CJ C.S.H.B. 3109 75(R) BILL ANALYSIS JUVENILE JUSTICE & FAMILY ISSUES C.S.H.B. 3109 By: Serna 5-2-97 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND Domestic Relations Offices throughout the state provide a multitude of services for child support recipients, ranging from paternity establishment to automated enforcement of child support orders under Friend of the Court programs to enforcement of visitation. An integral part of such activities is the ability to locate the parties of a suit and to locate property which might be available to satisfy child support obligations. No enforcement program will be effective if the parties cannot be located or if financial information is not available. PURPOSE This bill grants authorization for Domestic Relations Offices to secure essential locate and financial information from a variety of sources, governmental agencies, private companies, financial institutions, and other entities, in order to establish, enforce, and modify child support orders. This information is vital in successfully accomplishing these functions and becomes especially critical in the automated enforcement which is provided by Friends of the Court programs. The bill provides Domestic Relations Offices similar information access to that afforded the IV-D agency. Persons who can be successfully served by Domestic Relations Offices are persons who do not end up on welfare and who are not burdens on the general taxpaying public. RULE MAKING 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 SECTION 1. Amends Chapter 203 ,Family Code to add Sec. 203.008 which (a) lists the types information which may be requested by Domestic Relations Offices as necessary to establish, modify, or enforce a child support order. (b) directs that the entities from which information is requested shall supply the requested information and guarantee the privacy of the information (c) provides protection for those entities for liability arising from release of information. SECTION 2. Effective Date, September 1, 1997. SECTION 3. EMERGENCY CLAUSE. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE The substitute reorganizes the provisions to place part of subsection(b) into a new subsection (c) to provide immunity from liability for persons acting in accordance with the provisions of this bill.