According to the 2000 Census, Tennessee is the 14th fastest growing state in the union. Tennessee also has the 4th fastest rate of land development based on data from the 1997 National Resources Inventory. Recognizing these trends and conflicts at the local level, Tennessee's General Assembly created a framework for development of sound growth policy in 1998 by enacting Public Chapter 1101, the Growth Policy Act, which has come to be known simply as "PC1101."

PC1101 required local officials within each of the ninety-two non-metropolitan counties to work together to shape growth policy through the development of 20-year growth plans. The Act did not impose a single, statewide solution. It did, however, include five statements of legislative intent:

1. To eliminate annexation or incorporation out of fear.
2. To establish incentives to annex or incorporate where appropriate.
3. To more closely match the timing of development to the provision of public services.
4. To stabilize each county's education funding base and establish an incentive for each county legislative body to be more interested in education matters.
5. To minimize urban sprawl.

The General Assembly assigned responsibility for monitoring the implementation of PC1101 to the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR). A series of TACIR's reports on PC1101 can be found at www.state.tn.us/tacir/publications.htm.