Tennessee House Bill HB1627

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/14/26
• Refer: 1/21/26
• Refer: 2/10/26
• Refer: 3/4/26
• Chaptered: 4/6/26
• Passed: 4/6/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 36-5-118 and Section 36-5-119, relative to child support.

Summary

HB1627 amends Tennessee’s child support statutes to make the Department of Human Services the state disbursement unit and to require the department to establish, advertise, and maintain a customer service unit dedicated to receiving and responding to inquiries and complaints about child support collections and disbursements. The bill also applies the same customer-service requirement if DHS uses a contractor to carry out those duties. The measure deletes Tennessee Code Annotated Section 36-5-119 in its entirety and replaces Section 36-5-118 with new language focused on administration and customer service for child support payment processing. In practical terms, the bill is aimed at centralizing responsibility for child support disbursement and improving access for parents and other parties who need help with payment issues.

Impact

The bill updates state law governing child support administration by clarifying that DHS serves as Tennessee’s state disbursement unit and by imposing an explicit customer service obligation on DHS or any contractor it uses. It removes Section 36-5-119 entirely, which means any prior statutory provisions in that section are repealed and no longer part of Tennessee law. The affected parties are child support recipients, obligors, custodial and noncustodial parents, and the agency or vendor responsible for processing and answering questions about child support collections and disbursements.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It passed the House Children and Family Affairs Subcommittee, the House Judiciary Committee, and the House floor on consent calendar with unanimous or near-unanimous votes, indicating strong agreement on the need for clearer administration and customer service in child support matters. No committee transcript objections are available in the provided record.

Contention

There is little visible contention in the available history, as every recorded vote was unanimous and the bill moved on consent. The only likely substantive issue is the administrative change itself: shifting or reaffirming DHS and any contractor’s responsibility for child support disbursement and complaint handling, and repealing Section 36-5-119. Because no committee discussion transcript is provided, no specific opposing arguments or disputed provisions can be identified from the record.