Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:1695 – Late payment to business; penalty paid by state agency
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:1695
- Agency: as used in this Chapter shall have the same meaning ascribed to it as provided in Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:1556
- Business: means any corporation, partnership, individual, sole proprietorship, joint stock company, joint venture, or any other legal entity through which business is conducted. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:1556
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Contract: means all types of state agreements, regardless of what they may be called, including orders and documents purporting to represent grants, which are for the purchase or disposal of supplies, services, major repairs, or any other item. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:1556
- Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. Source: OCC
- Services: means the furnishing of labor, time, or effort by a contractor whose primary purpose is to perform an identifiable task rather than to furnish an end item of supply. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:1556
- Supplies: means all property, including but not limited to equipment, materials, insurance, and leases on immovable property excluding land or a permanent interest in land. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 39:1556
A. If a state agency without reasonable cause fails to make any payment due within ninety days of the due date prescribed by contract, to a business awarded a contract with the state agency to supply equipment, supplies, materials, or textbooks, or to provide services, the state agency shall pay, in addition to the payment, interest on the amount due at the rate established pursuant to the judicial interest rate referenced in La. Rev. Stat. 13:4202(B) per year, from the ninety-first day after the due date prescribed by the contract. In applying this Section to a claim related in any way to an entitlement program, payment for claims shall be due ninety days after a claim is received by the state.
B. If it is determined by the state agency that additional evidence of the validity of the claim for payment is required, such evidence shall be requested within ten working days from the date the bill is received by the state agency. In instances where additional evidence is required, the bill shall be reviewed and payment or rejection made within thirty days from receipt of the evidence requested in the office of the paying agency.
C. Any penalty required to be paid by a state agency pursuant to this Section shall be disbursed upon warrants drawn by the state agency upon that agency’s operating expenses budget.
Added by Acts 1982, No. 709, §1; Acts 1988, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 4, §2, eff. Mar. 28, 1988; Acts 2014, No. 864, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2015.