Tennessee House Bill HB0935

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/4/25
• Refer: 2/6/25
• Refer: 3/19/25
• Refer: 4/9/25
• Chaptered: 5/13/25
• Passed: 5/13/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5 and Title 12, Chapter 3, Part 12, relative to county governments.

Summary

HB0935 amends Tennessee law to give county legislative bodies explicit authority to require competitive bidding for insurance brokerage services when the county self-insures and has adopted the County Purchasing Law of 1957. The bill adds definitions for “county legislative body” and “self-insures,” clarifying that self-insurance means a county directly pays employee health care costs to providers, either itself or through a third-party administrator. In practical terms, the bill creates a specific procurement rule for counties that manage their own employee health coverage. It does not broadly change insurance law statewide; instead, it targets county government purchasing authority and the contracting process for brokerage services tied to self-funded health plans. The measure takes effect immediately upon becoming law because the public welfare is declared to require it.

Impact

The bill adds a new part to Tennessee Code Annotated Title 5, Chapter 1, and affects counties that both self-insure employee health benefits and operate under the County Purchasing Law of 1957. It authorizes those counties to use a competitive bid process for insurance brokerage services notwithstanding any conflicting law, thereby strengthening local procurement control and potentially affecting how counties select brokers and negotiate employee health insurance arrangements.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests broad support and little opposition. The bill received unanimous favorable recommendations in the House Cities & Counties Subcommittee and the House State & Local Government Committee, with no recorded dissenting votes in either committee. No committee transcripts were provided, but the procedural history indicates the measure was viewed as a straightforward local-government authority bill.

Contention

There is little visible contention in the available record. The only likely policy issue is whether counties should be allowed to mandate competitive bidding for brokerage services in self-insured health plans, which could affect existing vendor relationships and procurement flexibility. However, the unanimous committee votes suggest any concerns were limited or resolved through amendment or committee review.