HBA-SEB H.B. 2438 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2438
By: Goodman
Juvenile Justice and Family Issues
3/19/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, a person convicted of failing to pay court-ordered child support
may pay the delinquent child support directly to the obligee.  If the court
order specifies that the defendant must pay the child support to either a
local child support registry or the Title IV-D agency (Office of the
Attorney General-Child Support Division) and if the defendant pays the
delinquent child support directly to the obligee, then the registry or
agency may not know that payment has been made and the defendant's arrears
continue to grow.  H.B. 2438 requires a delinquent child support payment to
be made to the Title IV-D agency or local registry, as specified in the
original child support order.     

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Article 42.037, Code of Criminal Procedure, by amending
Subsection (g)(4) and adding Subsection (n), as follows: 

(4)  Provides that Subsection (n) provides an exception to this
subdivision.  This subdivision provides that an order of restitution must
require a defendant to make restitution directly to the victim or other
person eligible for restitution or to deliver the amount or property due as
restitution to a community supervision and corrections department for
transfer to the victim or person. 

(n)  Provides that the order of restitution must require the defendant to
make restitution directly to the local child support registry or Title IV-D
agency (Office of the Attorney General-Child Support Division) designated
as the place of payment in a child support order if the defendant is
convicted of an offense under Section 25.05, Penal Code (Criminal
Nonsupport), for failing to provide child support in violation of a child
support order and if the child support order requires the defendant to pay
the support through a local registry or the Title IV-D agency.   

SECTION 2.  Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 3.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 4.  Emergency clause.