C.S.H.B. 2588 78(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


C.S.H.B. 2588
By: Goodman
Juvenile Justice & Family Issues
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

The Child Support Enforcement ("CSD") of the Office of the Attorney
General provides child support enforcement services under the provisions
of Title IV-D of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 652 et seq.),
as amended.  As the "Title IV-D" agency, the CSD must meet a number of
federal requirements, including providing enforcement services to families
who receive public assistance or who apply for services; providing access
to the federal parent locator service on request; and establishing and
operating a "State Disbursement Unit" (Chapter 234, Family Code) for the
processing of child support payments in all Title IV-D cases and in all
other cases in which a support order was initially rendered on or after
January 1, 1994, and in which the support obligor is subject to income
withholding for child support.   

Federal and state law authorize the CSD as the Title IV-D agency to charge
certain fees for its services and to recover the costs of providing
services.  (42 U.S.C. 654; 45 CFR 302.33(d); Section 231.103, Texas Family
Code).  Thus far, the CSD has not charged fees for its services or
recovered its costs.  Current state fiscal exigencies, however, and the
consequent need to identify revenue sources to help restore full funding
for the operation of the Texas Title IV-D program necessitate the
imposition of some reasonable fees.   Any Title IV-D program income
realized through fees and recovered costs that is reinvested in the
program yields federal matching funds at a normal rate of 66 percent.  In
effect, this means that, roughly, every dollar in program income combined
with federal matching funds provides three dollars in financial support
for the program's operation. 

The purpose of C.S.H.B 2588 is to authorize the Title IV-D agency to
assess and collect specific dollar amounts as fees for certain services.   

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly
granted to the Title IV-D agency in SECTION 2 (Section 231.103, Family
Code) of this bill. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends the heading to Section 231.103, Family Code, to read
APPLICATION AND SERVICE FEES. 

SECTION 2. Amends Section 231.103, Family Code, to authorize the Title
IV-D agency to impose and collect the following fees for services: (1) an
annual $25 service fee in cases in which the recipient of Title IV-D
services has never received public assistance under Part A of Title IV of
the federal Social Security Act and the recipient receives more than $500
in support payments in a year, with the fee being taken from collections
exceeding the first $500 in support payments; (2) a fee authorized by
federal law for each request for parent locator services under Section
231.101(a), Family Code; and (3) a $3.00 fee for processing support
payments through the state disbursement unit in cases receiving only
payment processing services.  Requires the Title IV-D agency by rule to
establish procedures for imposing fees and recovering administrative costs
for services.  Provides that the application and service fee account is an
account in the general revenue fund; the account consists of all fees and
costs collected under this section; and, that the Title IV-D agency  may
only use the money in the account for agency program expenditures. 

SECTION 3.  Amends Section 234.008, Family Code, by adding Subsection (c),
which provides that the state disbursement unit shall deduct the amount of
the fee authorized under Section 231.103(d) from the support payment
before the payment is disbursed to the obligee. 

SECTION 4. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 2003. (b) The Title IV-D
agency may not collect the $25 annual service fee authorized by Section
231.103, Family Code, as amended by this Act, before January 1, 2004. (c)
The change in law made by this Act does not by itself constitute a
material and substantial change of circumstances under Section 156.401,
Family Code, sufficient to warrant modification of a court order or a
portion of a decree that provides for the support of a child rendered
before the effective date of this Act. 


EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2003.


COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B.2588 differs from the original H.B.2588 by providing that the
application and service fee account is an account in the general revenue
fund; the account consists of all fees and costs collected under this
section; and, that the Title IV-D agency may only use the money in the
account for agency program expenditures.  C.S.H.B.2588 further modifies
the original H.B.2588 by amending Section 234.008, Family Code, by adding
Subsection (c).