HBA-GUM S.B. 581 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 581
By: Harris
Juvenile Justice and Family Issues
4/16/1999
Engrossed



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, an employer in Texas must withhold certain wages for child
support and forward the wages to the attorney general, which is the state's
Title IV-D agency, or a county-level domestic relations office.  Some
ambiguity exists in the regulations governing child support wage
collection. The date the employer must forward wages is unclear.  Current
law also does not specify whether the withholdings must be accompanied by
the social security numbers of the payor and the payee, or whether an
employer is subject to an interest penalty for not complying with the
withholding order. 

S.B. 581 includes the payee's social security number, if available, and the
payor's social security number  among the information the employer is
required to include with each payment transmitted. This bill also specifies
that an employer under this section is liable to the obligor for the amount
withheld and not paid as required by the order or writ and adds that the
employer is liable to the obligor for an amount equal to the interest that
accrues under Section 157.265 (Accrual of Interest on Child Support) on the
amount withheld and not paid. 

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.  Amends Section 158.203(b), Family Code, to include the payee's
social security number, if available, and the  payor's social security
number among the information an employer withholding child support from an
employee's earnings is required to include with each payment transmitted to
the Title IV-D agency. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 158.206(b), Family Code, to specify that an
employer who does not comply with an order or writ of withholding is liable
to the obligor for the amount withheld and not paid as required by the
order or writ. Adds that the employer is liable to the obligor for an
amount equal to the interest that accrues under Section 157.265 (Accrual of
Interest on Child Support) on the amount withheld and not paid. 

SECTION 3.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.
 Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 4.  Emergency clause.