Amends TCA Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 29 and Title 56.

Under present law, the Governmental Tort Liability Act authorizes a governmental entity to purchase any of the insurance authorized by the Act, without the necessity of public bidding, as required by any public or private act or charter restriction, if such insurance is purchased through a plan authorized and approved by any organization of governmental entities representing cities and counties.<br /> <br /> This bill rewrites the above provisions to instead require governmental entities to utilize public bidding when purchasing any of the insurance authorized by the Act including, but not limited to, the liabilities created by the Act, including general and professional liabilities; liabilities under the Workers' Compensation Law; and property and motor vehicle insurance.<br /> <br /> This bill provides that:<br /> <br /> (1) When insurance described above is offered through a plan authorized and approved by any organization of governmental entities representing cities, counties, and school districts, or created and authorized under the auspices of such a plan, then that plan's public bid must contain:<br /> (A) A listing, by name of the recipient, of all compensation, fees, or other remuneration paid by the organization during the audit year to, or accrued on behalf of, the organization's directors and officers;<br /> (B) A listing, by name of recipient, of all compensation and any other remuneration paid by the organization during the audit year to, or accrued on behalf of, any employee of the organization who receives the remuneration; <br /> (C) A listing, by name of beneficiary, or any deferred compensation, salary continuation, retirement or other fringe benefit plan or program, excluding qualified health and life insurance plans available to all employees or the organization on a nondiscriminatory basis, established or maintained by the organization for the benefit of any of the organization's directors, officers, or employees, and the amount of any funds paid or accrued to the plan or program during the audit year; and <br /> (D) A listing, by name of recipient, of all fees paid by the organization during the audit year to any contractor, professional advisor, or other personal services provider during the audit year. The listing must also include a statement as to the general effect of each contract;<br /> (2) When insurance described above is offered through a plan authorized and approved by any organization of governmental entities representing cities, counties, and school districts, or created and authorized under the auspices of such a plan, then that plan's public bid is subject to the present law provisions generally governing misrepresentations and false advertising of insurance policies; and<br /> (3) The comptroller of the treasury may impose penalties against governmental entities that violate this bill. Such penalties must be described in rules promulgated by the comptroller of the treasury.<br /> <br />