Tennessee Code Title 13. Public Planning and Housing § 13-30-104

(a)(1) Any local government shall have the authority to create a corporation which is authorized to operate a land bank within the jurisdictional boundaries of the local government establishing the corporation.

(2) The corporation is declared to be performing a public function on behalf of the local government with respect to which the corporation is created and organized and to be a public instrumentality of such local government. Accordingly, the corporation and all properties of the corporation, including all properties held in the name of the corporation in the land bank, at any time owned by it, and the income and revenues from the properties, shall be exempt from all taxation in this state.

(b)(1) A corporation shall come into existence under the terms of this chapter when any local government to which subsection (a) applies either on its own initiative or through inter-local agreements entered into by and between one (1) or more creating local governments vote by majority vote of its legislative body to establish the corporation. Evidence of such authorization shall be proclaimed and countersigned by the presiding officer of each participating county or municipality and certified by such officer to the secretary of state.

(2) The governing bodies of the creating local governments shall indicate their willingness to appropriate sufficient funds to provide for the initial administration of the corporation as a part of the authorization process and for such purposes are authorized to provide funding or grants and appropriate money to the corporation in such manner as directed by the legislative bodies.