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79R5331 JMM-F
By: Dutton H.B. No. 1449
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to suits affecting the parent-child relationship,
including proceedings for the establishment, modification, and
enforcement of child support; providing an administrative penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 101, Family Code, is amended by adding
Section 101.0255 to read as follows:
Sec. 101.0255. RECORD. "Record" means information that
is:
(1) inscribed on a tangible medium or stored in an
electronic or other medium; and
(2) retrievable in a perceivable form.
SECTION 2. Section 102.009(d), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) If the petition requests the establishment,
termination, modification, or enforcement of a support right
assigned to the Title IV-D agency under Chapter 231 or the
rescission of a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity under Chapter
160, notice shall be given to the Title IV-D agency in a manner
provided by Rule 21a, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
SECTION 3. Section 105.008(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The clerk of the court shall provide the state case
registry with a record of a court order for child support as
required by procedures adopted by the Title IV-D agency [under
Section 234.003]. The record of an order shall include information
provided by the parties on a form developed by the Title IV-D
agency. The form shall be completed by the petitioner and submitted
to the clerk at the time the order is filed for record.
SECTION 4. Section 151.001(b), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The duty of a parent to support his or her child exists
while the child is an unemancipated minor and continues as long as
the child is fully enrolled in an accredited secondary school and
complies with attendance requirements described by Section
154.002(a)(2) [in a program leading toward a high school diploma
until the end of the school year in which the child graduates].
SECTION 5. Section 155.301(c), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, if [If]
a transfer of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction is sought under
this section, the procedures for determining and effecting a
transfer of proceedings provided by this chapter apply. If the
parties submit to the court an agreed order for transfer, the court
shall sign the order without the need for other pleadings.
SECTION 6. Section 156.401(b), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) A support order may be modified with regard to the
amount of support ordered only as to obligations accruing after the
earlier of:
(1) the date of service of citation; or
(2) an appearance in the suit to modify.
SECTION 7. Section 156.409, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
follows:
(a) The [If the sole managing conservator of a child or the
joint managing conservator who has the exclusive right to determine
the primary residence of the child has voluntarily relinquished the
primary care and possession of the child to another person for at
least six months, the] court may modify an order providing for the
support of a [the] child to provide that the [other] person having
physical possession of the child, including a conservator or
governmental entity, shall have the right to receive and give
receipt for payments of support for the child and to hold or
disburse money for the benefit of the child if the sole managing
conservator of the child or the joint managing conservator who has
the exclusive right to determine the primary residence of the child
has:
(1) voluntarily relinquished the primary care and
possession of the child to another person for at least six months;
(2) been incarcerated or sentenced to be incarcerated
for at least 30 days; or
(3) relinquished the primary care and possession of
the child under Chapter 262.
(a-1) If the court modifies a support order under this
section, the court shall order the obligor to pay the person or
entity having physical possession of the child any unpaid child
support that is not subject to offset or reimbursement under
Section 157.008 and that accrues after the date the sole or joint
managing conservator:
(1) relinquishes possession and control of the child,
whether voluntarily or under Chapter 262; or
(2) is incarcerated.
SECTION 8. Section 157.005(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The court retains jurisdiction to render a contempt
order for failure to comply with the child support order if the
motion for enforcement is filed not later than the second
anniversary of [sixth month after] the date:
(1) the child becomes an adult; or
(2) on which the child support obligation terminates
under the order or by operation of law.
SECTION 9. Section 157.065(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) If a party has been ordered under Chapter 105 to provide
the court and the state case registry with the party's current
mailing address, notice of a hearing on a motion for enforcement may
be served by mailing a copy of the notice to the respondent,
together with a copy of the motion, by first class mail to the last
mailing address of the respondent on file with the court and the
registry.
SECTION 10. Sections 157.105(a) and (c), Family Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) If the respondent is taken into custody and not released
on bond, the respondent shall be brought before the court that
issued the capias on or before the third [first] working day after
the arrest. The court shall determine whether the respondent's
appearance in court at a designated time and place can be assured by
a method other than by posting the bond or security previously
established.
(c) If the court is not satisfied that the respondent's
appearance in court can be assured and the respondent remains in
custody, a hearing on the alleged contempt shall be held as soon as
practicable, but not later than the seventh [fifth] day after the
date that the respondent was taken into custody, unless the
respondent and the respondent's attorney waive the accelerated
hearing.
SECTION 11. Section 157.211, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 157.211. CONDITIONS OF COMMUNITY SUPERVISION. If the
court places the respondent on community supervision [and suspends
commitment], the terms and conditions of community supervision may
include the requirement that the respondent:
(1) report to the community supervision officer as
directed;
(2) permit the community supervision officer to visit
the respondent at the respondent's home or elsewhere;
(3) obtain counseling on financial planning, budget
management, conflict resolution, parenting skills, alcohol or drug
abuse, or other matters causing the respondent to fail to obey the
order;
(4) pay required child support and any child support
arrearages;
(5) pay court costs and attorney's fees ordered by the
court;
(6) seek employment assistance services offered by the
Texas Workforce Commission under Section 302.0035, Labor Code, if
appropriate; [and]
(7) participate in mediation or other services to
alleviate conditions that prevent the respondent from obeying the
court's order; and
(8) submit to a period of confinement in a county jail
beginning at any time during the community supervision period,
except that the aggregate of all periods of confinement during the
community supervision period may not exceed 180 days.
SECTION 12. Section 157.212, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 157.212. TERM OF COMMUNITY SUPERVISION. The initial
period of community supervision [period] may not exceed 10 years.
The court may continue the community supervision beyond 10 years
until all child support, including arrearages and interest, has
been paid.
SECTION 13. Sections 157.216(a) and (b), Family Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) The court shall hold a hearing without a jury not later
than [on or before] the third [first] working day after the date the
respondent is arrested under Section 157.215. If the court is
unavailable for a hearing on that date, the hearing shall be held
not later than the third [first] working day after the date the
court becomes available.
(b) The hearing under this section may not be held later
than the seventh [third] working day after the date the respondent
is arrested.
SECTION 14. Section 157.263(c), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) If the amount of arrearages confirmed by the court
reflects a credit to the obligor for support arrearages collected
from a federal tax refund under 42 U.S.C. Section 664, [as amended,]
and, subsequently, the amount of that credit is reduced because the
refund was adjusted because of an injured spouse claim by a jointly
filing spouse, the tax return was amended, the return was audited by
the Internal Revenue Service, or for another reason permitted by
law [based on a joint return under which another person was entitled
to a share of the refund under 42 U.S.C. Section 664, as amended],
the court shall render a new cumulative judgment to include as
arrearages an amount equal to the amount by which the credit was
reduced.
SECTION 15. Section 157.264(b), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The court shall [may] render an order requiring[:
[(1) that income be withheld from the disposable
earnings of the obligor in an amount sufficient to discharge the
judgment in not more than two years; or
[(2) if the obligor is not subject to income
withholding,] that the obligor make periodic payments on the
judgment, including by income withholding under Chapter 158 if the
obligor is subject to income withholding [to the obligee in an
amount sufficient to discharge the judgment within a reasonable
time].
SECTION 16. Section 157.269, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 157.269. RETENTION OF JURISDICTION. A court that
renders an order providing for the payment of child support
[arrearages] retains continuing jurisdiction to enforce the order,
including by adjusting the amount of the periodic payments to be
made by the obligor or the amount to be withheld from the obligor's
disposable earnings, until all current support and medical support
and child support arrearages, including interest and any applicable
fees and costs, have been paid.
SECTION 17. Sections 157.313(a), (c), and (e), Family Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (e), a child support
lien notice must contain:
(1) the name and address of the person to whom the
notice is being sent;
(2) the style, docket or cause number, and identity of
the tribunal of this or another state having continuing
jurisdiction of the child support action and, if the case is a Title
IV-D case, the case number;
(3) the full name, address, and, if known, the birth
date, driver's license number, social security number, and any
aliases of the obligor;
(4) the full name and, if known, social security
number of the obligee;
(5) the amount of the current or prospective child
support obligation, the frequency with which current or prospective
child support is ordered to be paid, and the amount of child support
arrearages owed by the obligor and the date of the signing of the
court order, administrative order, or writ that determined the
arrearages or the date and manner in which the arrearages were
determined;
(6) the rate of interest specified in the court order,
administrative order, or writ or, in the absence of a specified
interest rate, the rate provided for by law;
(7) the name and address of the person or agency
asserting the lien;
(8) the motor vehicle identification number as shown
on the obligor's title if the property is a motor vehicle;
(9) a statement that the lien attaches to all
nonexempt real and personal property of the obligor that is located
or recorded in the state, including any property specifically
identified in the notice and any property acquired after the date of
filing or delivery of the notice;
(10) a statement that any ordered child support not
timely paid in the future constitutes a final judgment for the
amount due and owing, including interest, and accrues up to an
amount that may not exceed the lien amount; and
(11) a statement that the obligor is being provided a
copy of the lien notice and that the obligor may dispute the
arrearage amount by filing suit under Section 157.323.
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (e), the [The] lien
notice must be verified.
(e) A notice of a lien for child support under this section
may be in the form authorized by federal law or regulation. The
federal form of lien notice does not require verification when used
by the Title IV-D agency.
SECTION 18. Section 157.317(a-1), Family Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a-1) A lien attaches to all property owned on or acquired
after the date the lien notice or abstract of judgment is filed with
the county clerk of the county in which the property is located,
with the court clerk as to property or claims in litigation, or, as
to property of the obligor in the possession or control of a third
party, from the date the lien notice is delivered to [filed with]
that party.
SECTION 19. Subchapter C, Chapter 158, Family Code, is
amended by adding Section 158.214 to read as follows:
Sec. 158.214. WITHHOLDING FROM SEVERANCE PAY. (a) In this
section, "severance pay" means income paid on termination of
employment in addition to the employee's usual earnings from the
employer at the time of termination.
(b) An employer receiving an order or writ of withholding
under this chapter shall withhold from any severance pay owed an
obligor an amount equal to the amount that would have been withheld
under the order or writ if the severance pay had been paid
periodically to the obligor as a current employee.
(c) The total amount that may be withheld under this section
is subject to the maximum amount allowed to be withheld under
Section 158.009.
SECTION 20. Section 159.102(23), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(23) "Support order" means a judgment, decree, [or]
order, or directive, whether temporary, final, or subject to
modification, issued by a tribunal for the benefit of a child, a
spouse, or a former spouse that provides for monetary support,
health care, arrearages, or reimbursement and may include related
costs and fees, interest, income withholding, attorney's fees, and
other relief.
SECTION 21. Section 159.316, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (j) to read as follows:
(j) A voluntary acknowledgment of paternity, certified as a
true copy, is admissible to establish parentage of the child.
SECTION 22. Section 161.206, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) An order rendered under this section must include a
finding that:
(1) a request for identification of a court of
continuing, exclusive jurisdiction has been made as required by
Section 155.101; and
(2) all parties entitled to notice, including the
Title IV-D agency, have been notified.
SECTION 23. Section 201.104(d), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) An associate judge [Only the referring court] may hear
and render an order on a motion for postjudgment relief, including a
motion for a new trial or to vacate, correct, or reform a judgment
rendered by the associate judge. An associate judge may not grant
postjudgment relief under Rule 306a, 316, or 329, Texas Rules of
Civil Procedure, that alters or affects any judicial action taken
by the referring court on the associate judge's recommendation.
SECTION 24. Section 231.202, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 231.202. AUTHORIZED COSTS AND FEES IN TITLE IV-D
CASES. In a Title IV-D case filed under this title, including a
case filed under Chapter 159, the Title IV-D agency shall pay:
(1) filing fees and fees for issuance and service of
process as provided by Chapter 110 of this code and by Sections
51.317, 51.318(b)(2), and 51.319(2), Government Code;
(2) fees for transfer as provided by Chapter 110;
(3) fees for the issuance and delivery of orders and
writs of income withholding in the amounts provided by Chapter 110;
(4) the fee that sheriffs and constables are
authorized to charge for serving process under Section 118.131,
Local Government Code, for each item of process to each individual
on whom service is required, including service by certified or
registered mail, to be paid to a sheriff, constable, or clerk
whenever service of process is required; [and]
(5) the fee for filing an administrative writ of
withholding under Section 158.503(d); and
(6) the fee for issuance of a subpoena as provided by
Section 51.318(b)(1), Government Code.
SECTION 25. Sections 232.001(1)-(3), Family Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(1) "License" means a license, certificate,
registration, permit, or other authorization that:
(A) is issued by a licensing authority;
(B) is subject before expiration to renewal,
suspension, revocation, forfeiture, or termination by a [the
issuing] licensing authority; and
(C) a person must obtain to:
(i) practice or engage in a particular
business, occupation, or profession;
(ii) operate a motor vehicle on a public
highway in this state; or
(iii) engage in any other regulated
activity, including hunting, fishing, or other recreational
activity for which a license or permit is required.
(2) "Licensing authority" means a department,
commission, board, office, or other agency of the state or a
political subdivision of the state that issues or renews a license
or that otherwise has authority to suspend or refuse to renew a
license.
(3) "Order suspending license" means an order issued
by the Title IV-D agency or a court directing a licensing authority
to suspend or refuse to renew a license.
SECTION 26. Section 232.002, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 232.002. LICENSING AUTHORITIES SUBJECT TO
CHAPTER. Unless otherwise restricted or exempted, all [The
following are] licensing authorities are subject to this chapter[:
[(1) Department of Agriculture;
[(2) Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse;
[(3) Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission;
[(4) Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification
Board;
[(5) Texas Board of Architectural Examiners;
[(6) State Board of Barber Examiners;
[(7) Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners;
[(8) Comptroller of Public Accounts;
[(9) Texas Cosmetology Commission;
[(10) Court Reporters Certification Board;
[(11) State Board of Dental Examiners;
[(12) Texas State Board of Examiners of Dietitians;
[(13) Texas Funeral Service Commission;
[(14) Texas Department of Health;
[(15) Texas Department of Human Services;
[(16) Texas Board of Professional Land Surveying;
[(17) Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation;
[(18) Texas State Board of Examiners of Marriage and
Family Therapists;
[(19) Texas State Board of Medical Examiners;
[(20) Midwifery Board;
[(21) Texas Commission on Environmental Quality;
[(22) Board of Nurse Examiners;
[(23) Texas Board of Occupational Therapy Examiners;
[(24) Texas Optometry Board;
[(25) Parks and Wildlife Department;
[(26) Texas State Board of Examiners of Perfusionists;
[(27) Texas State Board of Pharmacy;
[(28) Texas Board of Physical Therapy Examiners;
[(29) Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners;
[(30) Texas State Board of Podiatric Medical
Examiners;
[(31) Polygraph Examiners Board;
[(32) Texas Commission on Private Security;
[(33) Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional
Counselors;
[(34) Texas Board of Professional Engineers;
[(35) Department of Protective and Regulatory
Services;
[(36) Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists;
[(37) Texas State Board of Public Accountancy;
[(38) Department of Public Safety of the State of
Texas;
[(39) Public Utility Commission of Texas;
[(40) Railroad Commission of Texas;
[(41) Texas Real Estate Commission;
[(42) State Bar of Texas;
[(43) Texas State Board of Social Worker Examiners;
[(44) State Board of Examiners for Speech-Language
Pathology and Audiology;
[(45) Texas Structural Pest Control Board;
[(46) Board of Tax Professional Examiners;
[(47) Secretary of State;
[(48) Supreme Court of Texas;
[(49) Texas Transportation Commission;
[(50) State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners;
[(51) Texas Ethics Commission;
[(52) Advisory Board of Athletic Trainers;
[(53) State Committee of Examiners in the Fitting and
Dispensing of Hearing Instruments;
[(54) Texas Board of Licensure for Professional
Medical Physicists;
[(55) Texas Department of Insurance;
[(56) Texas Board of Orthotics and Prosthetics;
[(57) savings and loan commissioner;
[(58) Texas Juvenile Probation Commission; and
[(59) Texas Lottery Commission under Chapter 466,
Government Code].
SECTION 27. Chapter 232, Family Code, is amended by adding
Section 232.0022 to read as follows:
Sec. 232.0022. SUSPENSION OF MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION.
The Texas Department of Transportation is the appropriate licensing
authority for suspension of a motor vehicle registration under this
chapter. The general registration provisions of Chapter 502,
Transportation Code, do not apply to the suspension or denial of a
renewal of a motor vehicle registration under this chapter.
SECTION 28. Section 232.004(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A child support agency or obligee may file a petition to
suspend, as provided by this chapter, a license of an obligor who
has an arrearage equal to or greater than the total support due for
three months [90 days] under a support order.
SECTION 29. Sections 232.006(b) and (c), Family Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) Notice under this section may be served:
(1) if the party has been ordered under Chapter 105 to
provide the court and registry with the party's current mailing
address, by mailing a copy of the notice to the respondent, together
with a copy of the petition, by first class mail to the last mailing
address of the respondent on file with the court and the state case
registry; or
(2) as in civil cases generally.
(c) The notice must contain the following prominently
displayed statement in boldfaced type, capital letters, or
underlined:
"AN ACTION TO SUSPEND ONE OR MORE LICENSES ISSUED TO YOU HAS
BEEN FILED AS PROVIDED BY CHAPTER 232, TEXAS FAMILY CODE. YOU MAY
EMPLOY AN ATTORNEY TO REPRESENT YOU IN THIS ACTION. IF YOU OR YOUR
ATTORNEY DO NOT REQUEST A HEARING BEFORE THE 21ST DAY AFTER THE DATE
OF SERVICE OF THIS NOTICE, AN ORDER SUSPENDING YOUR [OF] LICENSE
[SUSPENSION] MAY BE RENDERED."
SECTION 30. Chapter 232, Family Code, is amended by adding
Section 232.0135 to read as follows:
Sec. 232.0135. DENIAL OF LICENSE RENEWAL. (a) The Title
IV-D agency may provide a licensing authority with information
concerning an obligor who has failed to pay child support for six
months or more.
(b) A licensing authority that receives the information
described by Subsection (a) shall refuse to accept an application
for renewal of the license of the obligor until the authority is
notified by the Title IV-D agency that the obligor has:
(1) paid all child support arrearages;
(2) established with the Title IV-D agency a
satisfactory repayment schedule or is in compliance with a court
order for payment of the arrearages;
(3) been granted an exemption from this subsection as
part of a court-supervised plan to improve the obligor's earnings
and child support payments; or
(4) successfully contested the denial of renewal of
license under Subsection (d).
(c) On providing a licensing authority with the information
described by Subsection (a), the Title IV-D agency shall
immediately notify the obligor by first class mail that the
information has been provided and of the steps the obligor must take
to prevent the denial by the authority of an application for license
renewal or to permit the authority to accept the obligor's
application for renewal.
(d) An obligor receiving notice under Subsection (c) may
request a review by the Title IV-D agency to resolve any issue in
dispute regarding the identity of the obligor or the existence or
amount of child support arrearages. The Title IV-D agency shall
provide an opportunity for a review, either by telephone or in
person, as appropriate to the circumstances. After the review, if
appropriate, the Title IV-D agency may notify the licensing
authority that it may accept the obligor's application for renewal
of license. If the Title IV-D agency and the obligor fail to
resolve any issue in dispute, the obligor, not later than the 30th
day after the date of receiving notice of the Title IV-D agency's
determination from the review, may file a motion with the court to
direct the licensing authority to accept the obligor's application
for renewal of license and request a hearing on the motion. The
obligor's application for license renewal may not be accepted by
the licensing authority until the court rules on the motion.
(e) If an obligor enters into a repayment agreement with the
Title IV-D agency under this section, the Title IV-D agency may
incorporate the agreement in an order to be filed with and confirmed
by the court in the manner provided for agreed orders under Chapter
233.
SECTION 31. Section 232.014, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 232.014. FEE BY LICENSING AUTHORITY. A licensing
authority may charge a fee to an individual who is the subject of an
order suspending license or of an action by the Title IV-D agency to
deny renewal of license in an amount sufficient to recover the
administrative costs incurred by the authority under this chapter.
SECTION 32. Section 234.001(c), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) The state disbursement unit shall:
(1) receive, maintain, and furnish records of child
support payments in Title IV-D cases and other cases as authorized
by law;
(2) forward child support payments as authorized by
law;
(3) maintain records of child support payments
[payment records] made through the state disbursement unit; and
(4) make available to a local registry each day in a
manner determined by the Title IV-D agency [with the assistance of
the work group established under Section 234.003] the following
information:
(A) the cause number of the suit under which
withholding is required;
(B) the payor's name and social security number;
(C) the payee's name and, if available, social
security number;
(D) the date the disbursement unit received the
payment;
(E) the amount of the payment; and
(F) the instrument identification information.
SECTION 33. Section 234.006, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 234.006. RULEMAKING [EFFECTIVE DATE AND PROCEDURES].
The Title IV-D agency [, in cooperation with the work group
established under Section 234.003,] may adopt rules in compliance
with federal law for the operation of the state case registry and
the state disbursement unit.
SECTION 34. Subchapter B, Chapter 234, Family Code, is
amended by adding Section 234.105 to read as follows:
Sec. 234.105. CIVIL PENALTY. (a) In addition to any other
remedy provided by law, an employer who knowingly violates a
procedure adopted under Section 234.104 for reporting employee
information may be liable for a civil penalty as permitted by
Section 453A(d) of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
Section 653a).
(b) The amount of the civil penalty may not exceed:
(1) $25 for each occurrence in which an employer fails
to report an employee; or
(2) $500 for each occurrence in which the conduct
described by Subdivision (1) is the result of a conspiracy between
the employer and an employee to not supply a required report or to
submit a false or incomplete report.
(c) The attorney general may sue to collect the civil
penalty. A penalty collected under this section shall be deposited
in a special fund in the state treasury.
SECTION 35. Section 804.001, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subdivisions (1) and (2) and adding Subdivision (1-a) to
read as follows:
(1) "Alternate payee" means a spouse, former spouse,
child support obligee, child, or other dependent of a member or
retiree who is recognized by a domestic relations order as having a
right to receive all or a portion of the benefits payable by a
public retirement system with respect to such member or retiree.
(1-a) "Child support obligee" has the meaning assigned
to "obligee" by Section 101.021, Family Code.
(2) "Domestic relations order" means any judgment,
decree, or order, including approval of a property settlement
agreement, which relates to the provision of child support, alimony
payments, or marital property rights to a spouse, former spouse,
child support obligee, child, or other dependent of a member or
retiree, and is made pursuant to a domestic relations law,
including a community property law of the State of Texas or of
another state.
SECTION 36. Section 2252.901, Government Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (b) to read as
follows:
(a) Except as otherwise provided by this section, a [A]
state agency may not enter into an employment contract, a
professional services contract under Chapter 2254, or a consulting
services contract under Chapter 2254 with a former or retired
employee of the agency before the first anniversary of the last date
on which the individual was employed by the agency, if appropriated
money will be used to make payments under the contract. This
section does not prohibit an agency from entering into a
professional services contract with a corporation, firm, or other
business entity that employs a former or retired employee of the
agency within one year of the employee's leaving the agency,
provided that the former or retired employee does not perform
services on projects for the corporation, firm, or other business
entity that the employee worked on while employed by the agency.
(b) This section does not apply to a visiting associate
judge appointed under Chapter 201, Family Code.
SECTION 37. Sections 207.093(a) and (d), Labor Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) The commission shall withhold from the benefits payable
to an individual that owes a child support obligation an amount
equal to:
(1) any amount required to be withheld under legal
process properly served on the commission;
(2) if Subdivision (1) does not apply, the amount
determined under an agreement submitted to the commission under
Section 454(19)(B)(i) [454(20)(B)(i)] of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. Section 654) by the state or local child support
enforcement agency; or
(3) if neither Subdivision (1) or (2) applies, the
amount the individual specifies to the commission to be withheld.
(d) In this section, "legal process" has the meaning
assigned by Section 459(i)(5) [462(e)] of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. Section 659 [662]).
SECTION 38. Section 501.002(9), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(9) "Lien" means:
(A) a lien provided for by the constitution or
statute in a motor vehicle; [or]
(B) a security interest, as defined by Section
1.201, Business & Commerce Code, in a motor vehicle, other than an
absolute title, created by any written security agreement, as
defined by Section 9.102, Business & Commerce Code, including a
lease, conditional sales contract, deed of trust, chattel mortgage,
trust receipt, or reservation of title; or
(C) a child support lien under Chapter 157,
Family Code.
SECTION 39. Section 201.104(e), Family Code, is repealed.
SECTION 40. (a) The change in law made by this Act relating
to a court order establishing paternity or the obligation to pay
child support applies only to a suit affecting the parent-child
relationship filed on or after the effective date of this Act. A
suit affecting the parent-child relationship filed before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
date the suit was filed, and the former law is continued in effect
for that purpose.
(b) The change in law made by this Act relating to the
modification or enforcement of a child support order rendered
before the effective date of this Act applies only to a proceeding
for modification or enforcement that is commenced on or after the
effective date of this Act. A proceeding for modification or
enforcement that is commenced before the effective date of this Act
is governed by the law in effect on the date the proceeding was
commenced, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
(c) The change in law made by this Act by the enactment of
Section 234.105, Family Code, applies only to a violation that
occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. A violation that
occurs before that date is governed by the law in effect on the date
the violation occurred, and the former law is continued in effect
for that purpose.
SECTION 41. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.