Tennessee Code 12-3-305 – Responsibility for effective management of contracts – Guidelines – Inclusion of total estimated scope or volume in solicitations – Certification to state agencies the sources of services and supply and the contract price of…
(a) The central procurement office or the procuring state governmental entity shall be responsible for the effective management of all contracts procured under its authority and shall adopt regulations or policies that define service contracting fundamentals. Such regulations or policies shall include, but are not limited to, contract management and monitoring of vendors, grants and sub-recipient relationships. The regulations for monitoring shall, at a minimum, require the filing of the monitoring plan with the chief procurement officer before any contracts are approved.
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
Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
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
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
Solicitation: means any type of document that invites responses and may include, by way of example, an "invitation to bid" a "request for proposal" or a "competitive negotiation". 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
State agency: means any state governmental entity, other than the central procurement office and those state entities exempted by §. See Tennessee Code 12-3-201
State governmental entity: means any agency, authority, board, commission, department, or office within the executive, legislative or judicial branches of state government or any autonomous state agency, authority, board, commission, council, department, office, or institution of higher education. See Tennessee Code 12-3-201
(b) Any state agency, when entering into contracts with any organizations that agree to provide services to third parties, shall, subject to approval by the chief procurement officer and the comptroller of the treasury, establish guidelines for such organizations. These guidelines shall define the responsibility and prescribe procedures to be followed by the contracting agencies, including, but not limited to, the use of generally accepted accounting procedures, sound business practices, and compliance with related state and federal regulations regarding the fiscal policies of nonprofit organizations. The guidelines established shall be used as prerequisites for the state’s agreement to provide matching or other state funds or federal funds or entering into a third party contract.(c) Every solicitation issued for the purpose of establishing a contract shall include the total estimated scope or volume for the current contract period, if applicable, and for the new contract period. More than one (1) contract may be let for the supply of any given class or type of goods or services and any contract may provide for the cancellation thereof by either party. Contracts executed or proposed to be executed for periods of time of more than twelve (12) months shall be subject to the policies, rules and regulations of the central procurement office, as approved by the procurement commission, and shall meet the following conditions:
(1) Such contracts may contain a provision giving the state the right of cancellation for convenience for periods of time established by the chief procurement officer;(2) Such contracts shall contain a provision giving the state the right of cancellation at the end of any fiscal year without notice, in the event that funds to support the contract become unavailable; and(3) No contract may be let for periods of time in excess of sixty (60) months, unless the chief procurement officer determines the contract is in the best interest of the state and approves the contract in accordance with rules and regulations, and policies and procedures approved by the procurement commission, as being in the best interest of the state.(d) After contracts have been awarded, the chief procurement officer shall certify to state agencies the sources of services and supply and the contract price of the various goods and services covered by the contracts. It is unlawful for any state agency to purchase any goods or services covered thereby from any sources other than those certified by the chief procurement officer, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.
