Bill That Strips Power From Elected Commission, Hands It To An Unelected Official, To Be Heard In Tennessee House Committee

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The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –

A bill that would seemingly strip the State Building Commission, a group of elected officials, of its power and give that power to the Commissioner of General Services, a single unelected official, has been scheduled for consideration in the House State Government Committee. 

House Bill 1889 (HB1889) as introduced, creates the State of Tennessee Real Estate Asset Management (STREAM) Act and “authorizes the commissioner to perform certain activities related to management of real property owned by this state; increases the cost threshold for major maintenance contracts for state departments, colleges of applied technology, and public two-year institutions of higher learning above which the state building commission must approve and supervise the contract.”

This House bill is sponsored by Rep. William Lamberth (R-Portland-District 44) and the corresponding Senate Bill 2102 (SB2102) is sponsored by Sen. Jack Johnson (R-Franklin-District 27).

According to the General Assembly’s summary, this legislation “authorizes new powers for the commissioner of general services.” 

These new powers include the responsibility of “decision-making” for all executive branch leases, acquisitions, and disposals of real property as well as the responsibility of approving “construction delivery methods for projects under the commissioner’s control that include, but are not limited to, design/bid/build, design/build, public-private partnerships, best value, construction manager/general contractor, and job order contract.”

Ultimately, this would leave one unelected official in charge of overseeing millions of dollars in state projects and property as well as deciding how multi-millions of taxpayer dollars are spent. 

“The bill in question,” wrote The Tennessee Conservative’s Kelly Jackson, “would consolidate that power and hand it over to a single individual who is nestled within the governor’s administration.”

Proposed Tennessee Bill Aims To Strip Power From Representative Commission And Hand It Over The Governor’s Administration (Update 2.16.24)

However, according to Deputy Director for the Department of General Services, John Hull, “The whole point of this bill is actually to give us statutory authority to do the things we already do.”

Tennessee Bill That Seemingly Strips Power From Commission Passes Subcommittee In Voice Vote Led By Iris Rudder

Currently, the responsibilities that this legislation allocates to the commissioner of general services are technically supposed to be handled by the State Building Commission (SBC) which was created by the state legislature in 1955 for this exact purpose. 

Right now, the SBC consists of Gov. Bill Lee, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, Speaker of the House of Representatives Cameron Sexton, Secretary of State Tre Hargett, Comptroller of the Treasury Jason Mumpower, State Treasurer David Lillard and Commissioner of Finance and Administration Jim Bryson.

Christi W. Branscom is currently the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services.

To voice your support or opposition to HB1889 as summarized above, use the information below to contact the House State Government Committee members prior to their scheduled meeting on Wednesday, March 13^th, 2024.

Rep. Kelly Keisling (R-Chair) – rep.kelly.keisling@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6852

Rep. Rick Eldridge (R-Vice-Chair) – rep.rick.eldridge@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6877

Rep. Rebecca Alexander (R) – rep.rebecca.alexander@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2251

Rep. Rush Bricken (R) – rep.rush.bricken@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7448

Rep. Ed Butler (R) – rep.ed.butler@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1260

Rep. Michele Carringer (R) – rep.michele.carringer@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1721

Rep. Kirk Haston (R) – rep.kirk.haston@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-0750

Rep. John Holsclaw (R) – rep.john.holsclaw@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7450

Rep. Chris Hurt (R) – rep.chris.hurt@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2134

Rep. Curtis Johnson (R) – rep.curtis.johnson@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4341

Rep. Tom Leatherwood (R) – rep.tom.leatherwood@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7084

Rep. Mary Littleton (R) – rep.mary.littleton@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7477

Rep. Jake McCalmon (R) – rep.jake.mccalmon@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4389

Rep. Dennis Powers (R) – rep.dennis.powers@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3335

Rep. Iris Rudder (R) – rep.iris.rudder@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-8695

Rep. Bryan Terry (R) – rep.bryan.terry@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2180

Rep. Jesse Chism (D) – rep.jesse.chism@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6954

Rep. Vincent Dixie (D) – rep.vincent.dixie@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1997

Rep. Darren Jernigan (D) – rep.darren.jernigan@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6959

Rep. Larry Miller (D) – rep.larry.miller@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4453

Rep. Justin J. Pearson (D) – rep.justin.j.pearson@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4295

Rep. Jason Powell (D) – rep.jason.powell@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6861

rep.kelly.keisling@capitol.tn.gov, rep.rick.eldridge@capitol.tn.gov, rep.rebecca.alexander@capitol.tn.gov, rep.rush.bricken@capitol.tn.gov, rep.ed.butler@capitol.tn.gov, rep.michele.carringer@capitol.tn.gov, rep.kirk.haston@capitol.tn.gov, rep.john.holsclaw@capitol.tn.gov, rep.chris.hurt@capitol.tn.gov, rep.curtis.johnson@capitol.tn.gov, rep.tom.leatherwood@capitol.tn.gov, rep.mary.littleton@capitol.tn.gov, rep.jake.mccalmon@capitol.tn.gov, rep.dennis.powers@capitol.tn.gov, rep.iris.rudder@capitol.tn.gov, rep.bryan.terry@capitol.tn.gov, rep.jesse.chism@capitol.tn.gov, rep.vincent.dixie@capitol.tn.gov, rep.darren.jernigan@capitol.tn.gov, rep.larry.miller@capitol.tn.gov, rep.justin.j.pearson@capitol.tn.gov, rep.jason.powell@capitol.tn.gov

About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee. 

You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.