HBA-LJP H.B. 899 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 899 By: Thompson Juvenile Justice & Family Issues 7/10/2001 Enrolled BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, when ordering retroactive child support, a court is required to consider the net resources of the obligor during the relevant time period and whether an order will impose an undue hardship on the obligor or the obligor's family. If a noncustodial parent is not in debt from retroactive child support, then the noncustodial parent is more likely to pay the child support obligation. According to the federal Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services in the 2000 report "The Establishment of Child Support Orders for Low Income Non-custodial Parents," when a court does not include in the child support order a retroactive arrearage, 14 percent of obligors nationwide do not pay child support, but when a court orders a noncustodial parent to pay more than 12 months of retroactive child support, nonpayment rises to 34 percent nationwide. House Bill 899 limits the court's discretionary period, in determining the payment of retroactive child support to four years preceding an order relating to the collection of child support payments and provides for the abeyance of enforcement of arrearages of an obligor. 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. ANALYSIS House Bill 899 amends the Family Code to authorize a court in a suit for the collection of unpaid child support to render an order for retroactive child support payment, an order for enforcement of a child support payment, or a money judgment for arrearages only for the amount that became due and owing during the four years preceding an order or motion. The bill authorizes the court, with the agreement of the office of the attorney general, to hold in abeyance the enforcement of any arrearages assigned to the attorney general for the right to support a child with financial assistance if, for the period of the court order of abeyance of enforcement, the obligor: _timely and fully pays the current child support obligation under a court or administrative order; and _is involved in the life of the child for whom support is ordered through the exercise of the obligor's right of possession of or access to the child. If the court orders an abeyance of enforcement of arrearages, the bill authorizes the court to order the obligor to obtain counseling on matters causing the obligor to fail to obey the child support order. The bill requires the court to terminate the abeyance if the court finds in a subsequent hearing that the obligor does not meet the conditions set by the order of the court for abeyance. The bill authorizes the court to reduce the arrearages assigned to the attorney general for the right to support a child with financial assistance on the expiration of the child support order if the court finds that the obligor has complied with the conditions set by the order of the court for abeyance. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.