81R4376 EAH-D
By: Thibaut, Menendez H.B. No. 2670
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to governmental liability for interest resulting from a
claim for payment for goods or services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 2251.002(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subchapter D, Subchapter B does
not apply to a payment made by a governmental entity, vendor, or
subcontractor if:
(1) there is a bona fide dispute between the
governmental entity [political subdivision] and a vendor,
contractor, subcontractor, or supplier about the goods delivered or
the service performed that causes the payment to be late;
(2) there is a bona fide dispute between a vendor and a
subcontractor or between a subcontractor and its supplier about the
goods delivered or the service performed that causes the payment to
be late;
(3) the terms of a federal contract, grant,
regulation, or statute prevent the governmental entity from making
a timely payment with federal funds; or
(4) the invoice is not mailed to the person to whom it
is addressed in strict accordance with any instruction on the
purchase order relating to the payment.
SECTION 2. Section 2251.042, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) A governmental entity is not liable for interest under
this section if the governmental entity's invoice payment is late
because of a bona fide dispute between the governmental entity and a
vendor, contractor, subcontractor, or supplier concerning the
goods delivered or the service performed.
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
a contract entered into or renewed on or after the effective date of
this Act. A contract entered into or renewed before the effective
date of this Act is governed by the law as it existed on the date the
contract was entered into or renewed, and that law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.