By Reyna, et al. H.B. No. 1085 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to the authority of counties to contract with private 1-3 entities for the collection of child support and to electronic 1-4 transfer of the support payments. 1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-6 SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 10, Human Resources Code, is 1-7 amended by adding Chapter 153 to read as follows: 1-8 CHAPTER 153. CHILD SUPPORT COLLECTION BY PRIVATE ENTITY 1-9 Sec. 153.001. AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT. A county, acting 1-10 through its commissioners court, may contract with a private entity 1-11 to: 1-12 (1) enforce, collect, receive, and disburse: 1-13 (A) child support payments; 1-14 (B) other amounts due under a court order 1-15 containing an order to pay child support; and 1-16 (C) fees, including those provided by this 1-17 chapter; 1-18 (2) maintain appropriate records, including records of 1-19 child support and other amounts and fees that are due, past due, 1-20 paid, or delinquent; 1-21 (3) locate absent parents; 1-22 (4) furnish statements to parents accounting for 1-23 payments that are due, paid, or delinquent; 1-24 (5) send billings and other appropriate notices to 2-1 parents; 2-2 (6) perform any duty or function that a local 2-3 registry, as that term is defined by Section 11.01, Family Code, is 2-4 authorized to perform; or 2-5 (7) provide another child support enforcement service 2-6 authorized by the commissioners court. 2-7 Sec. 153.002. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT. The 2-8 commissioners court shall include all appropriate terms and 2-9 conditions in the contract that it determines are reasonable to 2-10 secure the services of a private entity as provided by this 2-11 chapter, including: 2-12 (1) provisions specifying the services to be provided 2-13 by the entity; 2-14 (2) the method, conditions, and amount of compensation 2-15 for the entity; 2-16 (3) provisions for the security of funds collected as 2-17 child support, fees, or other amounts under the contract or that 2-18 otherwise provide reasonable assurance to the county of the 2-19 entity's full and faithful performance of the contract; 2-20 (4) provisions specifying the records to be kept by 2-21 the entity, including any records necessary to fully account for 2-22 all funds received and disbursed as child support, fees, or other 2-23 amounts; 2-24 (5) requirements governing the inspection, 2-25 verification, audit, or explanation of the entity's accounting or 2-26 other records; 2-27 (6) provisions for the disclosure or nondisclosure of 3-1 information or records maintained or known to the entity as a 3-2 result of contract performance; and 3-3 (7) provisions for the option of a payee to waive the 3-4 monitoring procedure by written request. 3-5 Sec. 153.003. FUNDING. (a) To provide or recover the costs 3-6 of providing services authorized by this chapter, a commissioners 3-7 court may: 3-8 (1) provide by order for the assessment and collection 3-9 of a reasonable fee at the time a party files a suit for 3-10 dissolution of a marriage that includes a suit affecting the 3-11 parent-child relationship under the Family Code; 3-12 (2) provide by order for the assessment and collection 3-13 of a reasonable fee not to exceed $10 per month at a time specified 3-14 for payment of child support; 3-15 (3) provide by order for the assessment and collection 3-16 of a reasonable late payment fee to be imposed if an obligor does 3-17 not make a payment of child support in full when due; 3-18 (4) accept or receive funds from public grants or 3-19 private sources available for providing services authorized by this 3-20 chapter; or 3-21 (5) use any combination of the funding sources 3-22 specified by this subsection. 3-23 (b) The commissioners court may not charge a fee under 3-24 Subsection (a)(1) if the person to be charged has already been 3-25 charged a fee under Section 151.008(a)(1). 3-26 (c) The commissioners court may: 3-27 (1) provide by order for reasonable exemptions from 4-1 the collection of the fees authorized by Subsection (a); and 4-2 (2) require payment of a fee authorized by Subsection 4-3 (a)(2) annually and in advance. 4-4 (d) The fees established under Subsection (a) may be 4-5 collected by any means provided for the collection of child 4-6 support. The commissioners court may provide by order for the 4-7 manner of collecting the fees and the apportionment of payments 4-8 received to meet fee obligations. 4-9 Sec. 153.004. CUMULATIVE EFFECT OF CHAPTER. A power or duty 4-10 conferred on a county, county official, or county instrumentality 4-11 by this chapter is cumulative of the powers and duties created or 4-12 conferred by other law, except that county action under this 4-13 chapter precludes the exercise or performance of a power or duty 4-14 created or conferred by other law as expressly provided by order of 4-15 a commissioners court. 4-16 SECTION 2. Section 14.0502(b), Family Code, is amended to 4-17 read as follows: 4-18 (b) A local registry may transmit child support payments to 4-19 the attorney general by electronic funds transfer if the attorney 4-20 general agrees to accept electronic payment. An obligor may make 4-21 payments, with the approval of the judge, directly to the bank 4-22 account of the obligee by electronic transfer and provide 4-23 verification of the deposit to the local registry. 4-24 SECTION 3. Section 154.242(b), Family Code, as added by H.B. 4-25 No. 655, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1995, is 4-26 amended to read as follows: 4-27 (b) A local registry may transmit child support payments to 5-1 the Title IV-D agency by electronic funds transfer if the Title 5-2 IV-D agency agrees to accept electronic payment. A local registry 5-3 in a county that makes deposits into personal bank accounts by 5-4 electronic funds transfer as of April 1, 1995, shall transmit a 5-5 child support payment to an obligee by electronic funds transfer if 5-6 the obligee maintains a bank account. 5-7 SECTION 4. Section 151.0036(b), Tax Code, is amended to read 5-8 as follows: 5-9 (b) "Debt collection service" does not include: 5-10 (1) the collection of a judgment by an attorney or by 5-11 a partnership or professional corporation of attorneys if the 5-12 attorney, partnership, or corporation represented the person in the 5-13 suit from which the judgment arose; or 5-14 (2) the collection of court-ordered child support by a 5-15 private entity authorized to collect child support under Chapter 5-16 153, Human Resources Code. 5-17 SECTION 5. The change in law made by this Act does not 5-18 prevent a county from acting under a provision of Chapter 152, 5-19 Human Resources Code, to enforce, collect, receive, or disburse 5-20 child support or another amount due under a court order containing 5-21 an order to pay child support. 5-22 SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995. 5-23 SECTION 7. The importance of this legislation and the 5-24 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 5-25 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 5-26 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 5-27 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.