By: Jackson (Senate Sponsor - Harris) H.B. No. 1674
(In the Senate - Received from the House March 31, 2011;
April 7, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on
Jurisprudence; April 28, 2011, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0;
April 28, 2011, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1674 By: Harris
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to procedures for establishment, modification, and
enforcement of child support obligations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 154.187(c), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) An employer who has received an order or notice under
this subchapter shall provide to the sender, by first class mail not
later than the 40th [30th] day after the date the employer receives
the order or notice, a statement that the child:
(1) has been enrolled in the employer's health
insurance plan or is already enrolled in another health insurance
plan in accordance with a previous child support or medical support
order to which the employee is subject; or
(2) cannot be enrolled or cannot be enrolled
permanently in the employer's health insurance plan and provide the
reason why coverage or permanent coverage cannot be provided.
SECTION 2. Section 154.303(b), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The parent, the child, if the child is 18 years of age or
older, or other person may not transfer or assign the cause of
action to any person, including a governmental or private entity or
agency, except for an assignment made to the Title IV-D agency under
Section 231.104 or in the provision of child support enforcement
services under Section 159.307.
SECTION 3. Section 156.401, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-2) to read as
follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), (a-2), or (b),
the court may modify an order that provides for the support of a
child, including an order for health care coverage under Section
154.182, if:
(1) the circumstances of the child or a person
affected by the order have materially and substantially changed
since the earlier of:
(A) the date of the order's rendition; or
(B) the date of the signing of a mediated or
collaborative law settlement agreement on which the order is based;
or
(2) it has been three years since the order was
rendered or last modified and the monthly amount of the child
support award under the order differs by either 20 percent or $100
from the amount that would be awarded in accordance with the child
support guidelines.
(a-2) A court or administrative order for child support in a
Title IV-D case may be modified as provided under Section
233.013(c) to provide for medical support of a child.
SECTION 4. Section 157.162, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (c-1) to read as
follows:
(c) The movant may attach to the motion a [A] copy of a [the]
payment record. The movant may subsequently update that payment
record at the hearing. If a payment record was attached to the
motion as authorized by this subsection, the payment record, as
updated if applicable, [attached to the motion is evidence of the
facts asserted in the payment record and] is admissible to prove:
(1) the dates and in what amounts payments were made;
(2) the amount of any accrued interest;
(3) the cumulative arrearage over time; and
(4) the cumulative arrearage as of the final date of
the record.
(c-1) A [show whether payments were made. The] respondent
may offer [controverting] evidence controverting the contents of a
payment record under Subsection (c).
SECTION 5. Sections 157.311(1) and (4), Family Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(1) "Account" means:
(A) any type of a demand deposit account,
checking or negotiable withdrawal order account, savings account,
time deposit account, [money market] mutual fund account,
certificate of deposit, or any other instrument of deposit in which
an individual has a beneficial ownership either in its entirety or
on a shared or multiple party basis, including any accrued interest
and dividends; and
(B) an [a life] insurance policy, including a
life insurance policy or annuity contract, in which an individual
has a beneficial ownership or [liability insurance] against which
an individual may file [has filed] a claim or counterclaim.
(4) "Financial institution" has the meaning assigned
by 42 U.S.C. Section 669a(d)(1) and includes a depository
institution, depository institution holding company as defined by
12 U.S.C. Section 1813(w), credit union, benefit association,
[liability or life] insurance company, [money market] mutual fund,
and any similar entity authorized to do business in this state.
SECTION 6. Section 157.317(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A child support lien attaches to all real and personal
property not exempt under the Texas Constitution or other law,
including:
(1) an account in a financial institution;
(2) a retirement plan, including an individual
retirement account; [and]
(3) the proceeds of an [a life] insurance policy,
including the proceeds from a life insurance policy or annuity
contract and the proceeds from the sale or assignment of life
insurance or annuity benefits, a claim for compensation [negligence
or personal injury], or a [an insurance] settlement or award for the
claim for compensation, due to or owned by the obligor; and
(4) property seized and subject to forfeiture under
Chapter 59, Code of Criminal Procedure.
SECTION 7. Subchapter G, Chapter 157, Family Code, is
amended by adding Section 157.3271 to read as follows:
Sec. 157.3271. LEVY ON FINANCIAL INSTITUTION ACCOUNT OF
DECEASED OBLIGOR. (a) Subject to Subsection (b), the Title IV-D
agency may, not earlier than the 90th day after the date of death of
an obligor in a Title IV-D case, deliver a notice of levy to a
financial institution in which the obligor was the sole owner of an
account, regardless of whether the Title IV-D agency has issued a
child support lien notice regarding the account.
(b) The Title IV-D agency may not deliver a notice of levy
under this section if probate proceedings relating to the obligor's
estate have commenced.
(c) The notice of levy must:
(1) identify the amount of child support arrearages
determined by the Title IV-D agency to be owing and unpaid by the
obligor on the date of the obligor's death; and
(2) direct the financial institution to pay to the
Title IV-D agency, not earlier than the 45th day or later than the
60th day after the date of delivery of the notice, an amount from
the assets of the obligor or from funds due to the obligor that are
held or controlled by the institution, not to exceed the amount of
the child support arrearages identified in the notice.
(d) Not later than the 35th day after the date of delivery of
the notice, the financial institution must notify any other person
asserting a claim against the account that:
(1) the account has been levied on for child support
arrearages in the amount shown on the notice of levy; and
(2) the person may contest the levy by filing suit and
requesting a court hearing in the same manner that a person may
challenge a child support lien under Section 157.323.
(e) A person who contests a levy under this section, as
authorized by Subsection (d)(2), may bring the suit in:
(1) the district court of the county in which the
property is located or in which the obligor resided; or
(2) the court of continuing jurisdiction.
(f) The notice of levy may be delivered to a financial
institution as provided by Section 59.008, Finance Code, if the
institution is subject to that law or may be delivered to the
registered agent, the institution's main business office in this
state, or another address provided by the institution under Section
231.307.
(g) A financial institution may deduct its fees and costs,
including any costs for complying with this section, from the
deceased obligor's assets before paying the appropriate amount to
the Title IV-D agency.
SECTION 8. Sections 158.203(b) and (b-1), Family Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) An employer with 50 [250] or more employees shall remit
a payment required under this section by electronic funds transfer
or electronic data interchange not later than the second business
day after the pay date.
(b-1) An employer with fewer than 50 [250] employees may
remit a payment required under this section by electronic funds
transfer or electronic data interchange. A payment remitted by the
employer electronically must be remitted not later than the date
specified by Subsection (b).
SECTION 9. The heading to Section 158.503, Family Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 158.503. DELIVERY OF ADMINISTRATIVE WRIT TO EMPLOYER;
FILING WITH COURT OR MAINTAINING RECORD.
SECTION 10. Section 158.503, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to
read as follows:
(a) An administrative writ of withholding issued under this
subchapter may be delivered to an [obligor, obligee, and] employer
by mail or by electronic transmission.
(b) The Title IV-D agency shall:
(1) not [Not] later than the third business day after
the date of delivery of the administrative writ of withholding to an
employer, [the Title IV-D agency shall] file a copy of the writ,
together with a signed certificate of service, in the court of
continuing jurisdiction; or
(2) maintain a record of the writ until all support
obligations of the obligor have been satisfied or income
withholding has been terminated as provided by this chapter.
(b-1) The certificate of service required under Subsection
(b)(1) may be signed electronically. [This subsection does not
apply to the enforcement under Section 158.501(c) of a support
order rendered by a tribunal of another state.]
SECTION 11. Section 231.015, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 231.015. INSURANCE REPORTING PROGRAM. (a) In
consultation with the Texas Department of Insurance and
representatives of the insurance industry in this state, including
insurance trade associations, the Title IV-D agency by rule shall
operate a program [to improve the enforcement of child support,
including the use of child support liens under Chapter 157. The
program shall provide for procedures, including data matches,]
under which insurers [insurance companies] shall cooperate with the
Title IV-D agency in identifying obligors who owe child support
arrearages and [or who] are subject to liens for child support
arrearages to intercept certain [liability] insurance settlements
or awards for claims in satisfaction of the arrearage amounts.
(b) An insurer [insurance company] that provides
information or responds to a notice of child support lien or levy
under Subchapter G, Chapter 157, or acts in good faith to comply
with procedures established by the Title IV-D agency under this
section is not liable for those acts under any law to any person.
SECTION 12. Section 231.307, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (g) to read as
follows:
(d) A financial institution providing information or
responding to a notice of child support lien or levy provided under
Subchapter G, Chapter 157, or otherwise acting in good faith to
comply with the Title IV-D agency's procedures under this section
may not be liable under any federal or state law for any damages
that arise from those acts.
(g) This section does not apply to an insurer subject to the
reporting requirements under Section 231.015.
SECTION 13. The heading to Section 232.0135, Family Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 232.0135. DENIAL OF LICENSE ISSUANCE OR RENEWAL.
SECTION 14. Sections 232.0135(a), (b), (c), and (d), Family
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) A child support agency, as defined by Section 101.004,
may provide notice to a licensing authority concerning an obligor
who has failed to pay child support for six months or more that
requests the authority to refuse to accept an application for
issuance of a license to the obligor or renewal of an existing [the]
license of the obligor.
(b) A licensing authority that receives the information
described by Subsection (a) shall refuse to accept an application
for issuance of a license to the obligor or renewal of an existing
[the] license of the obligor until the authority is notified by the
child support agency that the obligor has:
(1) paid all child support arrearages;
(2) established with the 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 issuance or
renewal of license under Subsection (d).
(c) On providing a licensing authority with the notice
described by Subsection (a), the child support agency shall send a
copy to the obligor by first class mail and inform the obligor of
the steps the obligor must take to permit the authority to accept
the obligor's application for license issuance or renewal.
(d) An obligor receiving notice under Subsection (c) may
request a review by the child support agency to resolve any issue in
dispute regarding the identity of the obligor or the existence or
amount of child support arrearages. The agency shall promptly
provide an opportunity for a review, either by telephone or in
person, as appropriate to the circumstances. After the review, if
appropriate, the agency may notify the licensing authority that it
may accept the obligor's application for issuance or renewal of
license. If the 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 agency's determination from the review, may
file a motion with the court to direct the agency to withdraw the
notice under Subsection (a) and request a hearing on the motion.
The obligor's application for license issuance or renewal may not
be accepted by the licensing authority until the court rules on the
motion. If, after a review by the agency or a hearing by the court,
the agency withdraws the notice under Subsection (a), the agency
shall reimburse the obligor the amount of any fee charged the
obligor under Section 232.014.
SECTION 15. Section 232.014(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A licensing authority may charge a fee to an individual
who is the subject of an order suspending license or of an action of
a child support agency under Section 232.0135 to deny issuance or
renewal of license in an amount sufficient to recover the
administrative costs incurred by the authority under this chapter.
SECTION 16. Section 233.012, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 233.012. INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE PROVIDED AT
NEGOTIATION CONFERENCE. At the beginning of the negotiation
conference, the child support review officer shall review with the
parties participating in the conference information provided in the
notice of child support review and inform the parties that:
(1) the purpose of the negotiation conference is to
provide an opportunity to reach an agreement on a child support
order;
(2) if the parties reach an agreement, the review
officer will prepare an agreed review order to be effective
immediately on being confirmed by the court, as provided by Section
233.024;
(3) a party does not have to sign a review order
prepared by the child support review officer but that the Title IV-D
agency may file a review order without the agreement of the parties;
(4) the parties may sign a waiver of the right to
service of process;
(5) a party may file a request for a court hearing on a
nonagreed order not later than [at any time before] the 20th day
after the date a copy of the petition for confirmation of the order
is delivered to the party [filed]; and
(6) a party may file a motion for a new trial not later
than [at any time before] the 30th day after an order is confirmed
by the court.
SECTION 17. Section 233.013, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), the Title IV-D agency
may, at any time and without a showing of material and substantial
change in the circumstances of the parties, file a child support
review order that has the effect of modifying an existing order for
child support to provide medical support for a child if the existing
order does not provide health care coverage for the child as
required under Section 154.182.
SECTION 18. Section 1108.101, Insurance Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 1108.101. ASSIGNMENT GENERALLY. (a) This chapter
does not prevent an insured, owner, or annuitant from assigning, in
accordance with the terms of the policy or contract:
(1) any benefits to be provided under an insurance
policy or annuity contract to which this chapter applies; or
(2) any other rights under the policy or contract.
(b) A benefit or right described by Subsection (a) assigned
by an insured, owner, or annuitant after a child support lien notice
has been filed against the insured, owner, or annuitant by the Title
IV-D agency continues to be subject to the child support lien after
the date of assignment. The lien continues to secure payment of all
child support arrearages owed by the insured, owner, or annuitant
under the underlying child support order, including arrearages that
accrue after the date of assignment.
SECTION 19. Section 411.1271, Government Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (b-1) and amending Subsection (c) to read as
follows:
(b-1) The office of the attorney general is entitled to
obtain from the Department of Public Safety, the Federal Bureau of
Investigation identification division, or another law enforcement
agency criminal history record information maintained by the
department or agency that relates to a person who owes child support
in a Title IV-D case, as defined by Section 101.034, Family Code,
for the purposes of locating that person and establishing,
modifying, or enforcing a child support obligation against that
person.
(c) Criminal history record information obtained by the
office of the attorney general under this section [Subsection (a)
or (b)] may not be released or disclosed to any person except on
court order or with the consent of the person who is the subject of
the criminal history record information.
SECTION 20. Section 34.04(a), Tax Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(a) A person, including a taxing unit and the Title IV-D
agency, may file a petition in the court that ordered the seizure or
sale setting forth a claim to the excess proceeds. The petition
must be filed before the second anniversary of the date of the sale
of the property. The petition is not required to be filed as an
original suit separate from the underlying suit for seizure of the
property or foreclosure of a tax lien on the property but may be
filed under the cause number of the underlying suit.
SECTION 21. Article 59.06(a), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (k), all forfeited
property shall be administered by the attorney representing the
state, acting as the agent of the state, in accordance with accepted
accounting practices and with the provisions of any local agreement
entered into between the attorney representing the state and law
enforcement agencies. If a local agreement has not been executed,
the property shall be sold on the 75th day after the date of the
final judgment of forfeiture at public auction under the direction
of the county sheriff, after notice of public auction as provided by
law for other sheriff's sales. The proceeds of the sale shall be
distributed as follows:
(1) to any interest holder to the extent of the
interest holder's nonforfeitable interest; [and]
(2) after any distributions under Subdivision (1), if
the Title IV-D agency has filed a child support lien in the
forfeiture proceeding, to the Title IV-D agency in an amount not to
exceed the amount of child support arrearages identified in the
lien; and
(3) the balance, if any, after the deduction of court
costs to which a district court clerk is entitled under Article
59.05(f) and, after that deduction, the deduction of storage and
disposal costs, to be deposited not later than the 30th day after
the date of the sale in the state treasury to the credit of the
general revenue fund.
SECTION 22. Section 233.017(c), Family Code, is repealed.
SECTION 23. Section 154.187(c), Family Code, as amended by
this Act, applies to an order or notice received by an employer on
or after the effective date of this Act. An order or notice
received by an employer before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the order or notice was
received, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 24. Sections 156.401(a-2) and 233.013(c), Family
Code, as added by this Act, apply to each child support order,
regardless of whether the order was rendered before, during, or
after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 25. Section 157.162, Family Code, as amended by
this Act, applies to a motion for child support enforcement filed on
or after the effective date of this Act. A motion filed before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
date the motion was filed, and the former law is continued in effect
for that purpose.
SECTION 26. Section 158.203, Family Code, as amended by
this Act, applies to child support payments withheld by an employer
on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 27. Section 158.503, Family Code, as amended by
this Act, applies to an administrative writ of withholding issued
on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 28. Section 1108.101(b), Insurance Code, as added
by this Act, applies to an assignment made on or after the effective
date of this Act. An assignment made before the effective date of
this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the assignment
was made, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 29. Article 59.06(a), Code of Criminal Procedure,
as amended by this Act, applies to a sale of forfeited property that
occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. A sale that
occurs before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
in effect on the date the property was sold, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 30. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
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