SRC-JJJ S.B. 118 76(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   S.B. 118
76R1743 JMC-MBy: Harris
Jurisprudence
2/5/1999
As Filed


DIGEST 

Currently, Texas law requires a person convicted of failing to pay child
support to pay restitution directly to the eligible person.  Payment made
directly to a person, rather than through a local registry or the child
support division of the Attorney Generals office, will continue to reflect
a person's delinquent status because there is no record of the payments.
This bill would require a person who is both ordered by a court to pay
child support and has been convicted of failure to pay that child support,
to pay restitution directly to a local registry or the child support
division. 

PURPOSE

As proposed, S.B. 118 establishes provisions regarding the payment of
restitution for the offense of criminal nonsupport of a child. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Article 42.037, Code of Criminal Procedure, by amending
Subsection (g) (4) and adding Subsection (n), to provide that if a
defendant is convicted of an offense for failing to provide child support
in violation of a court order requiring the payment of child support and
if the court order required the defendant to pay through a local registry
or Title IV-D agency, the order of restitution must require the defendant
to make restitution directly to the local registry or Title IV-D agency
designated as the place of payment in the child support order. 

SECTION 2.  Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 3.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 4.  Emergency clause.