Amends TCA Section 12-3-1212; Section 49-13-111 and Section 49-2-203.

This bill increases from $10,000 or more to $25,000 or more, the amount for which a local board of education or the governing body of a public charter school must make purchases or expenditures by competitive bids, as described below. PRESENT LAW Under present law, it is the duty of the local board of education to purchase all supplies, furniture, fixtures, and material through the executive committee. All expenditures for such purposes may follow the prescribed procedures of the LEA's respective local governing body, so long as that body, through its charter, private act or ordinance has established a procurement procedure that provides for advertisement and competitive bidding. If the LEA chooses not to follow the local governing body's purchasing procedures, all expenditures for such purposes estimated to exceed $10,000 or more must be made on competitive bids solicited by newspaper advertisement. Under present law, if the LEA chooses not to follow the local governing body's purchasing procedures, all purchases of less than $10,000 may be made in the open market without newspaper notice, but must, whenever possible, be based upon at least three competitive bids. For construction of school buildings or additions to existing buildings, if the LEA chooses not to follow the local governing body's procedure, the board must contract, following open bids, for the construction of school buildings or additions to existing buildings, the expenditure for which is in excess of $10,000. Additionally, present law requires under the Public Charter Schools Act that all contracts for goods in excess of $10,000 must be bid and approved by the school's governing body. Also, present law governing public purchases and local governments provides that any county, municipality, utility district, LEA in accordance with the above-described present law provisions, or other local governmental entity having centralized purchasing authority with a full-time purchasing agent is authorized, by resolution or ordinance of its governing body, to increase the threshold over which public advertisement and sealed competitive bids or proposals are required to an amount not to exceed $25,000 for nonemergency, nonproprietary purchases. At least three written quotations are required whenever possible for purchases costing less than the bid threshold established for public advertisement and sealed competitive bids or proposals but more than 40 percent of such bid threshold or some lower amount as may be established by the governing body in the resolution. THIS BILL This bill increases the applicable dollar amounts in the above-described present law provisions from $10,000 to $25,000. This bill also removes LEAs from the provisions described above for public purchases and local governments, and adds to that provision that for purposes of its application, counties that have adopted the County Financial Management System of 1981, the County Purchasing Law of 1957, or that are similarly centralized for purchasing under a private act, are deemed to have a full-time purchasing agent. ON APRIL 19, 2021, THE SENATE SUBSTITUTED HOUSE BILL 235 FOR SENATE BILL 1125, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 235, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 limits the application of this bill's increase from $10,000 to $25,000 in the threshold amount at which purchases must be made by competitive bid to LEAs and public charter schools located in a county having a population of 40,000 or more. For LEAs and public charter schools located in a county having a population of less than 40,000, the threshold amount will remain $10,000.