By: Wentworth S.B. No. 950
73R3469 MJW-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the payment of child support to local registries and a
1-3 state registry for the collection of court-ordered child support.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 11.01, Family Code, is amended by adding
1-6 Subdivisions (11) and (12) to read as follows:
1-7 (11) "Local registry" means an agency or entity
1-8 operated under the authority of a district clerk, county
1-9 government, juvenile board, juvenile probation office, domestic
1-10 relations office, or other county agency or entity that serves a
1-11 county or a court that has jurisdiction under this title and that:
1-12 (A) receives child support payments;
1-13 (B) maintains records of child support payments;
1-14 (C) distributes child support payments as
1-15 required by law; and
1-16 (D) maintains custody of official child support
1-17 payment records.
1-18 (12) "State registry" means the registry established
1-19 by the attorney general under Section 14.8721 of this code.
1-20 SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 14, Family Code, is amended
1-21 by adding Section 14.8721 to read as follows:
1-22 Sec. 14.8721. STATE REGISTRY. The attorney general shall
1-23 establish a state registry for Title IV-D cases brought in this
1-24 state that shall:
2-1 (1) record child support orders entered, modified, or
2-2 enforced;
2-3 (2) receive child support payments;
2-4 (3) maintain a record of child support paid and any
2-5 arrearages owed under each order;
2-6 (4) distribute child support payments received as
2-7 required by law; and
2-8 (5) maintain custody of official child support payment
2-9 records.
2-10 SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 14, Family Code, is amended
2-11 by adding Sections 14.0501-14.0504 to read as follows:
2-12 Sec. 14.0501. LOCAL REGISTRIES. (a) A local registry shall
2-13 receive child support payments ordered by a court or otherwise
2-14 authorized by law and shall forward the payments, as appropriate,
2-15 to the state registry, a local domestic relations office, or the
2-16 obligee within two working days after the date the local registry
2-17 receives the payments.
2-18 (b) A local registry may not require an obligor, obligee, or
2-19 other party or entity to furnish a certified copy of a court order
2-20 as a condition of processing child support payments and shall
2-21 accept as sufficient authority to process the payments a photocopy,
2-22 facsimile copy, or conformed copy of the court's order.
2-23 (c) A local registry shall include with each payment it
2-24 forwards to the state registry the date it received the payment and
2-25 the withholding date furnished by the employer.
2-26 Sec. 14.0502. PAYMENT OR TRANSFER OF CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS
2-27 BY ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER. (a) A child support payment may be
3-1 made by electronic funds transfer to the state registry or to a
3-2 local registry if the registry agrees to accept electronic payment.
3-3 (b) A local registry may transmit child support payments to
3-4 the state registry by electronic funds transfer if the state
3-5 registry agrees to accept electronic payment.
3-6 Sec. 14.0503. DISPOSITION OF CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS. (a)
3-7 An order for child support rendered, modified, or enforced on or
3-8 after January 1, 1994, shall order that child support be paid
3-9 through a local registry or through the state registry.
3-10 (b) In an action taken under Part D of Title IV of the
3-11 federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section 651 et seq.), the
3-12 court shall order that income withheld for child support be paid:
3-13 (1) to the attorney general through a local registry,
3-14 which shall forward the payment to the state registry; or
3-15 (2) directly to the state registry.
3-16 Sec. 14.0504. PRODUCTION OF CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENT RECORD.
3-17 The state registry or a local registry may comply with a subpoena
3-18 or other order directing the production of a child support payment
3-19 record by sending a certified copy of the record to the court that
3-20 directed production of the record.
3-21 SECTION 4. Section 11.05(h), Family Code, is amended to read
3-22 as follows:
3-23 (h) During the transfer of a suit affecting the parent-child
3-24 relationship from a court with continuing jurisdiction, the
3-25 transferring court retains jurisdiction to enter temporary orders.
3-26 The jurisdiction of the transferring court terminates on the
3-27 docketing of the case in the transferee court. The transferring
4-1 court's local <child support> registry shall continue to receive,
4-2 record, and disburse child support payments to the payee until
4-3 receipt of notice that the transferred case has been docketed by
4-4 the transferee court. After receipt of notice of docketing, the
4-5 transferring court's local registry shall send a certified copy of
4-6 the child support payment record to the clerk of the transferee
4-7 court and shall forward any payments received to the transferee
4-8 court's local registry.
4-9 SECTION 5. Sections 11.06(j) and (m), Family Code, are
4-10 amended to read as follows:
4-11 (j) The court transferring a proceeding shall send to the
4-12 proper court in the county to which transfer is made the complete
4-13 files in all matters affecting the child, certified copies of all
4-14 entries in the minutes, a certified copy of any decree of
4-15 dissolution of marriage issued in a suit joined with the suit
4-16 affecting the parent-child relationship, and certified copies of
4-17 each order issued. The transferring court shall keep a copy of the
4-18 transferred files. If the transferring court retains jurisdiction
4-19 of another child who was the subject of the suit, the court shall
4-20 send a copy of the complete files to the court to which the
4-21 transfer is made and shall keep the original files. If an order has
4-22 been rendered or writ has been issued ordering payment of child
4-23 support to the local registry of the transferring court, that court
4-24 shall render an order that all future payments be made to the local
4-25 registry of the transferee court. The clerk of the transferring
4-26 court shall send a certified copy of the order directing payments
4-27 to the transferee court to any party or employer affected by that
5-1 order and to the local <child support> registry of the transferee
5-2 court.
5-3 (m) On receipt of the files, documents, and orders from the
5-4 transferring court, the clerk of the transferee court shall docket
5-5 the suit and shall notify all parties, the clerk of the
5-6 transferring court, and the transferring court's local registry
5-7 that the suit has been docketed.
5-8 SECTION 6. Section 14.311(c), Family Code, is amended to
5-9 read as follows:
5-10 (c) Payment Record. The movant may attach to the motion a
5-11 copy of a record of child support payments maintained by the <a>
5-12 state registry or a local <child support> registry. If a payment
5-13 record is attached, it constitutes a prima facie showing of the
5-14 facts asserted in the payment record, subject to the right of the
5-15 respondent to offer controverting evidence, and may be admitted as
5-16 evidence of the truth of payments made and not made as shown by the
5-17 payment record.
5-18 SECTION 7. Sections 14.43(c) and (e), Family Code, are
5-19 amended to read as follows:
5-20 (c) Payment. The court shall order that income withheld for
5-21 child support be paid through and promptly distributed by a local
5-22 <court> registry<, a child support collection office,> or the state
5-23 registry <attorney general, unless the court finds that there is
5-24 good cause to require payments to be made to another person or
5-25 office>.
5-26 (e) Contents of Order. An order withholding income shall
5-27 state:
6-1 (1) the style, docket number, and court having
6-2 continuing jurisdiction of the suit;
6-3 (2) the name, address, and, if available, the social
6-4 security number of the obligor;
6-5 (3) the amount, including accrued interest, and
6-6 duration of the child support payments;
6-7 (4) the name, address, and, if available, the social
6-8 security numbers of the child and the obligee;
6-9 (5) the name and address of the person or agency to
6-10 whom the payments shall be made; and
6-11 (6) any other matter deemed necessary to effectuate
6-12 the order.
6-13 The court shall order the obligor to notify the court
6-14 promptly of any change affecting the order and that the ordered
6-15 amount be paid to a local registry or the state registry <attorney
6-16 general, the court registry, or a child support collection office
6-17 serving the court, unless the court finds there is good cause to
6-18 require that payments be made directly to the obligee or to another
6-19 person or office>.
6-20 SECTION 8. Section 14.68(a), Family Code, is amended to read
6-21 as follows:
6-22 (a) The order withholding income shall direct payment to be
6-23 made to the attorney general through the state registry, which
6-24 <who> shall promptly transmit the payments to the agency or person
6-25 designated to receive them.
6-26 SECTION 9. Section 14.93, Family Code, is amended to read as
6-27 follows:
7-1 Sec. 14.93. Duty of Local Offices and Officials to Report.
7-2 A local domestic relations office, a local registry <child support
7-3 collection office>, or a court official designated to receive child
7-4 support under a court order shall report to the court or a friend
7-5 of the court on a monthly basis:
7-6 (1) any delinquency and arrearage in child support
7-7 payments; and
7-8 (2) any violation of a court order relating to
7-9 possession of or access to a child.
7-10 SECTION 10. Section 14.971(b), Family Code, is amended to
7-11 read as follows:
7-12 (b) The lien exists in favor of:
7-13 (1) the obligee or a private attorney representing the
7-14 obligee;
7-15 (2) the attorney general in providing child support
7-16 services pursuant to Chapter 76, Human Resources Code, and Part D
7-17 of Title IV of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section
7-18 651 et seq.);
7-19 (3) a local <domestic relations office, including a
7-20 court> registry<, that has the duty to enforce or collect and
7-21 distribute child support payments>; and
7-22 (4) an attorney appointed a friend of the court under
7-23 Section 14.91 of this code.
7-24 SECTION 11. This Act takes effect January 1, 1994.
7-25 SECTION 12. The importance of this legislation and the
7-26 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
7-27 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
8-1 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
8-2 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.