§ 70-1-312 — Renewal of farming contracts for state owned land - Terms of renewal - Bidding not prohibited

(a) If the wildlife resources agency contracts with a farmer to farm lands owned or under the control of this state under § 70-1-302(a)(6) or another law, not less than sixty (60) days before the expiration of the contract, the agency shall offer the farmer the opportunity to renegotiate the contract with the agency prior to accepting requests for proposals for the contract. (b) If the farmer and the agency agree to renew the contract, then the farmer may renew the contract for an additional three (3) five-year terms if the farmer and agency are able to agree to terms during each renewal period; provided, that, if the farmer has been under contract with the agency for twenty (20) or more consecutive years, upon the expiration of the next term of the contract, the farmer is not entitled to renegotiate the contract with the agency prior to the agency accepting requests for proposals for the contract. (c) Subsection (b) does not prohibit a farmer from bidding on a contract after being under contract with the agency for twenty (20) or more consecutive years.

Legislative History

Added by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 765,s 1, eff. 7/1/2024.