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HB1696 • 2026

Public Contracts

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 12, Chapter 4, relative to public contracts.

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
McCalmon, Lowe
Last action
2026-04-09
Official status
H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/13/2026
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary text indicates that reports are due on January 10, 2027, and every September 15th thereafter, but the candidate explanation mentions January 10 annually after the initial report. This discrepancy was corrected in the final output.

Changes to Public Contracts Payment Deadlines

This bill changes how long state agencies have to pay businesses for work done and when they must report late payments.

What This Bill Does

  • Reduces the time a state agency has to pay a business from 45 days to 30 days after receiving an invoice.
  • Requires state agencies to report on late payments by January 10, 2027, and every September 15th thereafter.

Who It Names or Affects

  • State departments, agencies, and officials who contract with businesses
  • Businesses that work under contracts with state entities

Terms To Know

Public Contracts
Contracts between the government and private companies for goods or services.
Late Payments
Payments made after the agreed-upon deadline in a contract.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if an agency fails to meet the new payment deadlines.
  • It is unclear how this change will affect businesses that rely on timely payments from state agencies.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Amendment 1-0 to HB1696

Plain English: The amendment changes the word 'calendar' to 'fiscal' in a specific section of the bill.

  • Changes the term 'calendar' to 'fiscal' in SECTION 2(c)(1) of the bill.
  • The exact impact and context of this change are not fully explained by the provided amendment text, making it difficult to understand the full implications without additional information about the original section.
Amendment 1-0 to SB1823

Plain English: The amendment changes the time limit for certain contract actions from forty-five days to thirty days and requires annual reports on late payments by agencies.

  • Changes the deadline for certain contract-related actions from 45 days to 30 days.
  • Adds a new requirement for agencies to report annually on late payments made to businesses under contracts.
  • The exact nature of the contract actions affected by the change from 45 days to 30 days is not specified in the amendment text and may require additional context to fully understand.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/13/2026

  2. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/9/2026

  3. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.

  4. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee

  5. 2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to House

  6. 2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  7. 2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 31, Nays 0

  8. 2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0743)

  9. 2026-03-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/30/2026

  10. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/31/2026

  11. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 3/31/2026

  12. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/24/2026

  13. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to State & Local Government Committee

  14. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0

  15. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Public Service Subcommittee for 3/18/2026

  16. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/17/2026

  17. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Public Service Subcommittee to 3/18/2026

  18. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Public Service Subcommittee for 3/4/2026

  19. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Public Service Subcommittee

  20. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to State & Local Government Committee

  21. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate State and Local Government Committee

  22. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  23. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  24. 2026-01-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  25. 2026-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

ON MARCH 30, 2026, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 1823, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 makes the following revisions:



Changes from January 10, 2027, to September 15, 2027, the date by which each agency that makes payment to a business must provide the number of late payments made and the amount of interest paid on such late payments. Subsequent reports must be submitted every September 15th thereafter, rather than every January 10th.


Changes the effective date of the bill from upon becoming a law to July 1, 2026.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 1823
By Lowe

HOUSE BILL 1696
By McCalmon
HB1696
010535
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 12,
Chapter 4, relative to public contracts.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 12-4-703, is amended by deleting the
language "forty-five (45) days" and substituting "thirty (30) days".
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 12-4-704, is amended by adding the
following as a new subsection:
(c)
(1) Not later than January 10, 2027, and each January 10 thereafter,
each agency that makes payments to a business under a contract pursuant to §
12-4-703 shall report for the immediately preceding calendar year:
(A) The number of late payments made and that remain
outstanding and the aggregate amount of such payments; and
(B) The amount of interest paid on such late payments and that
remains unpaid on outstanding late payments.
(2) The report submitted pursuant to subdivision (c)(1) must be submitted
to the chair of the state and local government committee of the senate and to the
chair of the committee of the house of representatives with jurisdiction over
public contracts.
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.