HBA-SEB H.B. 331 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 331 By: Berman Civil Practices 4/19/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In 1985, the Texas Legislature enacted Section 31.002, Penal Code, also known as the Turnover Statute, to prohibit a court from ordering the turnover of any exempt property when enforcing a judgment. Following a series of judgments ordering debtors to turn over portions of paychecks as they received them, the legislature put Section 31.002(f) into effect in 1989 which prohibits the turnover of proceeds of exempt property. The legislature later established Section 31.0025 which specifically prohibits the turnover of wages in any form, rendering Section 31.002(f) largely redundant. The enforcement of judgments in this state may be more difficult due to an additional tracing requirement on the judgments. H.B. 331 repeals Section 31.002(f) of the Penal Code in order to clarify this matter. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Repealer: Section 31.002(f), Civil Practice and Remedies Code (Collection of Judgment Through Court Proceeding). Section 31.002(f) currently prohibits a court from entering or enforcing an order that requires the turnover of the proceeds or disbursement of specified exempted property, with the exception of a case involving the enforcement of a child support obligation. SECTION 2. Establishes that this Act applies to the collection of any judgment, regardless of whether the judgment is rendered before, on, or after the effective date of this Act. SECTION 3. Emergency clause. Effective date: upon passage.