Cost Data for Public Documents

1. Law
2. Tennessee Code
3. Public Property, Printing and Contracts
4. Public Printing
5. Cost Data for Public Documents

1. 1. Every department or agency of the state which promulgates public documents shall cause the following statement with cost data inserted to be printed on the publication adjacent to the identification of the agency responsible for the publication:

      “This public document was promulgated at a cost of $  per copy.”

   2. This statement shall be printed in either the same size type as the body copy of the publication or in such type style and size to be fully legible and set in a box composed of a light-weight-rule line.
2. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires, “public document” means any annual, biennial, regular or special report or publication of which at least one thousand (1,000) copies are printed and which may be subject to distribution to the public, or any printed material which is controlled by the publications committee established in chapter 7, part 1 of this title, regardless of the number of copies produced. Public documents include:
   1. The acts and journals of the general assembly, the reports of the supreme court and such other courts as shall have their decisions reported by the attorney general and reporter or shall be required by any act or resolution of the general assembly;
   2. The periodic reports of officers of the state and any special reports that may from time to time be made by state officers or committees of the general assembly or other committees provided for by law;
   3. Such other reports or statements as may be published under the authority of the state or any official thereof; and
   4. Items exempted from the requirements of this section include letterhead stationery, envelopes, or memoranda and correspondence utilizing a manual signature and not reproduced through a printing related function;
3. For the purposes of this section, the following two (2) factors shall be utilized in computing cost data whether on bid by a private person or company, or by a state institution:
   1. Preparation.  Included in this is expenditure for materials, artwork and typesetting involved in preparing the public document for publication; and
   2. Printing.  Included in this is expenditure for reproduction, binding and other printing industry related functions.
4. This section shall be enforced and administered through the publications committee created pursuant to chapter 7, part 1 of this title. The publications committee may, in its discretion, render opinions to agencies as to whether those agencies are in compliance with this section. If the committee decides that those agencies are not in compliance, it has authority to direct those agencies to cease publication of the public documents which are not in compliance until such time as compliance shall be demonstrated to the committee's satisfaction.

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