Tennessee Senate Bill SB0369

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/28/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 5-14-204; Section 5-14-205 and Section 6-56-305, relative to competitive sealed bids.

Summary

SB0369 revises Tennessee’s local government purchasing and procurement rules for competitive sealed bids. The bill updates references in the code so that changes to the dollar threshold requiring public advertisement and sealed competitive bids or proposals must be made by resolution of the governing body under existing state law. It also restates the rules for purchases, leases, and lease-purchase agreements below the applicable bid threshold, allowing them to be made in the open market without newspaper notice. For purchases below the bid threshold but above 40% of that threshold, the bill requires at least three written quotations when possible. In counties and municipalities covered by the cited code sections, the governing body may set a lower quotation requirement by resolution or ordinance. The bill takes effect immediately upon becoming law.

Impact

The bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated sections governing procurement by local governments, including counties and municipalities, by aligning bid-threshold changes with § 12-3-1212 and clarifying when open-market purchases may be made without public newspaper notice. It preserves the requirement for three written quotes for mid-range purchases and gives local governing bodies authority to adopt lower thresholds or quotation requirements by resolution or ordinance, affecting purchasing procedures for local public entities and vendors doing business with them.

Sentiment

There is no recorded committee debate, vote history, or transcript in the provided materials, so the bill’s sentiment appears neutral and procedural. The text suggests an administrative cleanup and modernization of procurement rules rather than a controversial policy change, with no evidence of opposition or support expressed in the available record.

Contention

No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. Potential areas of interest are the balance between procurement efficiency and transparency, the discretion given to local governing bodies to adjust thresholds by resolution or ordinance, and the continued use of written quotations instead of formal sealed bidding for smaller purchases. However, no legislator, agency, or stakeholder objections are included in the record.