Transportation, Dept. of

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and text do not provide specific criteria for determining emergencies or handling ties in proposal rankings.

Transportation Department Act

This bill changes how Tennessee's transportation department evaluates and awards contracts for construction projects and grants more emergency contracting authority to the commissioner.

What This Bill Does

• Removes the requirement that selection committee members review proposals independently when evaluating construction managers or general contractors.
• Changes the scoring process from averaging scores to compiling them, and requires ranking proposals based on total score.
• Requires proposals from first-tier proposers to be submitted in ranked order instead of alphabetical order.
• Allows the commissioner more flexibility in selecting a contractor during emergencies by adding new methods for entering into contracts.
• Exempts certain emergency contracts over $100 million from being listed in the annual transportation improvement program.

Who It Names or Affects

• The Tennessee Department of Transportation
• Construction managers and general contractors bidding on projects
• First-tier proposers submitting proposals

Terms To Know

RFP

Request for Proposal, a document used to invite bids or offers from potential suppliers.

Selection Committee

A group of people responsible for evaluating and selecting contractors based on proposals submitted in response to an RFP.

Limits and Unknowns

• Some provisions will not take effect until July 1, 2029.
• The bill does not specify how the selection committee should handle ties when ranking proposals.
• It is unclear what criteria are used for determining if a situation qualifies as an emergency.

Official Summary Text

Present law provides that u
pon compl
etion of the evaluation process
for selecting a construction manager or general contractor
, each member of the selection committee
must
independently review and score the proposals.

This bill revises th
is
provision by removing the word "independently".

Present law requires e
ach member
to
score the proposals pursuant to the scoring matrix that the department
of transportation ("department")
provides in the
request for proposal

(
RFP
)
and based on the RFP's evaluation criteria.

The scores must be tallied a
nd averaged according to the procedure established in the RFP.
This bill revises this provision to, instead, require the scores to be compiled instead of averaged.

On July 1, 2029, t
his bill
rewrites
the above provisions
to, instead,
provide that
,
upon
completion of the evaluation process, members of the selection committee must
review and score the proposals. Members must score the proposals pursuant to the scoring matrix that the department provides in the RFP and based on the RFP's evaluation criteri
a. The scores must be tallied and compiled according to the procedure established in the RFP. Upon completion of the scoring, the proposals must be ranked in order of the highest score to the lowest score. The proposer whose proposal receives the highe
s
t score is considered the best-evaluated proposer.

FIRST-TIER PROPOSERS

Present law requires the proposals
of the first-tier proposers
to
be submitted in alphabetical order to the commissioner
of transportation ("commissioner")
without an evaluation ran
king.

The commissioner may select a first-tier proposer, or the commissioner may reject all proposals and proceed with construction of the project through a lawful method for procuring a construction services contract.

The department
must
send all propos
ers a written notice of award to the selected proposer, or a written notice that all proposals have been rejected.

If the department issues a written notice of award, then the notice must include a copy of the scores from each member of the selection comm
ittee for each RFP proposal.
This bill revises the last provision to, instead, provide that the notice of award must include a copy of the compiled scores for each RFP proposal, instead of the scores of each member.

On July 1, 2029, this bill rewrites
t
he above provisions
to, instead, require the
proposals
to
be submitted in rank order to the commissioner. The commissioner may either accept the selection committee's recommendation of the best-evaluated proposer, or the commissioner may reject all propos
als and proceed with construction of the project through any lawful method for procuring a construction services contract. The department
must
send all proposers a written notice of award to the best-evaluated proposer, or a written notice that all propos
als have been rejected. If the department issues a written notice of award, then the notice must include a copy of the scores from the members of the selection committee for each RFP proposal
.

SELECTION COMMITTEE

In order to confirm that
no member of the selection committee has been improperly influenced, prior to reviewing the RFP responses,
present law requires
each committee member
to
affirmatively complete an affidavit indicating that such member has not discussed the proposals or such
member's review of the same with any other selection committee member, with any department employee other than those listed in the RFP as an appropriate point of contact, or with any of the proposers, their agents, employees or subcontractor
s. This bill
revises this provision by removing the prohibition against discussing the proposals or such member's review of the same with any other selection committee member. This bill also removes a similar prohibition that prohibited, during the selection process,

members of the selection committee from communicating with each other concerning their review or evaluation of the proposals.

TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM FAILURE

In the event of a transportation system failure,
imminent threat of a failure, or other emergency
that the commissioner reasonably believes would present a hazard to the traveling public or a significant delay in transportation,
present law authorizes the
commissioner to enter into contracts narrowly tailored to remedy the actual or imminent failure o
r other emergency
by either of the following methods:



When conditions allow, bids will be taken at a special letting. The commissioner is authorized to waive any provisions of this title related to bidding to effectuate this special letting including advertisement, time periods
,
and notice
.



If the commissioner determines that the failure, threatened failure, or other emergency requires immediate attention, then the commissioner may enter into a contract through noncompetitive selection of a prequalified contractor available to undertake the repairs immediately.

This bill removes the second method and adds the following additional methods:



If the commissioner determines that the failure, threatened failure, or other emergency requires immediate attention, then the commissioner may enter into alternative delivery contracts, as defined in present law, and waive any provisions of this title related to these contracts in order to effectuate these contracts
.



If the commissioner determines that the failure, threatened failure, or other emergency requires immediate attention, then the commissioner may enter into any highway construction and engineering contracts authorized under present law, and waive any provisions of these titles related to these contracts in order to effectuate these contracts
.



If the commissioner determines that the failure, threatened failure, or other emergency requires immediate attention, then the commissioner may enter into a contract through noncompetitive selection of a prequalified contractor available to undertake the repairs immediately on a force account basis or other basis determined by the commissioner.

Notice

In the event the commissioner enters into a
contract under th
e above provisions
,
present law requires
the commissioner
to
provide immediate written notice to the commissioner of finance and administration and to the comptroller.
This bill removes this provision and provides, instead, that
the department is not required to specifically identify any contrac
t
under this bill
in a prior transportation improvement program submitted annually to the general assembly in support of the commissioner's annual funding recommendations and for annual expenditures. However, if the commissioner enters into a contract und
er this
bill
, the commissioner
must
provide immediate written notice to the chair of the transportation and safety committee of the senate, the chair of the finance, ways and means committee of the senate, the chair of the committee of the house of represe
ntatives having jurisdiction over transportation-related matters, the chair of the committee of the house of representatives having jurisdiction over budget-related matters, the commissioner of finance and administration, and the comptroller of the treasu
r
y.

If a proposed contract under this bill has a total estimated contract amount exceeding $100 million, then this bill provides that
the department is not required to specifically identify the project in the transportation improvement program submitted a
nnually to the general assembly in support of the commissioner's annual funding recommendations.

ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY CONTRACTS

Present law prohibits t
he department
from
procur
ing
more than
28
alternative delivery contracts per fiscal year.
However, th
is prohibition only
applies to projects funded by the state highway fund and does not apply to projects funded by the transportation modernization fund, discretionary funds, or federal grant program funds.
This bill provides that such prohibition also doe
s not apply to alternative delivery contracts procured under this bill.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 1308
By Johnson

HOUSE BILL 1320
By Lamberth

HB1320
001584
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4;
Title 12 and Title 54, relative to transportation.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 54-1-504(b)(3)(D), is amended by
deleting the word "independently" in the first sentence.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 54-1-504(b)(3)(D), is amended by
deleting the word "averaged" in the third sentence and substituting instead the word "compiled".
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 54-1-504(b)(3)(D), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting instead the following:
(D) Upon completion of the evaluation process, members of the selection
committee shall review and score the proposals. Members shall score the proposals
pursuant to the scoring matrix that the department provides in the RFP and based on the
RFP's evaluation criteria. The scores must be tallied and compiled according to the
procedure established in the RFP. Upon completion of the scoring, the proposals must
be ranked in order of the highest score to the lowest score. The proposer whose
proposal receives the highest score is considered the best-evaluated proposer;
SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 54-1-504(b)(3)(E), is amended by
deleting the language "scores from each member of the selection committee" and substituting
instead the language "compiled scores".
SECTION 5. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 54-1-504(b)(3)(E), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting instead the language:

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(E) The proposals must be submitted in rank order to the commissioner. The
commissioner may either accept the selection committee's recommendation of the best-
evaluated proposer, or the commissioner may reject all proposals and proceed with
construction of the project through any lawful method for procuring a construction
services contract. The department shall send all proposers a written notice of award to
the best-evaluated proposer, or a written notice that all proposals have been rejected. If
the department issues a written notice of award, then the notice must include a copy of
the scores from the members of the selection committee for each RFP proposal;
SECTION 6. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 54-1-504(b)(3)(F)(iii), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting instead the following:
(iii) To confirm that no member of the selection committee has been improperly
influenced, prior to reviewing the RFP responses, each committee member must
affirmatively complete an affidavit indicating that the member has not discussed the
proposals, or the member's review of the same, with any department employee other
than those listed in the RFP as an appropriate point of contact and those serving on the
selection committee, or with any of the proposers, their agents, employees, or
subcontractors; and
SECTION 7. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 54-1-504(b)(3)(F)(i), is amended by
deleting the subdivision.
SECTION 8. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 54-1-506, is amended by deleting the
language "award of the pre-construction services contract" and substituting instead the
language "the pre-construction services contract".
SECTION 9. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 54-1-135(a), is amended by deleting
the subsection in its entirety and substituting instead the following:

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(a) In the event of a transportation system failure, an imminent threat of a failure,
or other emergency that the commissioner reasonably believes would present a hazard
to the traveling public or a significant delay in transportation, then the commissioner has
the authority to enter into contracts narrowly tailored to remedy the actual or imminent
failure or other emergency by one (1) of the following methods:
(1) When conditions allow, bids will be taken at a special letting. The
commissioner is authorized to waive any provisions of this title related to bidding
to effectuate this special letting, including advertisement, time periods, and
notice;
(2) If the commissioner determines that the failure, threatened failure, or
other emergency requires immediate attention, then the commissioner may enter
into alternative delivery contracts, as defined in § 54-1-601, and waive any
provisions of this title related to these contracts in order to effectuate these
contracts;
(3) If the commissioner determines that the failure, threatened failure, or
other emergency requires immediate attention, then the commissioner may enter
into any highway construction and engineering contracts authorized under title 12
and this title, and waive any provisions of these titles related to these contracts in
order to effectuate these contracts; or
(4) If the commissioner determines that the failure, threatened failure, or
other emergency requires immediate attention, then the commissioner may enter
into a contract through noncompetitive selection of a prequalified contractor
available to undertake the repairs immediately on a force account basis or other
basis determined by the commissioner.

- 4 - 001584

SECTION 10. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 54-1-135, is amended by deleting
subsection (b) in its entirety and substituting instead the following:
(b) Notwithstanding § 4-3-2303(13), the department is not required to specifically
identify any contract under this section in a prior transportation improvement program
submitted annually to the general assembly in support of the commissioner's annual
funding recommendations and for annual expenditures. However, if the commissioner
enters into a contract under this section, the commissioner shall provide immediate
written notice to the chair of the transportation and safety committee of the senate, the
chair of the finance, ways and means committee of the senate, the chair of the
committee of the house of representatives having jurisdiction over transportation-related
matters, the chair of the committee of the house of representatives having jurisdiction
over budget-related matters, the commissioner of finance and administration, and the
comptroller of the treasury. Within thirty (30) days of the commissioner entering into a
contract under this section, the department shall file copies of all bids and supporting
documentation with the fiscal review committee.
(c) Notwithstanding §§ 54-1-119 and 54-1-503, if the proposed contract under
this section has a total estimated contract amount exceeding one hundred million dollars
($100,000,000), then the department is not required to specifically identify the project in
the transportation improvement program submitted annually to the general assembly in
support of the commissioner's annual funding recommendations.
(d) Notwithstanding § 54-1-602, the limit of twenty-eight (28) alternative delivery
contracts per fiscal year under § 54-1-602 shall not apply to alternative delivery contracts
procured under this section.
SECTION 11. Sections 3 and 5 of this act take effect July 1, 2029, the public welfare
requiring it. All other sections of this act take effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.