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Senate Bill 865 |
Senate Author: Harris |
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Effective: See below |
House Sponsor: Jackson, Jim |
Senate Bill 865 is an omnibus bill that amends provisions of the Family Code relating to child support enforcement and disbursement and to health care coverage for children in Title IV‑D cases. The bill includes provisions relating to a court's jurisdiction over a nonresident, domestic relations office operations fees and child support service fees, calculation of net resources for purposes of determining child support obligations, adjustments for inflation, the date certain findings in a child support order are required to be entered by a court, determination of reasonable cost of a child's health insurance coverage for purposes of a medical support order, the allocation between certain parties of a child's vision and dental expenses and deductibles or copayments, and the duties of an employer with respect to enrolling a child in the employer's health insurance plan under a court order. The bill clarifies provisions relating to a court order for a child's health care coverage, requires the office of the attorney general to develop and implement a statewide program to provide basic health care services to children in Title IV-D cases for whom health insurance is not available to either parent at reasonable cost, and provides for the administration and operation of the program.
Senate Bill 865 establishes a child support credit for a lump-sum disability payment, authorizes a court to award court costs and attorney's fees for certain proceedings, and modifies the order in which a child support payment is to be applied against an obligor's responsibilities. The bill requires an employer with 250 or more employees and authorizes an employer with fewer than 250 employees to remit the amount of income to be withheld from an employee by electronic funds transfer or electronic data interchange and specifies the costs and fees required to be paid by the office of the attorney general in a Title IV-D case. The bill clarifies provisions relating to withholding from a lump-sum payment, modification of a child support order of another state, testimony and evidence that may be considered by a referring court on a request for or in a de novo hearing, fees a domestic relations office may assess and collect, the contents of a petition to suspend an obligor's professional license, and procedures for the direct deposit and electronic funds transfer of child support payments. The bill makes the Insurance Reporting Pilot Program permanent.
Senate Bill 865 amends provisions of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Government Code, Property Code, and Transportation Code relating to dormant judgments, the payment of child support by an inmate, certificates of redemption, personal property presumed abandoned, property held by financial institutions, and the Department of Public Safety's financial responsibility verification program, as those provisions relate to child support. Provisions relating to the order of priority in which a child support payment is to be applied take effect January 1, 2010. Provisions relating to remittance by electronic funds transfer or electronic data interchange of the amount of income to be withheld from an employee by certain employers take effect September 1, 2009. All other provisions of the bill take effect June 19, 2009.