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SB0848 • 2026

County Government

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5 and Title 12, Chapter 3, Part 12, relative to county governments.

Healthcare Labor
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Hatcher, Moon
Last action
2025-05-13
Official status
Effective date(s) 05/05/2025
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not mention the requirement for counties to self-insure in order to require a competitive bid process. This claim was removed as it is unsupported by the provided sources.

County Insurance Brokerage Bidding

This bill allows counties that have adopted the County Purchasing Law of 1957 to require insurance companies to compete for business through bidding.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows counties that have adopted the County Purchasing Law of 1957 to use a competitive bidding process when choosing an insurance company.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Counties that have adopted the County Purchasing Law of 1957
  • Insurance companies and brokers who want to do business with these counties

Terms To Know

self-insure
A county provides health insurance for its employees and pays the associated medical care cost directly to the provider or through a third-party administrator.
competitive bid process
Companies must compete by offering the best price and service to win business from the county.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify which counties have adopted the County Purchasing Law of 1957.
  • It is unclear how many insurance companies will be affected by this requirement.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Amendment 1-0 to HB0935

Plain English: This amendment adds new sections to Tennessee's laws that allow counties which self-insure their employees' health insurance to require competitive bidding for insurance brokerage services if they follow certain purchasing laws.

  • Adds a definition of 'county legislative body' and 'self-insures' in Title 5, Chapter 1 of the Tennessee Code Annotated.
  • Allows counties that self-insure their employees’ health insurance to require competitive bidding for insurance brokerage services if they follow the County Purchasing Law of 1957.
  • The amendment text does not specify which other laws it might override or how exactly the new sections will be implemented.
Amendment 1-0 to SB0848

Plain English: This amendment adds new sections to Tennessee's laws that allow counties which self-insure their employees' health insurance to require competitive bidding for insurance brokerage services if they follow certain purchasing laws.

  • Adds a definition of 'county legislative body' and 'self-insures' in Title 5, Chapter 1 of the Tennessee Code Annotated.
  • Allows counties that self-insure their employees’ health insurance to require competitive bidding for insurance brokerage services if they follow the County Purchasing Law of 1957.
  • The amendment text does not specify which other laws it might override or how exactly the new provisions will be implemented.

Bill History

  1. 2025-05-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Effective date(s) 05/05/2025

  2. 2025-05-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Pub. Ch. 381

  3. 2025-05-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. became Pub. Ch. 381

  4. 2025-05-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Governor.

  5. 2025-04-23 Tennessee General Assembly

    Transmitted to Governor for action.

  6. 2025-04-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  7. 2025-04-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Senate Speaker

  8. 2025-04-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled and ready for signatures

  9. 2025-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., Ayes 92, Nays 0, PNV 1

  10. 2025-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0403)

  11. 2025-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Subst. for comp. HB.

  12. 2025-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  13. 2025-04-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. SB subst.

  14. 2025-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/16/2025

  15. 2025-04-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  16. 2025-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.

  17. 2025-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/15/2025

  18. 2025-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  19. 2025-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 31, Nays 0

  20. 2025-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0310)

  21. 2025-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee

  22. 2025-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/10/2025

  23. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 4/9/2025

  24. 2025-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 4/9/2025

  25. 2025-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 8, Nays 0 PNV 0

  26. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 4/1/2025

  27. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 4/2/2025

  28. 2025-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 4/2/2025

  29. 2025-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate State and Local Government Committee to 4/1/2025

  30. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/25/2025

  31. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/26/2025

  32. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to State & Local Government Committee

  33. 2025-03-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Cities & Counties Subcommittee for 3/19/2025

  34. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate State and Local Government Committee

  35. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  36. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Cities & Counties Subcommittee

  37. 2025-02-06 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to State & Local Government Committee

  38. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  39. 2025-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  40. 2025-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON APRIL 10, 2025, THE SENATE ADOPTED
AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 848, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 requires the county to also self-insure in order to require a
competitive bid process for insurance brokerage services
. As used in this amendment,
"
self-insure
"
means
a county provides health insurance for its employees and pays the associated medical care cost directly to the provider or through a third-party administrator directly to the provider.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HOUSE BILL 935
By Moon

SENATE BILL 848
By Hatcher

SB0848
003067
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5 and
Title 12, Chapter 3, Part 12, relative to county
governments.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 5, Chapter 1, is amended by adding the
following as a new part:
Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, a county legislative body may
require a competitive bid process for insurance brokerage services if the county has
adopted the County Purchasing Law of 1957, compiled in chapter 14, part 1 of this title.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.