By: Harris, Chris S.B. No. 1406
73R9342 JMM-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the establishment or modification of a child support
1-3 order, including guidelines for the support of children in more
1-4 than one household.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Section 14.05, Family Code, is amended by adding
1-7 Subsection (k) to read as follows:
1-8 (k) In a proceeding in which the Department of Protective
1-9 and Regulatory Services is appointed managing conservator of a
1-10 child, in appropriate circumstances, and in accordance with the
1-11 guidelines established for child support payments as provided in
1-12 this title, the court shall order either or both parents to make
1-13 periodic payments or a lump-sum payment, or both, for the support
1-14 of the child until the child is 18 years of age in the manner
1-15 specified by the court in the decree.
1-16 SECTION 2. Section 14.053, Family Code, is amended by
1-17 amending Subsections (b) and (d) and adding Subsection (l) to read
1-18 as follows:
1-19 (b) Net Resources Defined. "Net resources," for the purpose
1-20 of determining child support liability, are 100 percent of all wage
1-21 and salary income and other compensation for personal services
1-22 (including commissions, overtime pay, tips, and bonuses), interest,
1-23 dividends, royalty income, self-employment income (as described in
1-24 Subsection (c) of this section), net rental income (defined as rent
2-1 after deducting operating expenses and mortgage payments, but not
2-2 including noncash items such as depreciation), and all other income
2-3 actually being received, including but not limited to severance
2-4 pay, retirement benefits, pensions, trust income, annuities,
2-5 capital gains, social security benefits, unemployment benefits,
2-6 disability and workers' compensation benefits, interest income from
2-7 notes but not including return of principal or capital, <and/or>
2-8 accounts receivable regardless of the source, gifts and prizes,
2-9 spousal maintenance, and alimony, less (subtracting) 100 percent of
2-10 social security taxes, federal income tax withholding for a single
2-11 person claiming one personal exemption and the standard deduction,
2-12 union dues, and expenses for health insurance coverage for the
2-13 obligor's child. Benefits paid pursuant to aid for families with
2-14 dependent children and any other child support received from any
2-15 source shall be disregarded in calculating net resources.
2-16 (d) Health Insurance. The guidelines for a court order for
2-17 the support of a child in this chapter assume that the court will
2-18 order the obligor to provide health insurance coverage for the
2-19 child subject of the suit in addition to the amount of child
2-20 support calculated pursuant to these guidelines. If the court
2-21 finds and sets forth in the order setting child support that the
2-22 obligee will maintain health insurance coverage at the obligee's
2-23 expense for the child, the court may increase the amount of child
2-24 support to be paid by the obligor in an amount not exceeding the
2-25 total expense to the obligee for maintaining health insurance
2-26 coverage. The court shall order the obligor to pay as additional
2-27 child support not less than 50 percent of the reasonable and
3-1 necessary health care expenses of a child that are not reimbursed
3-2 by a third party.
3-3 (l) Retroactive Support. The guidelines for the support of
3-4 a child in this chapter are intended to guide the court in
3-5 determining the amount of retroactive child support that may be
3-6 ordered under this chapter or Chapter 13 of this code. In ordering
3-7 retroactive child support, the court shall consider the net
3-8 resources of the obligor during the relevant time period.
3-9 SECTION 3. Section 14.055, Family Code, is amended by
3-10 amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsections
3-11 (f)-(j) to read as follows:
3-12 (a) Rebuttable Presumption. The guidelines for the support
3-13 of a child in this chapter are specifically designed to apply to
3-14 situations in which the obligor's monthly net resources are $6,000
3-15 <$4,000> or less. In any suit affecting the parent-child
3-16 relationship, there is a rebuttable presumption that an order
3-17 containing the amount of periodic child support payments
3-18 established by the schedule provided in this section is reasonable
3-19 and that the order is in the best interest of the child. A court
3-20 may determine that the application of the guidelines would be
3-21 unjust or inappropriate under the circumstances.
3-22 (b) Schedule: $6,000 <$4,000> or Less Monthly Net
3-23 Resources. In rendering an order of child support under
3-24 circumstances in which the obligor's monthly net resources are
3-25 $6,000 <$4,000> or less, the court shall presumptively apply the
3-26 following schedule:
3-27 CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES
4-1 BASED ON THE MONTHLY NET RESOURCES OF THE OBLIGOR
4-2 1 child 20% of Obligor's Net Resources
4-3 2 children 25% of Obligor's Net Resources
4-4 3 children 30% of Obligor's Net Resources
4-5 4 children 35% of Obligor's Net Resources
4-6 5<+> children 40% of Obligor's Net Resources <Not less than
4-7 the amount for 4 children>
4-8 6+ children Not less than the amount for 5 children
4-9 (c) More Than $6,000 <$4,000> Monthly Net Resources. In
4-10 situations in which the obligor's net resources exceed $6,000
4-11 <$4,000> per month, the court shall presumptively apply the
4-12 percentage guidelines in Subsection (b) of this section to the
4-13 first $6,000 <$4,000> of the obligor's net resources. Without
4-14 further reference to the percentage recommended by these
4-15 guidelines, the court may order additional amounts of child support
4-16 as proven, depending on the needs of the child at the time of the
4-17 order.
4-18 (f) Children in More Than One Household. In applying the
4-19 child support guidelines for an obligor who has children in more
4-20 than one household, the court shall apply the percentage guidelines
4-21 in this section by making the following computation:
4-22 (1) determine the amount of child support that would
4-23 be ordered if all children, both before the court and not before
4-24 the court, whom the obligor has the legal duty to support lived in
4-25 one household by applying the schedule in Subsection (b) of this
4-26 section;
4-27 (2) compute a child support credit for the obligor's
5-1 children who are not before the court by dividing the amount
5-2 determined under Subdivision (1) of this subsection by the total
5-3 number of children whom the obligor is obligated to support and
5-4 multiplying that number by the number of the obligor's children who
5-5 are not before the court;
5-6 (3) determine the adjusted net resources of the
5-7 obligor by subtracting the child support credit computed under
5-8 Subdivision (2) of this subsection from the net resources of the
5-9 obligor; and
5-10 (4) determine the child support amount for the
5-11 children before the court by applying the percentage guidelines
5-12 from Subsection (b) of this section for the number of children of
5-13 the obligor before the court to the obligor's adjusted net
5-14 resources.
5-15 (g) Child Support Credit. For the purpose of determining a
5-16 child support credit under Subsection (f)(2) of this section, the
5-17 total number of an obligor's children includes the children before
5-18 the court for the establishment or modification of a support order
5-19 and any other children, including children residing with the
5-20 obligor, whom the obligor has the legal duty of support.
5-21 (h) Child Support Paid by Obligor. The child support credit
5-22 under Subsection (f)(2) of this section with respect to children
5-23 for whom the obligor is obligated by a court order to pay support
5-24 is computed, regardless of whether the obligor is delinquent in
5-25 child support payments, without regard to the amount of the order.
5-26 (i) Child Support Received by Obligor. Child support
5-27 received by an obligor who is obligated to support children in more
6-1 than one household shall be added to the net resources of the
6-2 obligor to compute the net resources of an obligor before
6-3 determining the child support credit under Subsection (f)(2) of
6-4 this section or applying the percentages in the table in Subsection
6-5 (j) of this section.
6-6 (j) Alternative Method of Computing Support for Children in
6-7 More Than One Household. In lieu of performing the computation
6-8 under Subsection (f) of this section, the court may determine the
6-9 child support amount for the children before the court by applying
6-10 the percentages in the table below to the obligor's net resources.
6-11 Multiple Family
6-12 adjusted Number of children before the court
6-13 guidelines
6-14 (% of net 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
6-15 resources)
6-16 Number of 0 20.00 25.00 30.00 35.00 40.00 40.00 40.00
6-17 other 1 17.50 22.50 27.38 32.20 37.33 37.71 38.00
6-18 children for 2 16.00 20.63 25.20 30.33 35.43 36.00 36.44
6-19 whom the 3 14.75 19.00 24.00 29.00 34.00 34.67 35.20
6-20 obligor has 4 13.60 18.33 23.14 28.00 32.89 33.60 34.18
6-21 a duty of 5 13.33 17.86 22.50 27.22 32.00 32.73 33.33
6-22 support: 6 13.14 17.50 22.00 26.60 31.27 32.00 32.62
6-23 7 13.00 17.22 21.60 26.09 30.67 31.38 32.00
6-24 SECTION 4. Section 14.056, Family Code, is amended by
6-25 amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
6-26 follows:
6-27 (b) Additional Factors. In addition to the factors listed
7-1 in these guidelines, a court may consider other relevant factors.
7-2 <The support obligation owed to a subsequently born or adopted
7-3 child does not constitute cause to decrease the amount of an
7-4 existing child support order.> The history of support voluntarily
7-5 provided in excess of the court order does not constitute cause to
7-6 increase the amount of an existing child support order.
7-7 (d) Use of Guidelines for Children in More Than One
7-8 Household. In applying the child support guidelines under this
7-9 section, if the obligor has the duty to support children in more
7-10 than one household, the court shall apply the percentage guidelines
7-11 in Section 14.055 of this code by making the computation provided
7-12 by Section 14.055(f) of this code.
7-13 SECTION 5. Section 14.057, Family Code, is amended by
7-14 amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
7-15 follows:
7-16 (a) Without regard to Rules 296 through 299, Texas Rules of
7-17 Civil Procedure, in any suit affecting the parent-child
7-18 relationship or reciprocal child support action in which child
7-19 support is contested and the amount of the support <order> is set
7-20 or modified by the court, on written request made or filed with the
7-21 court not later than 10 days after the date of the hearing or an
7-22 oral request made in open court during the hearing, the court shall
7-23 state the following in the child support order:
7-24 "(1) the amount of net resources available to the
7-25 obligor per month is $________;
7-26 "(2) the amount of net resources available to the
7-27 obligee per month is $________;
8-1 "(3) the amount of child support payments per month
8-2 that is computed if Section 14.055, Family Code, is applied is
8-3 $_______;
8-4 "(4) the percentage applied to the obligor's net
8-5 resources for child support by the actual order rendered by the
8-6 court is _______%; and, if applicable,
8-7 "(5) the specific reasons that the amount of support
8-8 per month ordered by the court varies from the amount computed by
8-9 applying the percentage guidelines pursuant to Section 14.055,
8-10 Family Code, are:_________."
8-11 (c) In an order that child support be paid by an obligor who
8-12 is obligated to support children as provided by Section 14.055(f)
8-13 of this code, the court shall make the findings required by
8-14 Subsection (b) of this section and shall specify under finding five
8-15 of that subsection:
8-16 (1) the number of children before the court;
8-17 (2) the number of children not before the court:
8-18 (A) who reside in the same household with the
8-19 obligor; and
8-20 (B) for whom the obligor is obligated by a court
8-21 order to pay support, without regard to whether the obligor is
8-22 delinquent in child support payments, and who are not counted in
8-23 Paragraph (A) of this subdivision.
8-24 SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
8-25 SECTION 7. (a) This Act applies only to a child support
8-26 order entered or modified on or after the effective date of this
8-27 Act.
9-1 (b) The enactment of this Act is sufficient by itself to
9-2 constitute a material and substantial change in the circumstances
9-3 of a child for whose benefit a child support order has been entered
9-4 to warrant modification of the order under Section 14.08, Family
9-5 Code.
9-6 SECTION 8. The importance of this legislation and the
9-7 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
9-8 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
9-9 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
9-10 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.