Tennessee Code Title 12. Public Property, Printing and Contracts § 12-11-102

(1) “Contractor” means a governmental entity, corporation, partnership, natural person, or joint venture which is qualified to provide materials and services for use in federal-state programs;

(2) “Federal government authorization” means approval in writing, whether in the form of statute, regulation, bulletin, manual, or letter signed by an authorized person, approving certain activities under a federal-state program;

(3) “Joint federal-state program” means any program authorized by the statutes and/or regulations of the United States and the state of Tennessee where both governments supervise, authorize, and/or fund a program to provide money, goods, or assistance to residents of the state of Tennessee. A program may be a joint federal-state program even if one (1) government is solely responsible for funding or operating the program;

(4) “State” means a state of the United States;

(5) “State of Tennessee” includes all agencies of the state of Tennessee listed in title 4, chapter 3; and

(6) “United States” means the federal government of the United States or any federal agency as defined under federal law.