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1993 Tennessee Attorney General Reports and Opinions 1 (1993)

handle is hein.sag/sagtn0135 and id is 1 raw text is: OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TENNESSEE Published by Authority of Chapter 276 Public Acts of 1971 September, 1993 93-60 AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT: There is no general obligation under the ADA on the part of the legislature to make Legislative Plaza and the War Memorial Building completely smoke free. It appears that under federal regulations public meetings of the legislature and its committees must be accessible to individuals with disabilities. Whether a disability exists must be determined on a case by case basis. The legislature may choose to establish whatever policy it considers appropriate in light of the situation presented. Tenn. Const. Art.II, §22; 42 U.S.C. §12132; T.C.A. §8-44-101-102; 93-57 MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS:Taxing Power: The storm water user fee authorized by Chapter 257, Public Acts of 1993 is not a tax on real property. A municipality mcy offer a percentage discount depending upon the date of payment of the user's fee which reasonably reflects the time-value use of money. If a municipality provides for payment of the user's fee on annual basis, the fee may not be billed on the same notice as that used for ad valorem real property taxes. A municipality may not make the failure to pay such user's fees a violation of the ordinance or resolution adopted pursuant to §6 of the Act; the imposition of penalties specified in the Act are designed to penalize improper regulation of storm water discharges and related facilities and not for the mere failure or inability to pay the fee. A municipality can impose the user fee on property which is tax-exempt pursuant to T.C.A. §67-5-203 et_seq. and a municipality is entitled to use any means available for the collection of a debt which is lawfully owed, however, the Act does not permit municipalities to place a lien on the property. T.C.A. §67-5-201, §67-5-1804, §67-5-2001, §67-5-2101; Op. Tenn. Atty. Gen. 83-343 (October 6, 1983), Op. Tenn. Atty. Gen. 86-75 (March 26, 1986), Op. Tenn. Atty. Gen. 88-108 (June 1, 1988).