H.B. No. 458
AN ACT
relating to the collection and enforcement of withholding of income
for the payment of child support.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 101.011, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 101.011. EARNINGS. "Earnings" means a payment to or
due an individual, regardless of source and how denominated. The
term includes a periodic or lump-sum payment for:
(1) wages, salary, compensation received as an
independent contractor, overtime pay, severance pay, commission,
bonus, and interest income;
(2) payments made under a pension, an annuity,
workers' compensation, and a disability or retirement program;
[and]
(3) unemployment benefits;
(4) compensation from a transportation network
company as defined by Section 2402.001, Occupations Code; and
(5) compensation from a person that operates a
technology platform used to make deliveries to customers.
SECTION 2. Section 234.101, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 234.101. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Employee" means an individual who is an employee
within the meaning of Chapter 24 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 (26 U.S.C. Section 3401(c)) or an independent contractor as
defined by the Internal Revenue Service. The term includes a driver
who logs in to the digital network of a transportation network
company, as those terms are defined by Section 2402.001,
Occupations Code, regardless of whether the driver is considered an
independent contractor under Section 2402.114, Occupations Code,
and an individual who logs in to or otherwise uses a technology
platform to make deliveries for compensation. The term does not
include an employee of a state agency performing intelligence or
counterintelligence functions if the head of the agency has
determined that reporting employee information under this
subchapter could endanger the safety of the employee or compromise
an ongoing investigation or intelligence activity.
(2) "Employer" has the meaning given that term by
Section 3401(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C.
Section 3401(d)) and includes a governmental entity and a labor
organization, as that term is identified in Section 2(5) of the
National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. Section 152(5)), including
an entity, also known as a "hiring hall," used by the labor
organization and an employer to carry out requirements of an
agreement between the organization and an employer described in
Section 8(f)(3) of that Act (29 U.S.C. Section 158(f)(3)). The term
includes a transportation network company, as defined by Section
2402.001, Occupations Code, and a person that operates a technology
platform used to make deliveries to customers.
(3) "Newly hired employee" means an employee who:
(A) has not [been] previously been employed by or
received earnings from the employer; or
(B) was previously employed by the employer but
has been separated from that employment or has not received
earnings from the employer for at least 60 consecutive days.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 458 was passed by the House on May 7,
2021, by the following vote: Yeas 141, Nays 1, 1 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 458 was passed by the Senate on May
21, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor