The County Purchasing Law of 1957-Conflict of Interest

In 2022, the Legislature enacted Public Chapter 700, effective March 18, 2022. The County Purchasing Law of 1957 now contains a conflict of interest provision much like Tenn. Code Ann. § 12-4-101, the general conflict of interest statute.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-14-114 now provides in part:

(a) The county purchasing agent, members of the county purchasing commission, members of the county legislative body, and other officials of the county shall not:

(1) Have a direct interest in a contract or purchase order for supplies, materials, equipment, or contractual services used by or furnished to a department or agency of the county government. As used in this subdivision (a)(1 ), “direct interest” means a contract with such person personally or with a business in which such person is the proprietor, a partner, or the person having the controlling interest in the business; “controlling interest” includes the individual with the ownership or control of the largest number of outstanding shares owned by a single individual or corporation;

(2) Have an indirect interest in the purchase of supplies, materials, equipment, or contractual services for the county unless the person publicly acknowledges the interest. A person who is not a member of a governing body and who is required to publicly acknowledge an indirect interest must do so by reporting the interest to the office of the county mayor to be compiled into a list that must be maintained as a public record. As used in this subdivision (a)(2), "indirect interest" means a contract in which a person is interested, but not directly so, and includes contracts where the person is directly interested and is the sole supplier of goods or services in the county; or

(3) Accept or receive, directly or indirectly, from a person, firm, or corporation to which a contract or purchase order may be awarded, by rebate, gift, or otherwise, money or anything of value whatsoever, or a promise, obligation, or contract for future reward or compensation.

(b) If an official subject to subsection (a) violates subsection (a), the official shall forfeit all compensation earned by the official under the contract and is removed from office. An official removed from office pursuant to this section is ineligible for the same or similar position for a period of ten (10) years following the date of the violation.

See Op. Tenn. Atty. Gen. 94-073 (June 16, 1994) (in counties that have adopted the County Purchasing Law of 1957, there is a blanket prohibition against the acceptance of gifts of any value by county officials from any company to which a contract may be awarded; depending upon the circumstances, the acceptance of such gifts may constitute the criminal offense of official misconduct).