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
  
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*  No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.        *
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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