2023 Tennessee Code › Title 7 - CONSOLIDATED GOVERNMENTS AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL FUNCTIONS AND ENTITIES (§§ 7-1-101 — 7-91-104) › MUNICIPAL FUNCTIONS (§§ 7-31-101 — 7-41-111) › Chapter 41 - REGIONAL RETAIL TOURISM DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT ACT (§§ 7-41-101 — 7-41-111) › Section 7-41-104 - Requirements to receive apportionment of state sales and use taxes - Certification of district - Apportionment and distribution of state sales and use taxes to municipality

(a)
To receive the apportionment of state sales and use taxes as provided in this chapter, the following requirements must be met:
(1)
A municipal legislative body must adopt an ordinance designating the boundaries of the regional retail tourism development district. A municipality shall not contain more than one (1) such district;
(2)
The municipality must file a certified copy of the ordinance with the commissioner along with a request for certification of the district. The request must include a master development plan for the proposed district containing such information as may be reasonably required by the commissioner;
(3)
The commissioner shall promptly review the request to confirm that the proposed boundaries of the proposed regional retail tourism development district do not exceed the maximum size set forth in this chapter. If the commissioner determines that the boundaries of the proposed regional retail tourism development district exceed the area allowed by this chapter, then the commissioner may adjust or reduce the boundaries of the proposed district in consultation with the municipality. In reviewing the request, the commissioner shall inform the commissioners of economic and community development and tourist development of the pending request; and
(4)
If the commissioner, with approval by the commissioner of economic and community development, determines that the special allocation of state sales tax, as authorized by §
7-41-106
, is in the best interests of the state, then the commissioner shall approve the request and certify the district. Upon certification of the district, the commissioner shall provide prompt notice of the certification to the commissioner of economic and community development, the commissioner of tourist development, and the requesting municipal governing body.
(b)
Upon certification of the district, state sales and use taxes must be apportioned and distributed to the municipality as provided in this chapter.
(c)
(1)
The apportionment and distribution of state sales and use taxes to the municipality as provided in this chapter must commence at the beginning of the fiscal year after the certification of the district. Prior to the beginning of that fiscal year, and on an annual basis thereafter, the municipality shall submit to the commissioner a summary of the cost of the economic development project with supporting documentation, certified by the chief financial officer of the municipality, which must include the cost of any new phases or additional development of the project to be completed within the thirty-year time limitation established in subsection (d). The commissioner shall review the cost certification to determine whether state sales and use taxes, in the amount determined by the commissioner, must be apportioned and distributed to the municipality pursuant to this chapter and shall notify the department of economic and community development of the determination.
(2)
With respect to a summary of costs that is submitted by the chief financial officer of the municipality on behalf of a developer that has incurred costs relative to an economic development project within the district in excess of three million dollars ($3,000,000), the costs must be compiled and certified by an independent certified public accountant licensed in this state prior to submission to the commissioner.
(d)
Additional development or new phases of a project within a certified district shall not be initiated after the expiration of twenty (20) years following certification of the district. The certified district must be dissolved following the expiration of thirty (30) years, or upon the date on which the cost of the project has been fully paid, whichever occurs first. The thirty-year period in this subsection (d) runs concurrently with the time limitation established in §
7-41-106
.
Amended by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 1006,s 9, eff. 5/28/2024.