By Mowery H.B. No. 2565
74R6121 CLG-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the child support obligations of certain parents of
1-3 children receiving AFDC benefits.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 14, Family Code, is amended
1-6 by adding Section 14.401 to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 14.401. PARTICIPATION IN WORK EXPERIENCE PROGRAM. (a)
1-8 Except as provided by Subsection (f), a court shall order that an
1-9 obligor found in contempt of court for failure or refusal to pay
1-10 child support must participate in a work experience program
1-11 authorized under Section 76.0029, Human Resources Code, if:
1-12 (1) a child support payment is overdue and unpaid at
1-13 the time of the order; and
1-14 (2) a work experience program contracted for or
1-15 approved by the attorney general is established in the county in
1-16 which the obligor resides.
1-17 (b) The order shall include:
1-18 (1) requirements that the obligor must meet in
1-19 participating in the program;
1-20 (2) the name, address, and telephone number of the
1-21 individual or agency the obligor must contact to initiate
1-22 participation in the program;
1-23 (3) the manner in which the obligor must provide proof
1-24 of participation in and completion of a program to the court; and
2-1 (4) other information necessary for the obligor to
2-2 comply with the order.
2-3 (c) Except as provided by Subsections (d) and (e), a person
2-4 who is the subject of an order under this section may not be
2-5 required to work in the program more than:
2-6 (1) 32 hours for each week that the person
2-7 participates in the program; and
2-8 (2) 16 weeks in a 12-month period.
2-9 (d) A person who is subject to an order under this section
2-10 and who is required by a governmental entity to participate in
2-11 another work or job training program at the same time the person is
2-12 required to participate in a program under this section may not
2-13 work in the program under this section a total number of hours each
2-14 week that exceeds the difference between 32 hours and the number of
2-15 hours the person is required to work in the other program.
2-16 (e) A person who is subject to an order under this section
2-17 and who is employed may not work in the program under this section
2-18 a total number of hours each week that exceeds 80 percent of the
2-19 difference between 40 hours and the number of hours the person
2-20 actually works in the person's employment.
2-21 (f) A court may not order a person who is employed more than
2-22 32 hours a week to participate in a community work experience
2-23 program under this section.
2-24 (g) An order under this section is enforceable through
2-25 contempt proceedings.
2-26 SECTION 2. Chapter 76, Human Resources Code, is amended by
2-27 adding Sections 76.0025-76.0029 to read as follows:
3-1 Sec. 76.0025. ACTIONS TO ESTABLISH PATERNITY OF AFDC
3-2 RECIPIENTS. If the paternity of a dependent child who receives
3-3 financial assistance under Chapter 31 has not been established and
3-4 a man who is at least 18 years of age has been identified as the
3-5 alleged father of the dependent child as required by Section
3-6 31.0315 or 32.040, the attorney general shall file an action under
3-7 Chapter 13, Family Code, to establish paternity.
3-8 Sec. 76.0026. APPLICATION FOR COURT-ORDERED CHILD SUPPORT OF
3-9 CERTAIN NONCUSTODIAL PARENTS OF AFDC RECIPIENTS. (a) This section
3-10 applies only to a person who:
3-11 (1) is at least 18 years of age; and
3-12 (2) has been identified by a person applying for
3-13 financial assistance under Chapter 31 on behalf of a dependent
3-14 child as the noncustodial parent of the dependent child.
3-15 (b) The attorney general shall file an application with the
3-16 court for an order requiring a person to make a child support
3-17 payment to the attorney general for the benefit of the person's
3-18 child if the child is receiving financial assistance under Chapter
3-19 31. Notwithstanding child support guidelines under Chapter 14,
3-20 Family Code, the minimum monthly payment that the court may order
3-21 for the support of a child is the lesser of:
3-22 (1) $188; or
3-23 (2) the amount of financial assistance provided to or
3-24 for the child each month under Chapter 31.
3-25 (c) After a hearing on an application filed under this
3-26 section, if the court finds that the person is unable to make
3-27 monthly child support payments in the amount set by the court under
4-1 Subsection (b) and that the person is capable of working, the court
4-2 shall enter an order requiring the person to participate in the
4-3 work experience program authorized under Section 76.0029.
4-4 Sec. 76.0027. ENFORCEMENT OF CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATION. If
4-5 after an investigation the attorney general determines that a
4-6 person who is ordered to make a child support payment to the
4-7 attorney general on behalf of the person's child under Section
4-8 76.0026 fails or refuses to make the payment, the attorney general
4-9 shall file an enforcement proceeding under Subchapter B, Chapter
4-10 14, Family Code.
4-11 Sec. 76.0028. ENFORCEMENT OF WORK EXPERIENCE PARTICIPATION.
4-12 If after an investigation, the attorney general determines that a
4-13 person who is ordered under Section 14.401, Family Code, to
4-14 participate in the work experience program authorized under Section
4-15 76.0029 is not participating in or complying with the requirements
4-16 of the work experience program, the attorney general shall file an
4-17 action to enforce the terms of the order.
4-18 Sec. 76.0029. WORK EXPERIENCE PROGRAMS. (a) The attorney
4-19 general may:
4-20 (1) contract with a county to establish a work
4-21 experience program in the county; or
4-22 (2) approve a work experience program established by
4-23 an individual or agency that meets the requirements of this
4-24 section.
4-25 (b) A program contracted for or approved under this section
4-26 shall provide work experience for an obligor who is the subject of
4-27 an enforcement order under Section 14.401, Family Code.
5-1 (c) The attorney general by rule shall adopt guidelines
5-2 consistent with this section for a program contracted for or
5-3 approved under this section. Guidelines under this subsection
5-4 shall include:
5-5 (1) standards for the contents of the program;
5-6 (2) standards for the type of work performed by a
5-7 program participant; and
5-8 (3) other requirements that the attorney general
5-9 determines are necessary for the program's operation.
5-10 (d) A work experience program contracted for or approved by
5-11 the attorney general must be designed to provide:
5-12 (1) job training for a person ordered to participate
5-13 in the program; and
5-14 (2) an incentive for a person who is delinquent in the
5-15 payment of child support to meet the person's financial obligations
5-16 and comply with the court's order to pay child support.
5-17 (e) A person who participates in a work experience program
5-18 established by a county under this section is considered to be a
5-19 county employee for workers' compensation purposes only.
5-20 (f) A person who participates in a work experience program
5-21 under this section is entitled to reimbursement for transportation
5-22 expenses from the county, individual, or agency offering the
5-23 program in an amount not to exceed $25 each month.
5-24 (g) The attorney general shall pay a county or an individual
5-25 or agency that establishes a work experience program contracted for
5-26 or approved under this section $200 for each person that
5-27 participates in the program. The county, individual, or agency
6-1 shall pay the remainder of the costs of administering the program.
6-2 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995, and
6-3 applies only to a parent or alleged father of a child who receives
6-4 financial assistance under Chapter 31, Human Resources Code, on or
6-5 after that date, regardless of the date on which the eligibility
6-6 for that assistance was determined.
6-7 SECTION 4. (a) This Act applies only to the enforcement of
6-8 a child support order that is entered or modified after the
6-9 effective date of this Act.
6-10 (b) The enactment of this Act is not sufficient by itself to
6-11 constitute a material and substantial change in the circumstances
6-12 of a child for whose benefit a child support order has been entered
6-13 to warrant modification of the order under Section 14.08, Family
6-14 Code.
6-15 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
6-16 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-17 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-18 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-19 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.