By: Harris S.B. No. 622
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the establishment and operation of a domestic relations
1-2 office; providing a penalty.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 2, Family Code, is amended by
1-5 adding Chapter 38 to read as follows:
1-6 CHAPTER 38. DOMESTIC RELATIONS OFFICES
1-7 Sec. 38.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
1-8 (1) "Administering entity" means a commissioners
1-9 court, juvenile board, or other entity responsible for
1-10 administering a domestic relations office under this chapter.
1-11 (2) "Domestic relations office" means a county office
1-12 that serves families, county departments, and courts to ensure
1-13 effective implementation of this title.
1-14 Sec. 38.002. ESTABLISHMENT OF DOMESTIC RELATIONS OFFICE.
1-15 (a) A commissioners court may establish a domestic relations
1-16 office.
1-17 (b) A commissioners court in a county having a population of
1-18 1,000,000 or more shall establish a domestic relations office.
1-19 Sec. 38.003. ADMINISTRATION. (a) A domestic relations
1-20 office shall be administered:
1-21 (1) as provided by the commissioners court; or
1-22 (2) if the commissioners court does not otherwise
1-23 provide for the administration of the office, by the juvenile board
1-24 that serves the county in which the domestic relations office is
2-1 located.
2-2 (b) The administering entity shall appoint and assign the
2-3 duties of a director who shall be responsible for the day-to-day
2-4 administration of the office. A director serves at the pleasure of
2-5 the administering entity.
2-6 (c) The administering entity shall determine the amount of
2-7 money needed to operate the office.
2-8 (d) A commissioners court that establishes a domestic
2-9 relations office under this chapter may execute a bond for the
2-10 office. A bond under this subsection must be:
2-11 (1) executed with a solvent surety company authorized
2-12 to do business in the state; and
2-13 (2) conditioned on the faithful performance of the
2-14 duties of the office.
2-15 (e) The administering entity shall establish procedures for
2-16 the acceptance and use of a grant or donation to the office.
2-17 Sec. 38.004. POWERS AND DUTIES. (a) A domestic relations
2-18 office may:
2-19 (1) collect and disburse child support payments that
2-20 are ordered by a court to be paid through a domestic relations
2-21 registry;
2-22 (2) maintain records of payments and disbursements
2-23 made under Subdivision (1);
2-24 (3) file a suit affecting the parent-child
2-25 relationship, including a suit to:
2-26 (A) establish paternity;
2-27 (B) enforce a court order for child support or
3-1 for possession of and access to a child; and
3-2 (C) modify or clarify an existing court order;
3-3 (4) provide an informal forum in which mediation is
3-4 used to resolve disputes in an action under Subdivision (3);
3-5 (5) prepare a court-ordered social study;
3-6 (6) represent a child as guardian ad litem in a suit
3-7 in which:
3-8 (A) termination of the parent-child relationship
3-9 is sought; or
3-10 (B) conservatorship of or access to a child is
3-11 contested;
3-12 (7) serve as a friend of the court;
3-13 (8) provide pre-divorce counseling ordered by a court;
3-14 (9) provide probation services under Chapter 19; and
3-15 (10) provide information to assist a party in
3-16 understanding, complying with, or enforcing the party's duties and
3-17 obligations under Subdivision (3).
3-18 (b) A court having jurisdiction in a proceeding under this
3-19 title, Title 3, or Section 25.05, Penal Code, may order that child
3-20 support payments be made through a domestic relations office.
3-21 Sec. 38.005. FEES AND CHARGES. (a) The administering
3-22 entity may authorize a domestic relations office to assess and
3-23 collect:
3-24 (1) an initial operations fee not to exceed $15 to be
3-25 paid to the domestic relations office on the filing of a suit
3-26 affecting the parent-child relationship;
3-27 (2) a reasonable application fee to be paid by an
4-1 applicant requesting services;
4-2 (3) a reasonable attorney's fee and court costs
4-3 incurred or ordered by the court;
4-4 (4) a monthly service fee not to exceed $3 to be paid
4-5 by each managing conservator and possessory conservator for whom
4-6 the domestic relations office acts as a local child support
4-7 registry;
4-8 (5) probation fees as provided by Chapter 19 if
4-9 probation officers are employed by the domestic relations office;
4-10 and
4-11 (6) a reasonable fee for preparation of a
4-12 court-ordered social study.
4-13 (b) The first payment of a fee under Subsection (a)(4) is
4-14 due on the date that the person required to pay support is ordered
4-15 to begin child support, alimony, or separate maintenance payments.
4-16 Subsequent payments of the fee are due annually and in advance.
4-17 (c) The director of a domestic relations office shall
4-18 attempt to collect all fees in an efficient manner.
4-19 (d) The administering entity may provide for an exemption
4-20 from the payment of a fee authorized under this section if payment
4-21 of the fee is not practical or in the interest of justice. Fees
4-22 that may be exempted under this subsection include fees related to:
4-23 (1) spousal and child support payments made under an
4-24 interstate pact;
4-25 (2) a suit brought by the Texas Department of Human
4-26 Services;
4-27 (3) activities performed by the Department of
5-1 Protective and Regulatory Services or another governmental agency,
5-2 a private adoption agency, or a charitable organization; and
5-3 (4) services for a person who has applied for or who
5-4 receives public assistance under the laws of this state.
5-5 Sec. 38.006. FUND. (a) As determined by the administering
5-6 entity, fees collected by a domestic relations office under this
5-7 chapter shall be deposited in:
5-8 (1) the general fund for the county in which the
5-9 domestic relations office is located; or
5-10 (2) the office fund established for the domestic
5-11 relations office.
5-12 (b) The administering entity shall use the domestic
5-13 relations office fund to provide money for services authorized by
5-14 this chapter.
5-15 (c) A domestic relations office fund may be supplemented as
5-16 necessary from the county's general fund or from other money
5-17 available from the county.
5-18 Sec. 38.007. ACCESS TO RECORDS; OFFENSE. (a) A domestic
5-19 relations office may obtain the records described by Subsections
5-20 (b) and (c) that relate to a person who has:
5-21 (1) been ordered to pay child support;
5-22 (2) been designated as a possessory or managing
5-23 conservator of a child;
5-24 (3) been designated as the father of a child; or
5-25 (4) executed a statement of paternity.
5-26 (b) A domestic relations office may obtain from the
5-27 Department of Public Safety records that relate to:
6-1 (1) a person's date of birth;
6-2 (2) a person's most recent address;
6-3 (3) a person's current driver's license status;
6-4 (4) motor vehicle accidents involving a person; and
6-5 (5) reported traffic law violations for which a person
6-6 has been convicted.
6-7 (c) A domestic relations office may obtain from the Texas
6-8 Employment Commission records that relate to:
6-9 (1) a person's address;
6-10 (2) a person's employment status and earnings;
6-11 (3) the name and address of a person's current or
6-12 former employer; and
6-13 (4) unemployment compensation benefits received by a
6-14 person.
6-15 (d) An agency required to provide records under this section
6-16 may charge a domestic relations office a fee for providing the
6-17 records in an amount that does not exceed the amount paid for those
6-18 records by the agency responsible for Title IV-D cases.
6-19 (e) Information obtained by a domestic relations office
6-20 under this section that is confidential under a constitution,
6-21 statute, judicial decision, or rule is privileged and may be used
6-22 only by that office.
6-23 (f) A person commits an offense if the person releases or
6-24 discloses confidential information obtained under this section
6-25 without the consent of the person to whom the information relates.
6-26 An offense under this subsection is a Class C misdemeanor.
6-27 SECTION 2. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
7-1 (b) A domestic relations office created before the effective
7-2 date of this Act that is in existence on that date may continue to
7-3 operate after that date but may operate only as provided by this
7-4 Act.
7-5 (c) The enactment of this Act does not affect the validity
7-6 or enforcement of a court order entered before the effective date
7-7 of this Act that provides for a service to be performed by a
7-8 domestic relations office. A domestic relations office performing
7-9 services under a court order entered before the effective date of
7-10 this Act shall perform the services as provided by this Act.
7-11 (d) The change in law made by this Act applies only to
7-12 prosecution for an offense committed on or after the effective date
7-13 of this Act. For purposes of this subsection, an offense is
7-14 committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of
7-15 the offense occurs before that date. An offense committed before
7-16 the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when
7-17 the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in
7-18 effect for that purpose.
7-19 SECTION 3. The following laws are repealed:
7-20 (1) Chapter 151, Human Resources Code; and
7-21 (2) Sections 152.0214, 152.1075, 152.2493, 152.2494,
7-22 and 152.2495, Human Resources Code.
7-23 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
7-24 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
7-25 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
7-26 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
7-27 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.