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: Lowe, McCalmon
Last action: 2026-04-14
Official status: Placed on Senate Message Calendar for 4/16/2026
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The effective date of the bill is now July 1, 2026, as per the amendment adopted by the Senate and House.

Public Contracts Payment Reporting Act

This bill changes how state agencies report late payments to businesses and when they must pay invoices.

What This Bill Does

Changes the time frame for state agencies to pay business invoices from 45 days to 30 days after receiving them.
Requires state agencies to report on late payments made to businesses by January 10, 2027, and every September 15th thereafter.
Modifies the reporting requirement so that it covers the immediately preceding fiscal year instead of the calendar year.

Who It Names or Affects

State agencies in Tennessee
Businesses that contract with state agencies

Terms To Know

Public Contracts: Contracts between government entities and businesses for property or services.
Fiscal Year: A period of one year used for budgeting, accounting, and financial reporting purposes.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify what happens if an agency fails to comply with the new payment or reporting requirements.
It is unclear how this change will affect existing contracts between state agencies and businesses.

Amendments

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

HA1036

Amendment 1-0 to HB1696

Plain English: The amendment changes the word 'calendar' to 'fiscal' in a specific part of Senate Bill No. 1823.

Changes the term 'calendar' to 'fiscal' in SECTION 2(c)(1) of the bill.

The amendment text does not provide additional context about what specific changes this wording change will make, so it's unclear how this affects the overall meaning or implementation of the bill.

SA0743

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

2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Message Calendar for 4/16/2026
2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed H., as am., Ayes 95, Nays 0, PNV 0
2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA1036)
2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Subst. for comp. HB.
2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Comp. SB subst.
2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly
H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/13/2026
2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/9/2026
2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Rcvd. from S., held on H. desk.
2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee
2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly
Engrossed; ready for transmission to House
2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 31, Nays 0
2026-03-30 Tennessee General Assembly
Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0743)
2026-03-27 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/30/2026
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/31/2026
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Action def. in State & Local Government Committee to 3/31/2026
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. State & Local Government Committee for 3/24/2026
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to State & Local Government Committee
2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly
Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate State and Local Government Committee calendar for 3/17/2026
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Public Service Subcommittee for 3/18/2026
2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Action Def. in s/c Public Service Subcommittee to 3/18/2026
2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Public Service Subcommittee for 3/4/2026
2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate State and Local Government Committee
2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c Public Service Subcommittee
2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly
P2C, ref. to State & Local Government Committee
2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Introduced, Passed on First Consideration
2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Intro., P1C.
2026-01-20 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction
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.

ON APRIL 14, 2026, THE HOUSE SUBSTITUTED SENATE BILL 1823 FOR HOUSE BILL 1696, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 1823, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1
changes the reporting requirement for each agency that makes payments to a business under a contract to do so by requiring the agency to report for the immediately preceding fiscal year, instead of the preceding calendar year.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HOUSE BILL 1696
By McCalmon

SENATE BILL 1823
By Lowe
SB1823
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.