways, Drains and Levees|Chapter 6 - Watershed Districts|§ 69-6-136. Appeal

 Any person aggrieved may appeal from the decision or the decree of the court in making or levying the assessment or refusing to make or levy the assessment. The appeal is made in the same manner as the appeal of any other case in such court or as provided in chapter 5 of this title.
TN Code § 69-6-137 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 69 - Waters, Waterways, Drains and Levees|Chapter 6 - Watershed Districts|§ 69-6-137. Enforcement of Assessments — Issuance of Bonds

  The assessment made or levied for watershed improvement shall be a lien on the respective tracts of land upon which it is assessed, and this lien shall be enforced in the same manner as provided for the enforcement of the lien for drainage assessment under chapter 5 of this title, which is incorporated in this section by reference. In no event shall watershed improvement assessment be deemed to be the personal obligations of the landowners.   The court may authorize the issuance of bonds by the district to cover the cost of the project, for the payment of which bonds the assessments upon the lands benefited by the project may be pledged. The terms and conditions of the bonds, as well as their schedule of payment, shall be fixed by the court, but in no event shall the date of the maturity of the final payment under such bond schedule exceed thirty (30) years after the date of issue.
TN Code § 69-6-138 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 69 - Waters, Waterways, Drains and Levees|Chapter 6 - Watershed Districts|§ 69-6-138. Assessment Book — Certification to Trustees

 As soon as the assessment has been made, the court will fix the date or dates upon which such assessment and/or the annual installments of the same shall be payable. Whereupon, the county clerk shall make out an assessment list or book for the trustee of each county in which are located lands so assessed for benefits, giving alphabetically the name of the owner, the boundaries of each tract, the number of acres in each tract and the amount assessed against each tract, including the annual installments in which such assessments are payable, if the full assessments be not paid in cash. Such book or list shall be in substantially the form used for county tax books. When such lists or books have been completed, the clerk shall certify the same to the trustee or trustees of the counties in which the lands so assessed are located.
TN Code § 69-6-139 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 69 - Waters, Waterways, Drains and Levees|Chapter 6 - Watershed Districts|§ 69-6-139. Collection of Assessments — Quarterly Settlement — Commission

  The trustee of each county in which lands so assessed are located shall collect such assessments upon the dates designated by the court and shall make settlement quarterly with the treasurer of the district for such collections.   The trustee shall be entitled to a commission of one percent (1%) of such collections for such trustee's services.
TN Code § 69-6-140 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 69 - Waters, Waterways, Drains and Levees|Chapter 6 - Watershed Districts|§ 69-6-140. Delinquent Assessments

 In the event assessments become delinquent, §§ 69-5-817 — 69-5-829 shall be applied, and the same are incorporated in this section by reference as fully and completely as if copied.
TN Code § 69-6-141 (2021)
2021 Tennessee Code|Title 69 - Waters, Waterways, Drains and Levees|Chapter 6 - Watershed Districts|§ 69-6-141. Treasurer's Bond

 In the event of special assessments, the treasurer of the district shall be bonded at the expense of the district by a reputable and responsible corporate surety in an amount determined by the court, or as otherwise provided by law.