Fiscal Review Committee approves dozens of state contracts; debates $8 million Safety system increase and 6‑month prison health extension

The Tennessee Fiscal Review Committee approved a large package of agency contracts and renewals during a full calendar session, approving most items on the 31‑item agenda while focusing extended questioning on an amendment to the Department of Safety’s automated licensing system and a six‑month extension of the Department of Correction’s inmate health contract.

Committee members voted in favor of most routine contract renewals and amendments across state departments, including Agriculture, Commerce and Insurance, Transportation, Health, TennCare, and Education. The committee took more time on the Department of Safety’s request to increase the maximum liability on its automated license issuance system contract and on Tennessee Department of Correction’s six‑month extension of its statewide inmate health services contract.

The Department of Safety sought committee approval to amend its ALIST (automated license issuance) contract to add SMS texting for two‑factor authentication and related work. Ben Vojtus, legislative liaison for the Department of Safety, presented the request; Sonya Hadley, the department’s budget director, told the committee the requested amendment adds roughly $8 million to the existing contract and brings the new maximum liability to $20,392,500 with a revised end date of Sept. 11, 2026. Hadley outlined several specific cost items that contributed to the increase, including an AMBA interface she identified as about $3,800,000, an MDL update of about $150,000, a potential queuing fix estimated at about $700,000, a digital image access interface of about $38,000, an FMCSA NRI item of roughly $120,000, and increased…