Tennessee House Bill HB1054

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/5/25
• Refer: 2/10/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 12, Chapter 3, Part 12, relative to construction project delivery methods.

Summary

HB1054 authorizes certain larger local governments in Tennessee to choose among multiple construction project delivery methods for local projects and additions to existing buildings. The bill applies to local governments with a population of 100,000 or more based on the 2020 or later federal census, and that have centralized purchasing with a full-time purchasing agent. For those entities, the bill allows use of whichever delivery method the local government determines best meets its needs, so long as all applicable purchasing laws are followed. The bill defines the covered project delivery methods as construction manager at-risk, design-bid-build, design-build, and design-build-finance-operate. It also defines key terms such as local government and each of the listed delivery methods. The measure takes effect immediately upon becoming law.

Impact

HB1054 would expand procurement flexibility for qualifying local governments by overriding contrary law and allowing them to select from multiple construction contracting models for local capital projects and building additions. It would affect counties, municipalities, metropolitan governments, towns, utility districts, utility authorities, local education agencies, and other local governmental entities that meet the population and purchasing-structure thresholds. The bill does not mandate a particular method, but it expressly permits the use of alternative delivery systems already recognized in the statute and requires compliance with all applicable purchasing laws.

Sentiment

No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate, amendment activity, or partisan division in the available record. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears policy-oriented and administrative in nature, aimed at giving larger local governments more discretion in managing construction procurement. The absence of recorded opposition or support in the provided materials makes the overall sentiment difficult to assess beyond the bill's neutral, operational framing.

Contention

The main potential point of contention is the bill's selective application to local governments with populations of 100,000 or more and centralized purchasing with a full-time purchasing agent, which could be viewed as creating unequal authority among local governments. Another possible issue is the shift away from a single traditional procurement model toward broader use of design-build and other alternative delivery methods, which may raise concerns about oversight, cost control, transparency, or competition. However, no specific objections or supporters are identified in the provided discussion materials.