Present law creates the North East Tennessee railroad authority in Anderson, Campbell, and Scott counties, which is tasked with securing economic benefits to those counties by providing for the continuation of railroad service in those counties. This bill expands the authority by adding Claiborne, Union, and Grainger counties. This bill requires all contracts of the authority to be entered into and executed in accordance with present law, regulations, and procedures governing contracting by county governments. Specifically, this bill prohibits any contracts or acquisitions of the authority over $25,000 from being made until after it has been publicly advertised for bids. However, advertisement is not required when an emergency arises and requires immediate delivery of the supplies or performance of the service.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 64-2-101, 64-2-102, 64-2-110