By Swinford                                     H.B. No. 1530

      75R3679 JMM-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the determination of the amount of child support to be

 1-3     ordered for a child.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 154.123, Family Code, is amended by

 1-6     adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:

 1-7           (c)  In considering the amount of time of possession of and

 1-8     access to a child under Subsection (b)(4) as a factor in

 1-9     determining whether application of the guidelines would be unjust

1-10     or unreasonable under the circumstances, the court shall consider

1-11     the total amount of time to which the obligor is entitled to

1-12     possession of the child under the possession order.  If the total

1-13     amount of time to which the obligor is entitled to possession is

1-14     not less than two months each year, the court shall consider

1-15     reducing the amount of support the obligor is required to pay by an

1-16     amount proportional to the total amount of time of possession.

1-17           SECTION 2.  (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1997, and

1-18     applies only to a suit affecting the parent-child relationship

1-19     filed on or after that date.  A suit filed before the effective

1-20     date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the

1-21     suit was filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that

1-22     purpose.

1-23           (b)  The enactment of this Act is not sufficient by itself to

1-24     constitute a material and substantial change in circumstances of a

 2-1     child for whose benefit a child support order has been rendered to

 2-2     warrant modification of the order under Chapter 156, Family Code.

 2-3           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

 2-4     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 2-5     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 2-6     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 2-7     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.