BILL ANALYSIS H.B. 256 By: Thompson April 4, 1995 Committee Report (Amended) BACKGROUND Domestic relations offices exist throughout Texas and provide legal services to families, county departments and local courts. The offices provide legal services consisting of legal enforcement of child support and visitation, child support registries, Family Court Services and casework probation for the children of Texas. There exist numerous local and special laws relating to domestic relations offices, which contributed to separate provisions regarding administrative bodies, funding and duties. Because there are varying provisions the laws regarding domestic offices are confusing and unwieldy. In addition, although the domestic relations offices operate solely in the area of family law, the laws governing these offices are in the Human Resources Code. PURPOSE This bill will provide uniform statutory authority for domestic relations offices and repeal or revise contradictory and difficult local statutes that exist in current statutes. This bill also moves the statutes concerning domestic relations offices from the Human Resources Code to the Family Code. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subtitle C, Title 2, Family Code, by adding Chapter 38 as follows: Chapter 38. DOMESTIC RELATIONS OFFICES Sec. 38.001. Defines "administering entity" and "domestic relations office". Sec. 38.002. ESTABLISHMENT OF DOMESTIC RELATIONS OFFICE. Authorizes a commissioners court to establish a domestic relations office. Sec. 38.003. ADMINISTRATION. Requires a domestic relations office to be administered by the juvenile board of the county which the office serves unless otherwise provided for by the commissioners' court. Lists the duties of the administering entity. Authorizes a commissioners court to execute a bond for a domestic relations office. Sec. 38.004. POWERS AND DUTIES. Lists the powers and duties of a domestic relations office. Authorizes a court with proper jurisdiction to order that child support payments be made through a domestic relations office. Sec. 38.005. FEES AND CHARGES. Lists the fees that the administering entity may authorize a domestic relations office to collect. Provides requirements for collection of fees. Authorizes the administering entity to exempt certain fees. Sec. 38.006. FUND. Provides for the establishment and maintenance of a fund for a domestic relations office. Requires fees collected under this chapter to be deposited in the county's general fund or the office fund. Sec. 38.007. ACCESS TO RECORDS; OFFENSE. Authorizes a domestic relations office to obtain certain Department of Public Safety and Texas Employment Commission records of specified persons. Authorizes an agency providing records under this section to charge a domestic relations office a fee. Prohibits the domestic relations office from releasing confidential information. Provides that the release or disclosure of confidential information obtained under this section is a Class C misdemeanor. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1995. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 3. Repeals Chapter 151 and Sections 152.0214, 152.1075, 152.2493, 152.2494, and 152.2495 of the Human Resources Code. SECTION 4. Emergency clause. EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS Committee amendment #1 adds a commissioner court to the definition of "administering entity", deletes the requirement of a county with a population of 1,000,000 or more to establish a domestic relations office, adds a reasonable fee for preparation of a court-ordered social study to the list of fees a domestic relations office may be authorized to collect, and makes clarifying and conforming changes. SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE ACTION H.B. 256 was considered in a public hearing on 22 March 1995. One amendment (1) was offered and adopted without objection. The following persons testified in favor of the bill: Nancy Westerfield, Texas Association of Domestic Relations Offices; Mary Rhoades, Wichita County Family Court Services and Texas Association of Domestic Relations Offices; David W. Simpson, Texas Association of Domestic Relations Offices; Craig Pardue, Dallas County. The following person testified against the bill: David Shelton, representing himself. The Chair left HB 256 pending in committee. On 29 March 1995, HB 256 was reported favorably as amended with the recommendation that it do pass and be printed, by a record vote of 6 ayes, 0 nays, 0 pnv and 3 absent.