Fiscal Review Committee approves a slate of state contract amendments and new contracts

The Fiscal Review Committee approved a series of statewide and agency contracts and contract amendments covering utilities, wildlife infrastructure, mental health partnerships, workforce system upgrades, education assessments and homeland security equipment.

The committee voted to approve the items after brief presentations from agency representatives. Several items drew questions from committee members about industry changes, program reach, and procurement plans; all listed contracts on the agenda were approved.

Why it matters: The approvals move forward payments and program operations across multiple state agencies, including public-utility services for hearing- and speech-impaired telephone relay services, fisheries access projects, psychiatric training partnerships, unemployment fraud-prevention tools, corrections education programming, statewide student assessments, and expansion of the state communications network.

Votes at a glance - Tennessee Public Utility Commission — Hamilton Relay: Committee approved a one-year maximum-liability extension of $350,000 to continue analog telephone relay services while agencies consider transition planning. Presenter: Tim Schwartz, Public Utility Commission. Vote: approved (roll call announced "Ayes have it"). - Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency — Blue Water Docks LLC (sole source): Approved a sole-source contract with maximum liability of $900,000 for skilled labor and equipment to upgrade access points and lake projects. Presenter: Tory Grimes, General Counsel, TWRA. Vote: approved. - Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services — Meharry Medical College / Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute renewal: Approved contract renewal to continue psychiatric resident services. Presenter: Angela Jackson, Assistant Director of Legislation and Rules. Vote: approved. - Department of Health — Grama Diabetes (doing business as HabiT): Approved amendment adding one year and two renewal options for the department’s diabetes prevention and self-management education platform (HIPAA-compliant). Presenter: Grayson Carter, Department of Health. Vote: approved. - Department of Labor and Workforce Development — FAST Enterprises LLC amendment: Approved scope expansion to add fraud identity verification services with an increase of $2,293,543.05 to a new maximum liability of $39,719,095 to support unemployment-benefits fraud prevention. Presenter: Matthew Grove. Vote: approved. - Department of Labor and Workforce Development — Origin contract amendment: Approved amendment to add optional renewals and optional line items for a jail-based learning platform used in roughly 88 counties; presenters said 6,587 unique learners had used the platform in the current budget year. Presenter: Matthew Grove. Vote: approved. - Department of Education — NCS Pearson amendment (AIMS Web Plus): Approved a one-year renewal for the Tennessee Universal Reading Screener (AIMS Web Plus) required by the Literacy Success Act. Presenter: Robin Yeh. Vote: approved. - Department of Education — NCS Pearson amendment (TCAP): Approved a six-month extension to allow completion of spring TCAP deliverables through Dec. 31, 2025. Presenter: David Laird. Vote: approved. - Department of Education — Student First Technologies amendment: Approved amendment to add the Education Freedom Scholarship program (see separate item). Presenter: Emily Cornude. Vote: approved. - Department of Safety and Homeland Security — Bell Textron amendment: Approved added funding to complete outfitting of Bell helicopters (amount not specified in testimony). Presenter: Ben Voytis. Vote: approved. - Department of Safety and Homeland Security — Buffard, Goff and Associates: Approved contract to support expansion of the Tennessee Advanced Communications Network by more than 200 sites. Presenter: Ben Voytis. Vote: approved. - Department of Safety and Homeland Security — Confidential SDS endorsement contract: Approved contract for scheduling and shift-management services; the contractor name is confidential per TCA provisions. Presenter: Ben Voytis. Vote: approved.

What committee members asked: Representative Bricken and others asked about provider availability and industry trends for the Hamilton Relay analog service; Tim Schwartz said the market is declining as services move to IP and that the commission will need to examine the legal and operational pathway for transitioning relay services to internet protocols. Representative Dixie and others asked for outreach and program details on the health and education items; department presenters supplied procedural and documentation details. Senator Watson asked whether the department of education would later run a competitive procurement for Student First expanded functions; the department said a competitive RFP is planned for the summer.

All items on the agenda were approved and the chair announced the committee will meet next on May 21 at 10 a.m. (tentative).