By: Carona S.B. No. 1161 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT 1-1 relating to the authority of certain counties to contract with 1-2 private entities for child support and visitation enforcement 1-3 services. 1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-5 SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 10, Human Resources Code, is 1-6 amended by adding Chapter 153 to read as follows: 1-7 CHAPTER 153. CHILD SUPPORT COLLECTION BY PRIVATE ENTITY 1-8 Sec. 153.001. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only to a 1-9 county that: 1-10 (1) has a population of 1,800,000 or more; and 1-11 (2) did not have the authority to contract with a 1-12 private entity to receive, disburse, and record payments or 1-13 restitution of child support on January 1, 1997. 1-14 Sec. 153.002. AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT. A county, acting 1-15 through its commissioners court or domestic relations office, may 1-16 contract with a private entity to: 1-17 (1) enforce, collect, receive, and disburse: 1-18 (A) child support payments; 1-19 (B) other amounts due under a court order 1-20 containing an order to pay child support; and 1-21 (C) fees, including fees provided by this 1-22 chapter; 1-23 (2) maintain appropriate records, including records of 2-1 child support and other amounts and fees that are due, past due, 2-2 paid, or delinquent; 2-3 (3) locate absent parents; 2-4 (4) furnish statements to parents accounting for 2-5 payments that are due, past due, paid, or delinquent; 2-6 (5) send billings and other appropriate notices to 2-7 parents; 2-8 (6) perform any duty or function that a local 2-9 registry, as that term is defined by Section 101.018, Family Code, 2-10 is authorized to perform; or 2-11 (7) provide another child support or visitation 2-12 enforcement service authorized by the commissioners court, 2-13 including mediation of disputes related to child support or 2-14 visitation. 2-15 Sec. 153.003. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF CONTRACT. The 2-16 commissioners court or domestic relations office shall include all 2-17 appropriate terms and conditions in the contract that it determines 2-18 are reasonable to secure the services of a private entity as 2-19 provided by this chapter, including: 2-20 (1) provisions specifying the services to be provided 2-21 by the entity; 2-22 (2) the method, conditions, and amount of compensation 2-23 for the entity; 2-24 (3) provisions for the security of funds collected as 2-25 child support, fees, or other amounts under the contract or that 3-1 otherwise provide reasonable assurance to the county of the 3-2 entity's full and faithful performance of the contract; 3-3 (4) provisions specifying the records to be kept by 3-4 the entity, including any records necessary to fully account for 3-5 all funds received and disbursed as child support, fees, or other 3-6 amounts; 3-7 (5) requirements governing the inspection, 3-8 verification, audit, or explanation of the entity's accounting or 3-9 other records; 3-10 (6) the county's right to terminate the contract on 30 3-11 days' notice to the private entity if the private entity engages in 3-12 an ongoing pattern of child support enforcement that constitutes 3-13 wilful and gross misconduct subjecting delinquent obligors to 3-14 unconscionable duress, abuse, or harassment; 3-15 (7) provisions permitting a payor and payee to jointly 3-16 waive the monitoring procedure, if not required by law, by written 3-17 request approved by order of the court having jurisdiction of the 3-18 suit in which the child support order was issued; and 3-19 (8) provisions for the disclosure or nondisclosure of 3-20 information or records maintained or known to the entity as a 3-21 result of contract performance, including a requirement for the 3-22 private entity to: 3-23 (A) disclose to any child support obligor that 3-24 the private entity is attempting to enforce the obligor's child 3-25 support obligation; and 4-1 (B) make no disclosure of the information or 4-2 records other than in furtherance of the effort to enforce the 4-3 child support order. 4-4 Sec. 153.004. FUNDING. (a) To provide or recover the costs 4-5 of providing services authorized by this chapter, a commissioners 4-6 court, on its behalf or on behalf of the domestic relations office, 4-7 may: 4-8 (1) provide by order for the assessment and collection 4-9 of a reasonable fee at the time a party files a suit affecting the 4-10 parent-child relationship under the Family Code; 4-11 (2) provide by order for the assessment and collection 4-12 of a fee of $3 per month at a time specified for payment of child 4-13 support; 4-14 (3) provide by order for the assessment and collection 4-15 of a late payment fee of $4 per month to be imposed if an obligor 4-16 does not make a payment of child support in full when due; 4-17 (4) accept or receive funds from public grants or 4-18 private sources available for providing services authorized by this 4-19 chapter; or 4-20 (5) use any combination of funding sources specified 4-21 by this subsection. 4-22 (b) The commissioners court, on its behalf or on behalf of 4-23 the domestic relations office, may: 4-24 (1) provide by order for reasonable exemptions from 4-25 the collection of fees authorized by Subsection (a); and 5-1 (2) require payment of a fee authorized by Subsection 5-2 (a)(2) annually and in advance. 5-3 (c) The commissioners court may not charge a fee under 5-4 Subsection (a)(2) if the amount of child support ordered to be paid 5-5 is less than the equivalent of $100 per month. 5-6 (d) The fees established under Subsection (a) may be 5-7 collected by any means provided for the collection of child 5-8 support. The commissioners court may provide by order, on its 5-9 behalf or on behalf of the domestic relations office, for the 5-10 manner of collection of fees and the apportionment of payments 5-11 received to meet fee obligations. 5-12 Sec. 153.005. CUMULATIVE EFFECT OF CHAPTER. A power or duty 5-13 conferred on a county, county official, or county instrumentality 5-14 by this chapter is cumulative of the powers and duties created or 5-15 conferred by other law. 5-16 SECTION 2. Subsection (b), Section 154.242, Family Code, is 5-17 amended to read as follows: 5-18 (b) A local registry may transmit child support payments to 5-19 the Title IV-D agency by electronic funds transfer if the Title 5-20 IV-D agency agrees to accept electronic payment. An obligor may 5-21 make payments, with the approval of the court entering the order, 5-22 directly to the bank account of the obligee by electronic transfer 5-23 and provide verification of the deposit to the local registry. A 5-24 local registry in a county that makes deposits into personal bank 5-25 accounts by electronic funds transfer as of April 1, 1995, shall 6-1 transmit a child support payment to an obligee by electronic funds 6-2 transfer if the obligee maintains a bank account. The obligee 6-3 shall furnish to the local registry the necessary bank account 6-4 information to complete electronic payment if the Title IV-D agency 6-5 agrees to accept electronic payment. 6-6 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997. 6-7 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the 6-8 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 6-9 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 6-10 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 6-11 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.