§ 55-17-103 — Motor vehicle commission - Appointment and qualifications of members

(a) (1) There is created the Tennessee motor vehicle commission to be composed of seventeen (17) members including a chair. One (1) industry member shall be selected from each of the state's nine (9) congressional districts and the chair shall be selected from the state at large. Industry members may be selected and appointed by the governor from lists of qualified persons furnished by interested automotive groups including, but not limited to, the Tennessee Automotive Association. Two (2) members shall be affiliated with motor vehicle manufacturers licensed in Tennessee, to be selected from the state at large. Such manufacturer members may be selected and appointed by the governor from a list of qualified persons submitted by interested motor vehicle manufacturers licensed in Tennessee; however, in the event of a vacancy in either of the manufacturer member positions, if the manufacturers fail to submit a list of qualified persons within one hundred eighty (180) days of any vacancy, the governor may appoint a consumer member to fill each vacancy to serve the full term of the manufacturer member. One (1) member shall be an independent motor vehicle dealer whose principal inventory is used motor vehicles. Such member may be selected and appointed by the governor from lists of qualified persons furnished by interested automotive groups, including, but not limited to, the Tennessee Independent Automobile Dealers Association. In addition thereto, the governor shall appoint four (4) additional consumer members of the commission who are citizens of this state and who have no interest, direct or indirect, in the commercial manufacture or sale of motor vehicles. (2) The industry members of the commission shall not have a history of suspension or revocation of a motor vehicle dealers' license. Such members shall each have demonstrated an interest in improving the retail motor vehicle industry by membership in a trade association that meets the requirements set forth in § 50-6-405(c)(1) . Each member shall be a citizen of the United States, shall have been a resident of this state for at least five (5) years, and shall be a franchised motor vehicle dealer. The governor shall consult with interested automotive groups including, but not limited to, the Tennessee Automotive Association to determine a qualified person to fill each of the ten (10) industry member positions. (3) In making appointments to the commission, the governor shall strive to ensure that at least one (1) person serving on the commission is sixty (60) years of age or older and that at least one (1) person serving on the commission is a member of a racial minority. (b) Each of the industry members of the commission who may be appointed by the governor from the list of names submitted by interested automotive groups, including, but not limited to, the Tennessee Automotive Association shall, at the time of appointment, be a resident of the congressional district from which the member is appointed, except the chair, who shall be a resident of the state. All shall be of good moral character and each shall have been actually engaged in the manufacture, distribution or sale of motor vehicles in this state for not less than five (5) consecutive years preceding the appointment, and each shall have the necessary qualifications for the applicable license under this part, and be the holder of such license at all times while a member of the commission. Each of the industry members of the commission appointed by the governor shall at the time of appointment be a resident of the state, shall be a person of good moral character, and shall have been for a period of not less than five (5) consecutive years next preceding the appointment licensed as a factory representative of some manufacturer authorized to do business in Tennessee, and shall further hold the license at all times while a member of the commission. Being engaged in more than one (1) licensed activity shall not disqualify a person from serving as an industry member of the commission. (c) The member of the commission who may be appointed by the governor from the list of names submitted by interested automotive groups, including, but not limited to, the Tennessee Independent Automobile Dealers Association shall, at the time of appointment, be a resident of the state. The member shall be of good moral character and shall have been actually engaged in the sale of used motor vehicles in this state for not less than five (5) consecutive years preceding the appointment, and shall have the necessary qualifications for the applicable license under this part, and be the holder of such license at all times while a member of the commission.

Legislative History

Amended by 2014 Tenn. Acts, ch. 978,s 3, eff. 5/22/2014. Amended by 2014 Tenn. Acts, ch. 978,s 2, eff. 5/22/2014. Amended by 2014 Tenn. Acts, ch. 978,s 1, eff. 5/22/2014. Acts 1955, ch. 79, § 3; 1977, ch. 162, § 14; T.C.A., § 59-1703; Acts 1985, ch. 50, §§ 1, 2; 1986, ch. 658, § 1; 1986, ch. 934, § 2; 1988, ch. 1013, § 23; 1997, ch. 190, § 1; 2012, ch. 776, §§ 3, 4.