LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD Austin, Texas FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session March 22, 2001 TO: Honorable Toby Goodman, Chair, House Committee on Juvenile Justice & Family Issues FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board IN RE: HB336 by West, George "Buddy" (Relating to the creation of a separate account for the deposit of child support payments.), As Introduced ************************************************************************** * No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated. * ************************************************************************** Local Government Impact The bill would amend the Family Code, requiring the court to order persons to whom child support is paid to open a bank account dedicated for receiving child support payments if the monthly support obligation equals or exceeds $600. If the court orders the payment to be made to a child support enforcement agency (Title IV-D), a local registry, or a state disbursement unit, the agency, registry or unit would be required to electronically transfer payments to the recipient's special account. The person making the payments would be responsible for the costs associated with the account. The recipient and the person making the payments would have access to the account records and statements. The Act would take effect September 1, 2001. District clerks in Harris, Marion, and Hays counties; the Travis County Domestic Relations Office; and the Texas Association of Child Support Registries provided information on the local fiscal impact of the bill. Harris County, with a population of over one million, would not experience a significant fiscal impact because they currently process most payments via electronic transfer. It is anticipated that this would be true of all the large counties. The Travis County Domestic Relations Office indicated that 20 percent of child support transactions processed by their office in fiscal year 2000 fit the criteria of the proposed legislation. Their office estimates a $1 banking fee per transaction, a one-time computer programming cost of $10,000, an additional full-time-equivalent position, and other operating costs to total $155,000 the first year of implementation. The second year costs would be approximately $147,600 and that amount would increase 4 percent each year thereafter. The smaller counties (population under 150,000) do not handle a significant number of child support cases that meet the $600 per month requirement. Most of those cases are handled by the state disbursement unit. In some small counties, the county registers the payment and then mails the funds to the designated recipient. The small counties anticipate incurring additional costs up to $25,000 per year under the provisions of the bill. That amount could rise an additional $10,000 per year if a large percentage of checks collected are returned for insufficient funds. Source Agencies: 302 Office of the Attorney General LBB Staff: JK, JC, SC, DB