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There is created the Tennessee bureau of investigation, which shall be a separate department of state government.
The bureau shall be divided into three (3) divisions, the criminal investigation division, the forensic services division, and the narcotics investigation division. The director shall have full control over all divisions.
The bureau shall be provided with suitable office space, supplies and equipment to perform the duties and functions assigned to it.
A director shall be appointed to administer the department.
The director's compensation shall be fixed at an amount no less than that provided for the commissioner of safety.
The director shall be a person of experience and ability in the detection of crime and shall be appointed to a fixed term of office by the governor from a list of three (3) nominees submitted to the governor by a nominating commission composed of:
Two (2) members to be nominated by the speaker of the senate and elected by resolution of the senate;
Two (2) members to be nominated by the speaker of the house of representatives and elected by resolution of the house of representatives; and
The executive director of the district attorneys general conference.
No person nominated by the speakers shall be a member of the general assembly, and no more than one (1) member nominated by each speaker and elected by each house shall be from the same political party. Members nominated by the speakers and elected by each house shall serve from the date of the member's election until January 1 of the year in which the term of the director expires. If no one (1) of the three (3) persons nominated by the commission is satisfactory to the governor, the governor may reject all three (3), and require the nominating commission to submit three (3) additional names from which to appoint. If none is satisfactory, the governor may require additional nominees, in groups of three (3), until the governor is able to make the appointment. In any case in which the governor rejects the nominees submitted by the commission, the commission shall resubmit a list of nominees within sixty (60) days of written notice by the governor of the rejection. Within thirty (30) days from the date the full membership of the commission is named initially, the commission shall meet, upon the call of the speaker of the senate, and elect a chair. Thereafter the commission shall meet at the call of the chair and shall, within sixty (60) days of the initial meeting, submit its initial list of nominees to the governor. In the case of a vacancy in the office of director arising during a term, the commission shall meet and submit a list of nominees within ninety (90) days of the date of the vacancy. In such a case, the appointment by the governor shall be for the unexpired portion of the director's term. With respect to the appointment of a director to a new term of office, the nominating commission shall be named no later than one hundred twenty (120) days before the expiration of the prior term. In such case the commission shall meet initially at the call of the speaker of the senate, elect a chair and shall then meet and make its submission of nominees no later than thirty (30) days prior to expiration of the term. The first term of office of the director shall begin on March 27, 1980, and shall extend through June 30, 1986. The next term shall begin on July 1, 1986, and it, and all successive terms shall be of six (6) full years. The nominating commission, as defined under this section, shall be subject to title 8, chapter 44.
The director shall be subject to removal from office under title 8, chapter 47, but in the case of suspension of the director under § 8-47-116, the office of director shall be filled pending final disposition of the removal proceeding by the official in charge of the criminal investigation division of the bureau.
The official in charge of the criminal investigation division of the bureau shall likewise serve as acting director of the bureau from the occurrence of any vacancy in the office of director until a director is appointed, as provided for in this chapter.