12-3-804 - Active solicitation of bids required. - Tennessee Statutes

12-3-804. Active solicitation of bids required.

(a)  All state agencies are required to actively solicit bids and proposals for equipment, supplies, personal services, professional services, consulting services, construction contracts, and architectural and engineering services from minority owned, woman owned and small businesses in order to strive to obtain a fair proportion of procurements from minority owned, woman owned and small businesses.

The amount of fair proportion shall be recommended annually by the governor's office of diversity business enterprises to the board of standards for its review and approval. In annually determining such amount of fair proportion, the board of standards shall establish, based on the recommendation of the governor's office of diversity business enterprises a separate amount of fair proportion for each of the four (4) subcategories of minority businesses set forth within § 12-3-802(3), woman owned businesses and small businesses. Nothing in this part shall be construed as establishing any mandatory goal or quota with respect to minority owned, woman owned or small businesses.

(b)  Procurements shall not be deemed to be from either minority owned, woman owned or small businesses if the business with which such contracting is done is owned by or is under the controlling interest of another business which exceeds the limitations of § 12-3-803. No minority owned, woman owned or small business to which a contract has been awarded shall subcontract any portion of such contract with any business which exceeds the limitations of § 12-3-803 and continue to maintain eligibility under this part without express approval of the commissioner.

(c)  As used in subsection (a), “actively solicit bids and proposals” may include contacting the governor's office of diversity business enterprises; reviewing compiled directories of minority owned, woman owned and small businesses; purchasing publication of notices within newspapers of general circulation or through electronic media; and inviting minority owned, woman owned and small businesses to submit bids or to obtain information pertaining to the submission of bids.

[Acts 1980, ch. 888, § 6; T.C.A., § 12-3-604; Acts 1988, ch. 818, § 4; 1993, ch. 521, § 2; 1994, ch. 981, § 4; 2004, ch. 569, § 1.]