By: Carter (Senate Sponsor - Paxton) H.B. No. 1846
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 6, 2013;
May 7, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on
Jurisprudence; May 20, 2013, reported favorably by the following
vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 20, 2013, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to suspension or denial of issuance or renewal of a license
for failure to pay child support.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 232.008, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as
follows:
(b) Subject to Subsection (b-1), the [The] court or Title
IV-D agency may stay an order suspending a license conditioned on
the individual's compliance with:
(1) a reasonable repayment schedule that is
incorporated in the order;
(2) the requirements of a reissued and delivered
subpoena; or
(3) the requirements of any court order pertaining to
the possession of or access to a child.
(b-1) The court or Title IV-D agency may not stay an order
under Subsection (b)(1) unless the individual makes an immediate
partial payment in an amount specified by the court or Title IV-D
agency. The amount specified may not be less than $200.
SECTION 2. Section 232.0135(b), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(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
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) made an immediate payment of not less than $200
toward child support arrearages owed and established with the
agency a satisfactory repayment schedule for the remainder 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).
SECTION 3. (a) Section 232.008(b-1), Family Code, as added
by this Act, applies only to an order suspending a license that is
rendered on or after the effective date of this Act. An order
suspending a license rendered before the effective date of this Act
is governed by the law in effect on the date the order was rendered,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(b) Section 232.0135(b), Family Code, as amended by this
Act, applies only to a notice provided under Section 232.0135(a),
Family Code, on or after the effective date of this Act. A notice
provided under Section 232.0135(a), Family Code, before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
date the notice was provided, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
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