Amends TCA Title 5, Chapter 14; Title 6, Chapter 56, Part 3; Title 12, Chapter 3, Part 12; Title 49, Chapter 13; Title 49, Chapter 2, Part 2 and Title 54.

Present law concerning public purchases sets various thresholds at which a purchasing authority must solicit sealed bids, as follows:<br /> <br /> (1) The County Purchasing Law of 1957 generally requires solicitation of sealed bids if the amount of the expenditure or sale is estimated to exceed $500, unless the county legislative body by resolution establishes a higher amount not to exceed $10,000;<br /> <br /> (2) The County Purchasing Law of 1983 generally requires public advertisement and competitive bids for purchases and leases of $10,000 or more. All purchases and leases $10,000 or less may be made in the open market without newspaper notice, but shall, wherever possible, be based upon at least three competitive bids;<br /> <br /> (3) The Municipal Purchasing Law of 1983 exempts purchases by authorized officials in municipalities that have charter provisions relative to competitive bidding but that do not establish a dollar limit over which competitive bidding is required, as long as the municipality, by ordinance, establishes a dollar limit over which competitive bidding is required, which may not exceed $25,000;<br /> <br /> (4) The Municipal Purchasing Law of 1983 generally requires public advertisement and competitive bids for purchases and leases of $2,500 or more. Depending on the population of the municipality, the $2,500 threshold may be increased to a maximum of $25,000. All purchases and leases of less than $2,500 but more than $1,000 may be made in the open market without public advertisement, but shall, whenever possible, be based upon at least three competitive bids. Generally, public advertisement or competitive bidding is not required for purchases and leases of $1,000 or less;<br /> <br /> (5) Present law generally only requires competitive solicitation for a purchase or lease made by a municipality, county, or metropolitan government with a population of over 150,000, if the amount exceeds $10,000;<br /> <br /> (6) A local government unit may not use a reverse auction to purchase construction services, other than those relating to maintenance, repairs, and renovations, the cost of which is less than $25,000;<br /> <br /> (7) LEAs are generally authorized to use the purchasing procedures of the LEA's local governing body. If an LEA does not follow the procedures of its local governing body, the LEA threshold for purchases to be made by competitive bid is $10,000 for LEAs in counties with a population of less than 40,000, and $25,000 for LEAs in counties with a population of 40,000 or more. The population-based thresholds also apply to purchases made by charter schools.<br /> <br /> Present law generally authorizes "a county, municipality, utility district, or other local governmental entity" to increase the threshold over which public advertisement and sealed competitive bids or proposals are required for nonemergency, nonproprietary purchases to:<br /> <br /> (1) For a local governmental entity having centralized purchasing authority with a full-time purchasing agent, up to $50,000; and<br /> <br /> (2) For a local governmental entity having non-centralized purchasing authority, up to $25,000.<br /> <br /> This bill replaces the threshold amounts described above in (1)-(7) for mandatory competitive solicitation with the limits described in (1) and (2). <br />