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Government Departments and Agencies

Executive Branch | Boards and Commissions | Judicial Branch | Legislative Branch | Other Agencies

Executive Branch

  • E-mail a Department or Agency - Addresses, phone numbers and e-mail contacts
  • Governor Phil Bredesen
  • Governor Bredesen's Cabinet
  • Department of Agriculture - Promotes wise uses of our agricultural and forest resources, developing economic opportunities, and ensuring safe and dependable food and fiber.
  • Department of Children's Services - Child protective services, foster care, adoption, programs for delinquent youth, probation, aftercare, treatment and rehabilitation programs for identified youth, and licensing for all child-welfare agencies, except for child (day) care agencies.
  • Department of Commerce and Insurance - Protects the interests of consumers while providing fair, efficient oversight and a level field of competition for industries and professionals doing business in Tennessee. Divisions of Consumer Affairs, Fire Prevention, Insurance, Securities, TennCare Oversight, Regulatory Boards.
  • Department of Correction - Supervises convicted offenders by implementing correctional practices which contribute to the effectiveness of the criminal justice system.
  • Department of Economic and Community Development - Encourages economic growth, assists Tennessee communities in preparing and competing for economic development and job creation opportunities, offers support services for entrepreneurs, existing industries and new firms, while marketing the state and recruiting new industries domestically and internationally.
  • Department of Education - The mission of taking Tennessee to the top in education guides administration of the state's K-12 public schools.
  • Department of Environment and Conservation - Protects the quality of Tennessee's air, land and water, and preserves, conserves, and promotes Tennessee's natural and cultural resources.
  • Department of Finance and Administration - Provides continually improving financial and administrative support services which enhance state government's ability to improve the quality of life for Tennesseans. The department also acts as the chief corporate office of state government.
  • Department of Financial Institutions - The department has legal responsibility for assuring the Tennessee banking system runs on a safe and sound basis. In addition, consumer complaints involving financial institutions are handled by the department.
  • Department of General Services - Services to state government, including procurement, management of buildings, motor vehicles, and equipment, surplus property, printing and photographic services, postal services, food services, records management and central stores.
  • Department of Health - Protects and promotes the health of the community. Unlike a personal health care system, the Department of Health focuses on the health of the state's entire population.
  • Homeland Security - Develops and coordinates the implementation of a comprehensive strategy to secure the state of Tennessee from terrorist threats and attacks.
  • Department of Human Resources - Advises the governor on personnel policies, assists departments and agencies in carrying out personnel practices, administers employment application process.
  • Department of Human Services - Provides a quality system of coordinated human services to meet the changing needs of Tennesseans and enable them to achieve self-sufficiency. Includes divisions of Child Support, Rehabilitative Services, and Adult and Family Services.
  • The Department of Labor and Workforce Development - Connects people to jobs and job-related assistance, offers education, safety and training programs, supplies labor market information, and ensures healthy and safe work places. Administers Unemployment Insurance and Workers' Compensation.
  • Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities - Responsible for system planning, setting policy and quality standards, system monitoring and evaluation, disseminating public information and advocating for persons of all ages who have mental illness, serious emotional disturbance or developmental disability.
  • Department of Military - Tennessee Army National Guard, the Tennessee Air National Guard, and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, and the all-volunteer Tennessee State Guard.
  • Department of Revenue - Collects approximately 92 percent of total state collections, which help educate Tennessee's children, build highways and state parks, rehabilitate disabled citizens and operate city and county governments.
  • Department of Safety - The department and its highly trained state troopers are responsible for safety on more than 15,000 miles of state and federal highways. The Department of Safety's responsibilities range from issuing driver licenses to investigating accidents and auto thefts.
  • Department of Tourist Development - The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development is one of the leaders among state organizations in the United States tourism industry. Tennessee's $12.4-billion-a-year tourism industry drew 48.9 million overnight and day-trip visitors in 2005. For the first time state and local revenue surpassed $1 billion and, for the first time since 1997, all 95 counties saw an increase in tourism expenditures.
  • Department of Transportation - Plans, implements, maintains and manages an integrated transportation system for the movement of people and products, with emphasis on quality, safety, efficiency and the environment.
  • Department of Veteran Affairs - The Department of Veterans Affairs exists for one basic purpose - to serve those who have already served. A veteran is any person who served in the active military, naval or air service and was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable (US. Code 38).

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Boards and Commissions

  • Alcoholic Beverage Commission - Issues employee permits, licenses and regulates wholesale and retail liquor dealers and establishments providing on-premise consumption.
  • Commission on Aging and Disability - Promoting the exchange of ideas, disseminating information on aging and encouraging, and assisting the development of programs for older Tennesseans, administers the Older American Act of Tennessee.
  • State Board of Education - The governing and policy making body for the Tennessee system of public elementary and secondary education.
  • Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) - Comprised of representatives from executive and legislative branches of state government, county and municipal governments, and the public, the commission serves as a forum for the discussion of intergovernmental issues and may initiate studies resulting in legislative proposals and constitutional amendments.
  • Tennessee Arts Commission - The Tennessee Arts Commission, an independent agency of the State of Tennessee, was created in 1967 with the mission that the citizens of Tennessee have access to and participate in the arts. Also administers the Tennessee State Museum.
  • Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole - Determines, monitors and assists offenders who may safely be supervised in the community as opposed to being incarcerated for the full tem of their sentence with the Tennessee Department of Correction.
  • Tennessee Bureau of Investigation - Investigation of criminal offenses and scientific analysis of various crimes committed in Tennessee.  Divisions of Criminal Investigation, Forensic Services, Tennessee Crime Information System.
  • Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth - An independent state agency created by the Tennessee General Assembly as an advocate for improvements in the quality of life for children and families.
  • Tennessee Health Services and Development Agency - Issues permits to establish or modify a health care institution, facility or service, purchase major medical equipment, or establish certain services
  • Tennessee Higher Education Commission - THEC members and staff hope to provide useful information to prospective students about the vast offerings of the colleges and universities in Tennessee.
  • Tennessee Housing Development Agency - Envisions every Tennessean living in a safe, sound and affordable home in a viable community. Administers federal, state and THDA affordable housing programs.
  • Tennessee Human Rights Commission - An independent state agency charged with preventing and eradicating discrimination in employment, public accommodations, and housing.
  • Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency - Law enforcement, research, operation of lakes, hatcheries, and management areas, hunter safety, habitat protection, boating education, access area development, and regulation of hunting seasons and bag limits.

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Judicial Branch

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Legislative Branch

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Other Agencies

  • Bureau of TennCare
  • Division of Mental Retardation Services - Promotes community based services and supports Tennesseans with mental retardation and their families. The DMRS contracts with community providers to offer a full array of services for individuals in the community.
  • Tennessee Ethics Commission - Established to sustain the public's confidence in government by increasing the integrity and transparency of state and local government through regulation of lobbying activities, financial disclosure requirements, and ethical conduct.
  • Tennessee Registry of Election Finance - Enforces Campaign Financial Disclosure and Contribution Limits Acts
  • Tennessee Regulatory Authority (TRA) - Responsible for setting the rates and service standards of privately owned telephone, natural gas, electric and water utilities.
  • TRICOR - TRICOR (Tennessee's Rehabilitative Initiative in Correction) is a self-supporting agency that trains inmates for successful integration into society. TRICOR provides tax-supported entities and non-profit agencies with a wide variety of products and services.

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