Tennessee

Decision instrument

The Legislature authorizes the debt. A new general-obligation bond cannot be issued if the biggest future debt-service year would exceed 10% of last year’s allocated sales-tax revenue.

What public act authorizes the borrowing, and where is the purpose and the first-year cost written down? Constitution, Article II, Section 24, and the annual report. Debt for the current operation of a state service has to be repaid within the fiscal year it is issued. Bond proceeds may be spent only for the purpose that was authorized. The report says the Legislature authorizes an amount each year and the State Funding Board issues it. The statutory covenant, in force for bonds after July 1, 2013, uses sales-tax revenue allocated to the general fund, the debt service fund, and the highway fund. For the year ended June 30, 2024, those allocations were $18,755,867,000, $1,068,222,000, and $381,778,000. The report prints the total as $20,205,867,000 and the 10% limit as $2,020,587,000. The biggest debt-service year at June 30, 2025, is $228,855,000. The unused margin is $1,791,732,000. This section of the constitution does not require a statewide vote.

Debt statement

No Annual Debt Statement of the New Jersey kind.

What yearly filing states gross debt, deductions, and how close the issuer is to its limit? State debt is in the annual report for the year ended June 30, 2025, Note 11, the debt schedules, and the management discussion. County dollar rows are not attached.

Debt limit

A local general-obligation bond pledges the full faith and unlimited taxing power of that government. The term may not exceed 40 years, or the life of the project, whichever is shorter.

What cap binds a county or a city, and is the state's own ceiling a different rule? Code § 9-21-201 and § 9-21-213. Those sections do not set a percentage of taxable property, and they do not require a vote. Lending the credit of a county or a city, or becoming a stockholder with others, is a different act. Constitution, Article II, Section 29, requires three-fourths of the votes in a referendum for that.

Conflict rule

An official who lets or supervises a public contract may not be directly interested in it. A direct interest is the official personally, a sole proprietorship, a partnership, or the controlling shareholding.

Which ethics statute covers local officers, what counts as an interest, and who is left out? Code § 12-4-101. Controlling interest means the person who owns or controls the largest number of outstanding shares owned by any single individual or corporation. An indirect interest is unlawful unless the official publicly acknowledges it. Indirect means interested, but not directly, and it also covers the case where the official is the only supplier of the goods or services in that city or county. The statute requires the acknowledgment. It does not, in this section, require the official to leave the vote.

Geography

Ninety-five counties.

What is the county-equivalent, and which cities, schools, and authorities must not be pasted onto that row? Census county codes. County seats are not in the financial report, so they are not filled in. Cities also borrow. Dollar rows stay blank.

Primary money record

General obligation bond principal: $1.515 billion, as of June 30, 2025. The payable with premium is $1.675 billion.

Which audited report is the state's own number, and as of what date? Note 11, in thousands. Principal is $1,514,585. Unamortized premium is $160,233. Bonds payable are $1,674,818. Of the principal, $1,405,403 is in the general long-term debt account and $109,182 is facilities-revolving-fund debt. Both are general obligations. General-obligation commercial paper is a separate $3,681. The management discussion adds the net bonds and the paper and prints $1,678,499. Authorized but unissued general-obligation bonds are $1,944,120,000. That is not outstanding debt. The commercial-paper program may not have more than $350 million outstanding at one time.

Who pays the coupon

In the year ending June 30, 2026, general-obligation bonds need $170.615 million of principal and $58.240 million of interest.

Which fund, tax, or rate is actually pledged — not which new store might show up later? Note 11. Together that is $228.855 million, and it is the biggest year used in the 10% test. The general long-term piece is principal of $155.638 million and interest of $54.947 million. The facilities-revolving-fund piece is principal of $14.977 million and interest of $3.293 million. Commercial paper shows another $3.681 million of principal and $47,000 of interest in that year. It is not inside the $228.855 million. The bonds and the paper are direct general obligations. The full faith and credit of the state is pledged. There is also a charge on fees, taxes, and other revenues allocated to the general fund, the debt service fund, and the highway fund, unless the money is legally restricted. Bonds issued before July 1, 2013, have a separate pledge of named special taxes. That pledge ends at the final maturity of those bonds, October 1, 2032, or sooner if they are retired.

Other obligors

Component-unit debt: $6.364 billion. Do not add it to the $1.515 billion.

Which authorities and districts borrow beside the state and must not be added to its total? Schedule 4, in thousands, June 30, 2025. The printed total is $6,363,847. The largest lines are the Housing Development Agency, $3,919,245, and the State School Bond Authority, $2,334,899. The report says nearly three-fourths of the state’s own outstanding debt was issued for university projects or given to local governments as capital grants, and the assets belong to those entities. That statement does not move the component-unit debt onto the state’s general-obligation principal.

Book-entry wall

Cede & Co., at the Depository Trust Company.

Who is the registered owner on ordinary public paper? Series-level confirmation still waits on that official statement. Beneficial owners stay unnamed.