AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 9 and Title 37, relative to child advocacy centers.
Summary
SB1071 requires the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, or another state department administering specially appropriated child advocacy center funds, to pay reimbursement requests from child advocacy centers within 30 days. If a reimbursement is not paid within that deadline, the department must also pay a late fee equal to 10% of the amount owed, and that fee must come from the department’s existing budget without needing an additional appropriation.
The bill also adds a reporting requirement. Beginning January 15, 2026, and each year thereafter, the Department of Children’s Services must submit a report to legislative clerks detailing the timeliness of reimbursements to child advocacy centers during the prior calendar year, including how many reimbursements missed the 30-day deadline and the total late fees incurred. The act takes effect July 1, 2025.
Impact
The bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 9, Section 9-4-213, by imposing a statutory payment deadline and penalty structure for state reimbursements to child advocacy centers. It creates a new fiscal obligation on the administering department by requiring late-payment fees to be paid from the department’s budget, and it adds an annual reporting mandate to the Department of Children’s Services on reimbursement timeliness and penalties. Child advocacy centers are the primary affected entities, as the bill is intended to improve the predictability and promptness of state funding they receive.
Sentiment
The available record does not include committee transcripts or recorded votes, so there is no direct evidence of debate or opposition in the provided materials. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears supportive of child advocacy centers and administrative accountability, suggesting a generally favorable policy purpose centered on timely payment of state obligations.
Contention
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided context. Potential areas of concern, based on the bill’s structure, could include the fiscal impact on the Department of Children’s Services, the automatic 10% late fee requirement, and whether the 30-day deadline is operationally feasible for the administering department. However, no legislator or stakeholder objections are included in the supplied materials.