Tennessee

Plain-language summary

Tennessee operates under two parallel statutes: the Interlocal Cooperation Act (T.C.A. §12-9-101 et seq.) and the cooperative purchasing provisions of T.C.A. §12-3-1205. The in-state authority under §12-3-1205(a) is broad — Tennessee local governments may enter cooperative purchasing agreements for supplies, services, OR construction with other Tennessee local governments. However, when the cooperative agreement involves an OUT-OF-STATE entity (which is how most national cooperatives like OMNIA Partners and Region 14 ESC Texas operate), §12-3-1205(b)(4)(B) expressly excludes purchases of construction, engineering, or architectural services, or construction materials. The out-of-state authority is also limited to "goods, supplies, services, or equipment" — and the master agreement must be approved by the local legislative body via resolution. Tennessee's framework essentially says: piggyback freely on Tennessee public bids for construction, but you cannot use most national cooperatives for construction projects.

Key requirements

• →For in-state cooperative purchasing under §12-3-1205(a): a formal agreement between Tennessee local governments; construction is permitted.
• →For out-of-state cooperative purchasing under §12-3-1205(b): the master agreement must be approved by the local legislative body via resolution.
• →Out-of-state cooperative purchases are limited to goods, supplies, services, or equipment — NOT construction, engineering, architectural services, or construction materials per §12-3-1205(b)(4)(B).
• →The original procurement must have been competitively bid, advertised, evaluated, and awarded by a governmental entity, and made available for use by other governmental entities.
• →Construction machinery (bulldozers, earth-moving equipment, etc.) may be purchased through out-of-state cooperatives — but NOT through federal-agency cooperatives.
• →"Construction materials" does not include utility system components (transformers, conductors, poles, etc.) or routine maintenance/repair materials.

Construction services

Tennessee's framework is the strictest in the Southeast for construction procurement through national cooperatives. T.C.A. §12-3-1205(b)(4)(B) expressly EXCLUDES purchases of "construction, engineering, or architectural services, or construction materials" from the out-of-state cooperative purchasing authority. This means a Tennessee public agency generally CANNOT use an OMNIA Partners contract, a Region 14 ESC Texas contract, or any other national cooperative based outside Tennessee to procure traditional construction services. There are two narrow workarounds: (1) the in-state cooperative authority under §12-3-1205(a), which permits construction but only through agreements with other Tennessee local governments; and (2) the purchase of construction machinery (bulldozers, earth-moving equipment, mowers, farm tractors) which is permitted through out-of-state cooperatives but NOT through federal-agency cooperatives. Tennessee agencies considering cooperative purchasing for construction services should consult counsel about whether their procurement fits within Tennessee-specific cooperative authority.