Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 1-3-110 (2026)
Severability of code
✓ current as of May 2026
It is hereby declared that the sections, clauses, sentences and parts of the Tennessee Code are severable, are not matters of mutual essential inducement, and any of them shall be exscinded if the code would otherwise be unconstitutional or ineffective. If any one (1) or more sections, clauses, sentences or parts shall for any reason be questioned in any court, and shall be adjudged unconstitutional or invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remaining provisions thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the specific provision or provisions so held unconstitutional or invalid, and the inapplicability or invalidity of any section, clause, sentence or part in any one (1) or more instances shall not be taken to affect or prejudice in any way its applicability or validity in any other instance.
C. Supp. 1950, § 27.3; modified; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 1-310.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 18
cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1981–2025 · leading case: In Re Swanson, 2 S.W.3d 180 (Tenn. 1999).
In Re Swanson, 2 S.W.3d 180 (Tenn. 1999). “Tennessee Code Annotated section 1-3-110 provides: It is hereby declared that the sections, clauses, sentences and parts of the Tennessee *189 Code are severable, are not matters of mutual essential inducement, and any of them shall be exscinded if the code would otherwise be…”
Nolichuckey Sand Co. v. Huddleston, 896 S.W.2d 782 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1994). “He asserted that the Chancellor should reconsider his original decision because “the use of the doctrine of elision in this case would be both in keeping with the intent of the Legislature in enacting the mineral severance tax law and the proper method of construction of the…”
Clayton Byrd v. Tenn. Wine & Spirits Retailers Ass'n, 883 F.3d 608 (6th Cir. 2018). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 1-3-110 . Although this statute “does not automatically make [the doctrine of elision] applicable to every situation[,] .”
State v. Bonds, 502 S.W.3d 118 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2015). “T.C.A. § 1-3-110. “This legislative endorsement of elision ‘does not automatically make it applicable to every situation; however, when a conclusion can be reached that the legislature would have enacted the act in question with the unconstitutional portion omitted, then elision…”
State of Tennessee v. Jacqueline Crank, 468 S.W.3d 15 (Tenn. 2015). “Tenn.Code Ann. § 1-3-110 (2014). This legislative endorsement of elision “does not automatically make it applicable to every situation; however, when a conclusion can be reached that the legislature would have enacted the act in question with the unconstitutional portion…”
State v. Tester, 879 S.W.2d 823 (Tenn. 1994). “2 However, the defendant contends that we should consider as evidence of legislative intent the general severability clause codified at Tenn.Code Ann. § 1-3-110 (1985), which applies to all parts of the Tennessee Code.”
Lowe's Companies, Inc. v. Cardwell, 813 S.W.2d 428 (Tenn. 1991). “The latter statute provides as follows: It is hereby declared that the sections, clauses, sentences and parts of the Tennessee Code are severable, are not matters of mutual essential inducement, and any of them shall be exscinded if the Code would otherwise be unconstitutional…”
John Doe 1 v. William Lee, 102 F.4th 330 (6th Cir. 2024). “” Tenn. Code Ann. § 1-3-110 . At root, elision is appropriate “when a conclusion can be reached that the legislature would have enacted the act in question with the unconstitutional portion omitted.”
Int'l Ass'n of Firefighters Local 3858 v. City of Germantown, 98 F. Supp. 2d 939 (W.D. Tenn. 2000). “T.C.A. § 1-3-110. Plaintiff and the State also point to the legislative history of the particular statute at issue here.”
Brown v. Alexander, 516 F. Supp. 607 (M.D. Tenn. 1981). “…instances shall not be taken to affect or prejudice in any way its applicability or'validity in any other instance. Tenn.Code Ann. § 1-3-110 (1979).”
Tennessee Baptist Child.'s Homes, Inc. v. Swanson, 2 S.W.3d 180 (Tenn. 1999). “Tennessee Code Annotated section 1-3-110 provides: It is hereby declared that the sections, clauses, sentences and parts of the Ten *189 nessee Code are severable, are not matters of mutual essential inducement, and any of them shall be exscinded if the code would otherwise be…”
Planned Parenthood of Middle Tennessee v. Sundquist, 38 S.W.3d 1 (Tenn. 2000). “591, § 120, and the legislature has elsewhere expressed its general intention that unconstitutional provisions of a statute may be elided in order to give effect to the remainder of the statute, see Tenn.Code Ann. § 1-3-110 (1994). Contrary to the conclusion reached by the…”
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