Substituted for: House Bill No. 3289

By Sherry Jones, Langster

AN ACT To amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 17, Chapter 2, relative to the appointment of a master by circuit court judges.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:

SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 17, Chapter 2, Part 1Error! Bookmark not defined., is amended by adding the following new section:

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, in any county having a metropolitan form of government and having a population of more than five hundred thousand (500,000) according to the 1990 federal census or any subsequent federal census, the circuit court judges of such county may appoint a full-time master to serve as a judicial officer in the absence of any one of such judges.

(b) A master appointed pursuant to subsection (a) shall be an attorney licensed to practice law by the State of Tennessee and in good standing with the Board of Professional Responsibility.

(c) The compensation for a master appointed pursuant to this act shall be fixed by the presiding judge of the judicial district and shall be paid from any fund appropriated for such purpose by the county governing body.

(d) The master shall have all the powers specified in §17-2-118 and the powers granted to masters by Rule 53 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.