Committee approves 19 state contracts from utilities to public health; Mesonet, newborn screening and TennCare items advance

The committee voted to approve 19 contract items on the regular calendar and cleared two consent calendars during a committee meeting on Feb. 6, 2026. Items ranged from a three‑year, sole‑source relay contract with Teltex to multiple Department of Health laboratory and newborn‑screening contracts.

Most items were presented by agency legislative liaisons or procurement staff who said the requests either exercise renewal options or establish new sole‑source or competitively procured agreements. Tim Schwartz of the Public Utility Commission described a three‑year Teltex contract with a $1,500,000 maximum liability intended to maintain proprietary assistive‑telecom services. Will Freeman of the Department of Agriculture presented a mobile Pick Tennessee Products retail trailer contract. Emma Oosley of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation sought an amendment to extend a sole‑source contract with Spruce Environmental Technologies, and Jay Klein of TDOT asked for approval of a maintenance contract with Vexel Imaging for an aerial survey camera.

TennCare’s CFO Zane Seals presented four items, including a new three‑year sole‑source contract with Stellar (an inventory management system used for voluntary long‑acting reversible contraceptive distribution) with a proposed maximum liability of $412,000, a renewal with the Tennessee Hospital Association, a renewal with the Tennessee Community Health Worker Association to support the Health Starts pilot, and a renewal with Deloitte for fraud, waste and abuse analytics. Seals said TennCare’s fraud, waste and abuse reductions have produced recurring budget reductions of $48,000,000 in the current cycle and cumulatively $348,000,000 over 12 years.

The Department of Health sought several sole‑source and amendment approvals for public‑health laboratory operations and newborn screening. Mike Critchfield said newborn‑screening instrumentation and reagents are sole‑source in many cases; the department said approximately 85,000 infants are born in Tennessee each year and that the contracts are funded by hospital fees. Another item requested OraSure rapid HIV and HCV test kits and quality‑control materials.

All contracts on the agenda were approved by voice vote after motions and seconds; where committee members asked questions, agency staff answered that installation, maintenance and recurring operation costs for certain projects (including the Mesonet equipment request) were covered in prior appropriations and recurring budget lines.

Votes at a glance:
• Contract 1 (Public Utility Commission — Teltex, sole source): approved.
• Contract 2 (Department of Agriculture — PTN Store LLC mobile unit): approved.
• Contract 3 (TDEC — Spruce Environmental Technologies amendment): approved.
• Contract 4 (TDOT — Vexel Imaging maintenance): approved.
• Contract 5 (TEMA — Mesonet equipment procurement): approved (members asked for implementation details; agency said installation and recurring operations are covered by recurring $1,300,000 appropriations).
• Contract 6 (Department of Human Services — Tyler Technologies extension): approved.
• Contract 7 (TWRA — Kaukami Enterprises printing/distribution): approved.
• Contract 8 (TWRA — Moore Clark USA fish food amendment): approved (agency said amendment results in cost savings).
• Contract 9 (TennCare — Stellar sole source): approved.
• Contract 10 (TennCare — Tennessee Hospital Association renewal): approved.
• Contract 11 (TennCare — Community Health Worker Association renewal): approved.
• Contract 12 (TennCare — Deloitte renewal for analytics): approved.
• Contract 13 (Department of Health — National Council for Mental Well‑being amendment): approved.
• Contract 14 (Department of Health — transcript lists vendor name as 'Kilometers Clark' for tobacco program): approved (vendor name appears in transcript; official vendor name not specified in hearing record).
• Contract 15 (Department of Health — Revedy Health Sciences for newborn screening kits): approved.
• Contract 16 (Department of Health — Hologic Sales and Service lab contract): approved.
• Contract 17 (Department of Health — CBA Incorporated newborn screening): approved.
• Contract 18 (Department of Health — QIAGEN reagents and consumables): approved.
• Contract 19 (Department of Health — OraSure Technologies rapid tests): approved.

What this means: The approvals permit agencies to implement programmatic operations already contemplated in previous budget actions, renew vendor relationships that agencies say are necessary for continuity (including sole‑source providers for specialized equipment or proprietary systems), and begin procurement or implementation steps for multi‑year programs. Several members asked for additional operational detail on projects that entail installation and ongoing maintenance costs.

Next step: The committee adjourned and will reconvene on Thursday, March 19 at 11:00 a.m.