LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 79TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION

April 5, 2005

TO:	Honorable Harold V. Dutton, Jr., Chair, House Committee on Juvenile Justice & Family Issues
FROM:	John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB1449 by Dutton (Relating to suits affecting the parent-child relationship, including proceedings for the establishment, modification, and enforcement of child support; providing an administrative penalty.), As Introduced

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would allow the state's Title IV-D agency (the Office of the Attorney General -- OAG) to provide a licensing authority with information on delinquent child support obligors so that the licensing authority would refuse to accept an application for renewal of a license until the OAG  notifies the authority that the obligor has met certain conditions. The bill also would allow a licensing authority to charge an administrative fee to cover the costs in suspending a license or denying a license renewal.  No significant fiscal impact is anticipated from implementation of these provisions because most cases arrange for payment agreements for child support, and any technology requirements for transfer of data on delinquent obligors to licensing authorities could be absorbed within existing resources.

The bill would allow the OAG to sue to collect civil penalties from employers who violate provisions relating to reporting certain employee information and maintaining a state directory for new hires.  It is anticipated that any increase in the OAG's workload would be absorbed within existing resources. 

The bill would allow the Office of Court Administration to contract with certain former employees who served as child support and child protection associate judges to sit as visiting associate judges without waiting for one year from the associate judge's last date of employment. 

Local Government Impact

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:

212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 302 Office of the Attorney General, 405 Department of Public Safety, 530 Department of Family and Protective Services, 601 Department of Transportation

LBB Staff:

JOB, LB, MS, KJG