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Read. Follow. Verify.Louisiana establishes strict prompt payment deadlines and penalties for contractors and subcontractors
Last action · June 8, 2026: Effective date: 08/01/2026.Sponsor: Jacob Landry
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What This Bill Does
Louisiana requires property owners to pay contractors within thirty-five days of a written payment request, and mandates that contractors and subcontractors pass payments down to lower tiers within seven days. The law imposes a monthly penalty of one and one-half percent on unpaid amounts, awards attorney fees to prevailing parties in collection actions, and voids any contractual waivers of these rules.
Commercial construction participants face new financial liabilities and strict legal timelines for settling invoices, with mandatory interest penalties applying automatically to delayed disbursements outside of good-faith disputes.
- House Bill 638 modifies Louisiana's existing prompt payment statutes governing private construction projects to enforce stricter timelines and penalties. context
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Contractors
Contractors are bound by mandatory thirty-five day receipt windows from owners and a strict seven-day timeline to pay subcontractors.
Subcontractors and Suppliers
Subcontractors and suppliers gain statutory payment timeframes, mandatory interest penalties for late payments, and the right to collect attorney fees.
Property Owners
Property owners must disburse funds within thirty-five days of a written request unless a good faith dispute exists.
Key Facts
- Property owners must pay contractors for properly performed work or stored materials within thirty-five days of receiving a written payment request, unless a good faith dispute exists.
- Contractors and subcontractors must pass payments down to suppliers and lower-tier subcontractors within seven days of receiving funds.
- Unpaid balances incur a penalty of one and one-half percent per month starting the day after payment is due.
- Any contractual waiver of the prompt payment provisions is declared absolutely null and void.
Show all 7 facts
- Prevailing parties in legal actions to collect payments and penalties are entitled to court costs and reasonable attorney fees.
- Single-family residential construction contracts may allow payment up to sixty-one days after the owner receives a payment request if specified in writing.
- The statute does not apply to residential property improvements or mineral, oil, and gas exploration and well services agreements.
Frequently Asked Questions
How quickly must a contractor pay a subcontractor after receiving funds from an owner?
What happens if a payment is delayed without a good faith dispute?
Does this law apply to residential home construction?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Current status: Signed into law.
Procedural history
22 actions- Jun 8, 2026HouseEnrolledSigned by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 822.
- Jun 8, 2026HouseEffective date: 08/01/2026.
- Jun 1, 2026HouseSent to the Governor for executive approval.
- May 28, 2026HouseEnrolledEnrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
- May 28, 2026SenateEnrolledSigned by the President of the Senate.
- May 27, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, roll called, yeas 98, nays 0, Senate amendments concurred in.
Show 16 earlier actions
- May 26, 2026HouseScheduled for concurrence on 05/27/2026.
- May 25, 2026HouseReceived from the Senate with amendments.
- May 21, 2026SenateFloorRules suspended. The amended bill was read by title, passed by a vote of 36 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
- May 14, 2026SenateFloorReported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
- May 13, 2026SenateFloorCommittee amendments read and adopted. Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
- May 12, 2026SenateReported with amendments.
- Apr 15, 2026SenateCommitteeRead second time by title and referred to the Committee on Judiciary A.
- Apr 14, 2026SenateReceived in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
- Apr 13, 2026HouseFloorRead third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 95, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
- Apr 9, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 04/13/2026.
- Apr 8, 2026HouseFloorRead by title, amended, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
- Apr 7, 2026HouseReported with amendments (8-0).
- Mar 9, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Civil Law and Procedure.
- Feb 27, 2026HousePrefiled.
- Feb 27, 2026HouseCommitteeUnder the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Civil Law and Procedure.
- Feb 27, 2026HouseFirst appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/27/2026.
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Mandatory Subcontractor Pass-Through Timelines
The law enforces a strict seven-day turnaround for contractors to disburse payments received from owners down to subcontractors and suppliers.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.la.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy25Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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