SENATE BILL 1556
By Reeves HOUSE BILL 1568
By Terry AN ACT to amend Chapter 429 of the Private Acts of 1931; and any other acts amendatory thereto, relative to the Murfreesboro Solid Waste Authority.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Chapter 429 of the Private Acts of 1931, and any other acts amendatory thereto, is amended by adding the following as a new Article XXI:
Section 108 – Short Title.
This article shall be known and may be cited as the Murfreesboro Solid Waste Authority Law.
Section 109 – Definitions.
As used in this act, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) "Authority" or "solid waste authority" means any public instrumentality organized pursuant to this act;
(b) "Bonds" or "revenue bonds" means bonds, notes, interim certificates or other obligations of an authority issued pursuant to this act, or pursuant to any other law, as supplemented by, or in conjunction with, this act;
(c) "City Council" means the duly elected and seated City Council of the City of Murfreesboro;
(d) "Contracting party" or "other contracting party" means a party to a sale contract or loan agreement except the authority;
(e) "Person" means any and all persons, natural or artificial, including an
individual, firm or association, and municipal or private corporation organized or
existing under the laws of this state or another state, and a governmental agency or county of this state and a department, agency, or instrumentality of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the federal government;
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 (f) "Project" means a solid waste disposal facility or resource recovery facility, or a combination thereof;
(g) "Resource recovery facility" means land, rights in land, buildings,
facilities, and equipment suitable or necessary for the recovery or production of
energy or energy producing materials in any form resulting from the controlled processing or disposal of solid waste or the systematic separation, extraction,
and recovery of recyclable materials from the solid waste stream, including facilities or systems for the storage, conversion, or transportation thereof;
(h) "Revenue" means all rents, fees, and other charges received by the authority for use of its projects, facilities, and services, including, without limitation, all amounts received for the collection, transportation, disposal, or processing of solid waste, the operation of any project, or the sale, storage,
distribution, or transportation of energy, energy producing materials, or other materials or commodities by the authority;
(i) "Solid waste" means:
(1) Garbage, trash, refuse, abandoned material, spent material,
byproducts, scrap, ash, sludge, and all discarded material, including solid,
liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial,
commercial, and agricultural operations, and from community activities.
Solid waste includes, without limitation, recyclable material when it is discarded or when it is used in a manner constituting disposal;
(2) "Solid waste" does not include:
(A) Solid or dissolved material in domestic sewage, or solid or dissolved materials in irrigation return flows, or industrial discharges that are point sources subject to permits under § 402
of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, codified in 33 U.S.C. §
1342;
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 (B) Steel slag or mill scale that is an intended output or
intended result of the use of an electric arc furnace to make steel;
provided, that such steel slag or mill scale is sold and distributed in the stream of commerce for consumption, use, or further processing into another desired commodity and is managed as an item of commercial value in a controlled manner and not as a discarded material or in a manner constituting disposal; or
(C) Except to the extent inconsistent with applicable federal law, soil is not discarded material constituting waste as
long as the soil is intended for use or reuse as soil;
(j) "Solid waste facility" means land, rights in land, buildings, facilities and equipment suitable or necessary for collecting, receiving, transferring, placing,
confining, compacting, treating, or covering solid waste or for processing solid waste by, without limitation, incinerating, composting, separating, grinding,
shredding, reducing, or otherwise modifying the characteristics or properties thereof, including all property, real and personal, appurtenant thereto or
connected with such work; and
(k) "State of Tennessee" means the state of Tennessee and, unless otherwise indicated by the context, an agency, authority, branch, bureau,
commission, corporation, department or instrumentality thereof now or hereafter existing.
Section 110 – Creation; resolutions.
(a) The City may create a solid waste authority by resolution; provided, that the public shall have the opportunity to comment on such resolution. The resolution creating the authority may be amended by the City Council to dissolve the authority. The creating resolution shall give the authority a name which shall identify it as a separate public entity. This name shall be used by the authority unless the name is amended by
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resolution approved by the City Council. Resolutions creating, amending, or dissolving an authority shall be certified by the city recorder and sent to the secretary of state and the commissioner of environment and conservation.
(b) The authority shall replace the City as a member of the Central Tennessee Municipal Solid Waste Region and shall designate a person or persons to represent the authority on the region's board.
(c) Should Rutherford County form a county authority pursuant to the Solid Waste Authority Act of 1991, the authority created under this section may:
(1) Continue the operation of the city-created authority by retaining the same board of directors appointed to the authority, joining the newly formed county authority, and designating a person or persons to represent the authority on the county-formed authority; or
(2) Provided the county-formed authority agrees to assume all responsibilities and obligations of the city-formed authority created by the city,
dissolve the city-formed authority, and join the county-formed authority.
Section 111 – Board of directors.
(a) A resolution creating, or amending the resolution creating, an authority shall provide for the establishment of a board of directors to administer the activities of the authority. The board of directors shall consist of an odd number, not less than five (5)
nor more than seven (7) members. The members of the board shall be nominated by
the mayor and approved by the City Council. The members of the board shall serve for terms of six (6) years or until their successors are elected and are qualified by taking an
oath of office, except that the initial board shall have approximately one-third (1/3) of the members with terms of two (2) years and approximately one-third (1/3) of the members with terms of four (4) years, so as to stagger the terms of office.
(b) City Council members and municipal officers may serve as directors, but the board of directors is not required to include such members.
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 (c) Directors may receive compensation if provided for by the resolution approved by the City Council. The resolution establishing the compensation may differentiate council members, city officials, and department heads so as to compensate only those directors who are not officials or employees of the City, except for reimbursement for actual expenses incurred in connection with the director's official duties.
Section 112 – Board of directors; officers; vacancy; removal.
(a) The directors shall meet and organize as a board and shall elect one (1) of its members as chair, one (1) as vice chair, one (1) as secretary, and one (1) as treasurer, and such officers shall annually be elected thereafter in like manner. The duties of the secretary and treasurer may be performed by the same director. In the absence of the chair, vice chair, secretary, or treasurer, another member may be elected to fill the vacancy for the anticipated term thereof. An action taken by the directors may be authorized by resolution at a regular or special meeting, and such resolution shall take effect immediately and need not be published or posted. A majority of the board of
directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The concurring vote of a majority of all the directors shall be necessary for the exercise of any of the powers of the authority.
(b) Any vacancy on the board shall be filled for the unexpired term by the City Council. Any member appointed to the board may, for reasonable cause, be removed by the City Council; provided, that such removal shall be preceded by a full hearing before the remaining members of the board after adequate notice of such hearing, and a report of such hearing shall be forwarded to the City Council. "Reasonable cause"
includes, but shall not be limited to, misconduct in office, failure to perform duties prescribed by this act, the Solid Waste Management Act of 1991, or other applicable law, or failure to diligently pursue the objectives for which the authority was created.
Section 113 – Public instrumentalities; powers and duties.
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 (a) A solid waste authority created pursuant to this act shall be a public instrumentality of the City. The authority shall have the following powers, together with all powers incidental thereto or necessary for the performance of such powers, to:
(1) Have succession by the name given in the resolution or resolutions creating the authority, unless dissolved as provided in this act;
(2) Sue and be sued and prosecute and defend, at law or in equity, in any court having jurisdiction of the subject matter and of the parties;
(3) Have and use a corporate seal and alter the same at pleasure;
(4) Plan, establish, acquire, whether by purchase, exchange, gift, devise,
lease, or otherwise, and construct, equip, furnish, improve, repair, extend,
maintain, and operate one (1) or more projects, which projects shall be situated within the city boundaries, including all real and personal property, facilities, and appurtenances which the board of directors of the authority may deem necessary in connection therewith and regardless of whether or not any such project shall then be in existence;
(5) Acquire, whether by purchase, exchange, gift, devise, lease, or otherwise, any and all types of property, whether real, personal or mixed,
tangible, or intangible, and whether or not subject to mortgages, liens, charges,
or other encumbrances and hold, sell, lease, exchange, donate, or convey any or
all of its properties, facilities, or services, whenever the board of directors of the authority shall find such action to be in furtherance of the purposes for which the authority is created;
(6) Remove, receive, transport, collect, purchase, transfer, or otherwise obtain solid waste for disposal or processing from any municipality, county, the state of Tennessee, the United States government, or any agency thereof, the Tennessee Valley authority, or any person, and enter into contracts, agreements,
or other arrangements in connection therewith;
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 (7) Sell, transfer, distribute, or otherwise dispose of electricity, steam,
gas, fuels, or other forms of power. Energy, or energy-producing material, or any other material, product, or commodity resulting from the operation of any project,
facility, or service of the authority to any municipality, county, the state of
Tennessee, the United States or any agency thereof, the Tennessee Valley authority or any person, and enter into contracts, agreements, or other arrangements in connection therewith;
(8) Make and enter into all contracts, trust instruments, agreements, and other instruments with any municipality, the state of Tennessee, the United States government, or any agency thereof, the Tennessee Valley authority, or any person, including, without limitation, bonds and other forms of indebtedness and contracts for the management and operation of any project, facility, or service of the authority or the treatment, processing, storage, transfer, or disposal of solid waste;
(9) Incur debts, borrow money, issue bonds, and provide for the rights of
the holders of such bonds;
(10) Pledge all or any part of the revenues and receipts of the authority to
the payment of any indebtedness of the authority, and make covenants in
connection with the issuance of bonds or other indebtedness or to secure the payment of such bonds or other indebtedness;
(11) Have control of its projects, facilities, and services with the right and duty to establish and charge fees, rentals, rates, and other charges for the use of
the facilities and services of the authority, and the sale of materials or
commodities by the authority, and collect revenues and receipts therefrom, not inconsistent with the rights of holders of its bonds;
(12) Apply for and accept donations, contributions, loans, guaranties,
financial assistance, capital grants, or gifts from any municipality, county, the
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state of Tennessee, the United States government or any agency thereof, the Tennessee Valley authority, or any person for or in aid of the purposes of the authority and enter into agreements in connection therewith;
(13) Operate, maintain, manage, and enter into contracts for the operation, maintenance, and management of any project undertaken, and make rules and regulations with regard to such operation, maintenance, and management;
(14) Exercise all powers expressly given in this act and in the creation and amendment of resolutions and establish bylaws and make all rules and regulations not inconsistent with the creation and amendment of resolutions or
this act, deemed expedient for the management of the affairs of the authority;
(15) Enter onto any lands, waters, and premises for the purpose of
making surveys, soundings, and examinations in and for the furtherance of the purposes authorized by this act and the Solid Waste Management Act of 1991 at reasonable times and with written notice to property owners;
(16) Employ and pay compensation to such employees and agents,
including attorneys, accountants, engineers, architects and financial advisors, as the board of directors shall deem necessary for the business of the authority;
(17) Use in the performance of its functions the officers, agents,
employees, services, property, facilities, records, equipment, rights, and powers of the City, with the consent of the City and subject to such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon; and
(18) Exercise all powers expressly given to it and establish and make rules and regulations not inconsistent with this act and the Solid Waste Management Act of 1991, deemed expedient for the management of the authority's affairs.
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 (b) Except as otherwise provided in this act, an authority, with the concurrence by ordinance of the City Council, may exercise exclusive jurisdiction and exclusive right to control the collection of solid waste within its boundaries, and to control the disposition of solid waste collected within its boundaries.
(c) The power granted to an authority by this section shall not prevent a manufacturing firm which holds a permit from the state of Tennessee to dispose of or utilize its own solid wastes on the property of the manufacturing firm.
Section 114 – Exclusion of waste originating outside region.
The authority may restrict access to its solid waste disposal facilities and may regulate the flow of all municipal solid waste within the City by requiring the disposal of
any transported waste at a specific solid waste disposal facility.
Section 115 – Assignment or loan of employees.
For the purpose of aiding the authority, the City may assign or loan any of its employees, including its engineering staff and facilities, and may provide necessary office space, equipment or other facilities for the use of such authority.
Section 116 – Bonds.
(a) The authority has the power to issue bonds from time to time in order to
accomplish its purposes. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this act, all bonds issued by the authority shall be payable solely out of the revenue and receipts derived from the authority's projects or of any portion thereof as may be designated in the proceedings of the board of directors under which the bonds shall be authorized to be issued, including debt obligations of the lessee or contracting party obtained from or in connection with the financing of a project. Such bonds may be issued in one (1) or more series, may be executed and delivered by the authority at any time and from time to
time, may be in such form and denomination and of such terms and maturities, may be
subject to redemption prior to maturity either with or without premium, may be in fully registered form or in bearer form registerable either as to principal or interest, or both,
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may bear such conversion privileges and be payable in such installments and at such time or times not exceeding forty (40) years from the date thereof, may be payable at
such place or places whether within or without the state of Tennessee, may bear interest at such rate or rates payable at such time or times and at such pla