HBA-LJP C.S.H.B. 899 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 899 By: Thompson Juvenile Justice & Family Issues 3/11/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) 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 non-custodial parent is not in debt from retroactive child support, then the non-custodial 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 non-custodial parent to pay more than 12 months of retroactive child support, nonpayment rises to 34 percent nationwide. C.S.H.B. 899 presumes that a court order for retroactive child support in the amount due for four years preceding the order is reasonable and in the best interest of the child. 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 C.S.H.B. 899 amends the Family Code to provide that it is presumed that a court order that limits the amount of retroactive child support to an amount that does not exceed the total amount of support that would have been due for the four years preceding the date the petition seeking support was filed is reasonable and in the best interest of the child. The bill provides that this presumption of an order limiting the amount of retroactive child support may be rebutted by evidence that the obligor knew or should have known that the obligor was the father of the child for whom support is sought and that the obligor sought to avoid the establishment of a support obligation to the child. The bill also provides that a limited retroactive child support order does not constitute a variance from provisions related to guidelines for findings in a child support order. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 899 modifies the original by replacing the court's authorization to order retroactive child support in the amount that would have been due for the four years preceding the date of the order or motion with the presumption that a court order that limits retroactive child support in the amount that would have been due for the four years preceding the date that the petition was filed is reasonable and in the best interest of the child.