(a) Contracts by counties, cities, metropolitan governments, towns, utility districts and other municipal and public corporations of this state for legal services, fiscal agent, financial advisor or advisory services, services from an insurance producer, as that term is defined in § 56-6-102, educational consultant services, and similar services by professional persons or groups of high ethical standards, must not be based upon competitive solicitations, but must be awarded on the basis of recognized competence and integrity. The prohibition against competitive soliciting in this subsection (a) does not prohibit an entity enumerated from interviewing eligible persons or entities to determine the capabilities of such persons or entities.

Ask a legal question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 12-3-1209

  • 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.
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Procurement: means buying, purchasing, renting, leasing, or otherwise acquiring of any goods or services. See Tennessee Code 12-3-201
  • Respondent: includes a "bidder" or "proposer" that is a natural person or legal entity that has properly registered as required by the state. See Tennessee Code 12-3-201
  • Responsive: means a person who has submitted a response that conforms in all material respects to the competitive procurement. 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
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) Any person providing fiscal agent, financial advisor or advisory services to any county, city, metropolitan government, town, utility district or other municipal or public corporation shall perform such services only pursuant to a written contract, specifying the services to be rendered, the costs therefore, and the expenses to be covered under such contract.
(c) Any person providing fiscal agent, financial advisor or advisory services to any county, city, metropolitan government, town, utility district or other municipal or public corporation of this state who desires to bid, directly or indirectly, on any bonds, notes or other obligations of such entity sold pursuant to public, competitive sale shall receive in writing prior to the sale the permission of such entity to respond either directly or indirectly on the obligations.
(d) For the purposes of this section, “providing fiscal agent, financial advisor or advisory services” means a relationship that exists when a person renders or enters into an agreement to render financial advisory or consultant services to or on behalf of an issuer with respect to a new issue or issues of municipal securities, including advice with respect to the structure, timing, terms and other similar matters concerning such issue or issues, for a fee or other compensation or in expectation of such compensation for the rendering of such services. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this subsection (d), a financial advisory relationship shall not be deemed to exist when, in the course of acting as an underwriter, a municipal securities dealer renders advice to an issuer, including advice with respect to the structure, timing, terms and other similar matters concerning a new issue of municipal securities.
(e)

(1) Contracts by counties, cities, metropolitan governments, towns, utility districts and other municipal and public corporations of the state for information management services, including, but not limited to, computer program analyst services shall, upon approval by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the governing body, be procured through a request for proposals process. The request for proposals process will invite prospective respondents to participate and will indicate the service requirements and the factors used for evaluating the proposals. Such factors shall include cost, the vendor‘s qualifications and any additional factor or factors deemed relevant by the procuring entity for the procurement of the service. Cost shall not be the sole criterion for evaluation. The contract for such services will be awarded to the best evaluated, responsive respondent.
(2) This subsection (e) shall only apply in counties having a population of not less than four hundred seventy thousand (470,000) nor more than four hundred eighty thousand (480,000), according to the 1980 federal census or any subsequent federal census.