Opinion ID: 1780763
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: suspension of laws

Text: Article XI, section 8 of the Tennessee Constitution provides: General laws only to be passed. The Legislature shall have no power to suspend any general law for the benefit of any particular individual, nor to pass any law for the benefit of individuals inconsistent with the general laws of the land; nor to pass any law granting to any individual or individuals, rights privileges, [immunities] or exemptions other than such as may be by the same law extended to any member of the community, who may be able to bring himself within the provisions of such law. The plaintiffs charge that the statute suspended general law in violation of article XI, section 8 of the Constitution. Specifically, the plaintiffs argue that the law suspended Tenn. Code Ann. § 13-7-208(b), which provides for the continuation of non-conforming uses following the enactment of zoning ordinances, Tenn. Code Ann. § 42-2-211, which governs the licensing of airports, and the general right to earn a livelihood. [3] The defendants maintain that the statute does not suspend a general law and, in any event, is rationally related to legitimate legislative interests. Article XI, section 8 is implicated when a statute contravene[s] some general law which has mandatory statewide application. Civil Service Merit Board v. Burson, 816 S.W.2d 725, 727 (Tenn. 1991); see Knox County ex rel. Kessel v. Lenoir City, 837 S.W.2d 382 (Tenn. 1992). If a statute does suspend a general law, article XI, section 8 is not violated unless it creates classifications which are capricious, unreasonable, or arbitrary. Civil Service Merit Board, 816 S.W.2d at 727. If any reason can be conceived to justify the classification, it will be upheld as reasonable. Stalcup v. City of Gatlinburg, 577 S.W.2d 439 (Tenn. 1978). We need not determine whether the provisions cited by the plaintiffs are laws with mandatory statewide application. As already discussed, article XI, section 8 is commonly cited as one of two provisions which guarantee equal protection of the law under the Tennessee Constitution. The analysis for determining whether a statute suspends a general law in violation of the Tennessee Constitution is similar to that for determining whether there is a rational basis for a classification. As we have held, the statute, and the classification therein, is rationally related to several legitimate legislative interests. Thus, we conclude that it does not violate article XI, section 8 of the Tennessee Constitution.