(a) Procurements and contracts by and for the following state governmental entities shall be exempt from the operation of this chapter:

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 12-3-102

  • Appraisal: A determination of property value.
  • Central procurement office: means the government agency established in §. See Tennessee Code 12-3-201
  • Chief procurement officer: means the person holding the position established in §. See Tennessee Code 12-3-201
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Contract: means any duly authorized and legally binding written agreement for the procurement of goods and services. See Tennessee Code 12-3-201
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Goods: means all personal property, including, but not limited to, supplies, equipment, materials, printing, and insurance. See Tennessee Code 12-3-201
  • Procurement: means buying, purchasing, renting, leasing, or otherwise acquiring of any goods or services. See Tennessee Code 12-3-201
  • Response: means a written response to a solicitation for goods and services. See Tennessee Code 12-3-201
  • Responsible: means a person who has the capacity in all respects to perform fully the contract requirements, as well as the integrity and reliability, which will assure good faith performance. See Tennessee Code 12-3-201
  • Services: means all services and agreements obligating the state, except services for highway and road improvements governed by title 54 and design and construction services governed by title 4, chapter 15. See Tennessee Code 12-3-201
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Vendor: means a natural person or legal entity that has been established by the department of finance and administration's division of accounts as a vendor through proper authority for which payment may be made by the state. See Tennessee Code 12-3-201
(1) The legislative branch;
(2) The judicial branch;
(3) The board of trustees of the University of Tennessee system, the Tennessee board of regents system, the state university boards, the Tennessee higher education commission, and the Tennessee student assistance corporation;
(4) Contracts advertised and awarded by the state building commission pursuant to § 4-15-102. If there is a question whether a contract or procurement requires state building commission or central procurement office approval, the chief procurement officer and the state architect shall determine in writing the procurement method or the contract form that is in the best interest of the state. Any such agreement reached by the chief procurement officer and the state architect shall be subject to the approval of the comptroller of the treasury;
(5) Construction and engineering contracts entered into by the department of transportation pursuant to title 54, chapter 5;
(6) Contracts for procurement of services in connection with the issue, sale, purchase, and delivery of bonds, notes and other debt obligations or the administration, safekeeping, and payment after delivery of such debt obligations by the state or any of its agencies;
(7) Contracts for appraisal, relocation or acquisition services related to the acquisition of land that are entered into by the department of transportation pursuant to title 54, chapter 5; and
(8) Administrative contracts for specific service signs pursuant to title 54, chapter 5, part 11, shall be awarded to the vendor who offers the lowest responsible response. The basis of all responses shall be the least cost to the retail user of the signs. All administrative contracts shall be awarded on an objective, competitive basis pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by the department of transportation.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), any or all state entities exempt from the requirements of this part, as well as any private nonprofit institution of higher education chartered in this state, are authorized to procure goods or services under this chapter through the central procurement office.