Attorney General Opinions
Relating to County Government

2004 Purchasing

Local governments may legally make purchases, other than motor vehicles, through federal general service administration (GSA) contracts, but only to the extent permitted by federal law or regulations. Opinion No. 04-121 (July 22, 2004).

The provision contained in T.C.A. § 49-6-2003 allowing the spouse or family member of a principal, teacher or other school administrative employee to engage in business transactions with the school system if a sealed competitive bid is used and the principal, teacher or administrative employee has no discretion in selection of bids or specifications, constitutes a narrow exception to the conflict of interest statute found in the County Financial Management System of 1981, at T.C.A. § 5-21-121. Opinion No. 04-107 (July 9, 2004).

With regard to the purchasing procedures to be followed by solid waste authorities, such authorities stand in the same shoes as the counties and municipalities forming them. When the participating counties and/or municipalities do not have equally stringent purchasing laws, a solid waste authority must follow the most stringent applicable law. Solid waste authorities may contract for solid waste collection and disposal services without using competitive bidding under the same circumstances in which the participating counties or municipalities have the authority to contract for such services without competitive bidding. Opinion No. 04-101 (July 2, 2004).

Requests for proposals for a construction manager under T.C.A. § 49-2-203(a)(3)(C)(ii)must be in writing. Under T.C.A. § 10-7-504, all proposals are open to the public for inspection after the evaluation process is completed. Opinion No. 04-084 (May 5, 2004).