81R6101 KEL-F
By: Thompson H.B. No. 983
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prosecution of the offense of criminal nonsupport.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 25.05, Penal Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
follows:
(a) An individual commits an offense if the individual
intentionally or knowingly fails to provide support for:
(1) the individual's child younger than 18 years of
age;[,] or
(2) [for] the individual's child who is the subject of
a court order requiring the individual to support the child.
(a-1) For purposes of Subsection (a)(2), an individual
knowingly fails to provide support for the individual's child if
the individual knows or should have known that the individual or
entity that is designated in the court order to initially receive a
child support payment from the individual did not receive the
payment on or before the fifth day after the due date for that
payment as specified by the court order.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
before that date.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.