HBA-JRA, LCA H.B. 3272 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3272 By: Goodman Juvenile Justice & Family Issues 7/26/1999 Enrolled BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, the Office of Court Administration (OCA) administers a system in which 36 court masters, through a contract with the Office of the Attorney General (Title IV-D agency), hear child support cases in approximately 40 areas of the state. Most of these cases are not monitored after the court hearing to prevent further child support delinquencies. H.B. 3272: _authorizes the creation of child support monitors for each of the 36 court masters hearing child support cases; _requires a plan for the monitoring and tracking of child support payments, intake sessions, mediation sessions, job training and referral, and meetings to be established; and _requires the Texas Workforce Commission (commission) to conduct job training and referral programs for persons delinquent in court-ordered child support payments. Additionally, this bill requires the Title IV-D agency, OCA and the commission to evaluate the effectiveness of the programs. 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 the heading to Subchapter B, Chapter 201, Family Code, as follows: SUBCHAPTER B. New title: CHILD SUPPORT MASTER AND COURT MONITOR SECTION 2. Amends Section 201.106, Family Code, as follows: Sec. 201.106. New title: CHILD SUPPORT COURT MONITOR AND OTHER PERSONNEL. (a) Includes a child support court monitor (monitor) for each master appointed under this subchapter among a list of individuals the presiding judge of an administrative region or presiding judges of the administrative regions may appoint by majority vote, as needed to implement and administer the provisions of this subchapter. Provides that the Office of Court Administration (OCA) may use contracted personnel. (b) Provides that the salary of a monitor shall be paid from a county fund available for payment of officers' salaries or from funds available from the state and federal government as provided by Section 201.107, Family Code (State and Federal Funds). SECTION 3. Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 201, Family Code, by adding Section 201.1065, as follows: Sec. 201.1065. DUTIES OF CHILD SUPPORT COURT MONITOR. Requires a court monitor appointed under Section 201.106, Family Code (Personnel), to monitor child support cases in which the obligor is placed on probation for failure to comply with the requirements of a child support order. (b) Sets forth the requirements of a child support monitor in monitoring a child support case. SECTION 4. Amends Sections 201.107(a) and (b), Family Code, as follows: (a) Provides that a court monitor for a master is a state employee for all purposes. Makes a conforming change. (b) Makes a conforming change. SECTION 5. Amends Section 231.115, Family Code, as added by Chapter 165, Acts of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997, as follows: Sec. 231.115. New title: UNEMPLOYED AND UNDEREMPLOYED OBLIGORS. Deletes "noncustodial parents" from title. Deletes text qualifying a child as one receiving certain financial assistance or who is otherwise eligible for assistance under this section. Makes conforming and nonsubstantive changes. SECTION 6. Amends Subchapter A, Chapter 234, Family Code, by adding Section 234.006 and 234.007, as follows: Sec. 234.006. DIRECT DEPOSIT OF CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS. (a) Authorizes the state disbursement unit to transmit a child support payment to an obligee by electronic funds transfer if the obligee maintains an account with a financial institution. (b) Authorizes the work group convened under this subchapter to develop a plan to assist an obligee who does not have an account with financial institution to obtain an account. (c) Authorizes the work group to determine whether it is feasible and cost-effective for the state to administer an electronic benefits transfer system for child support obligees and to recommend implementation of such a system to the Title IV-D agency. (d) Authorizes the Title IV-D agency or the vendor selected by the Title IV-D agency to operate the state disbursement unit, after receiving any recommendations by the work group, to provide for electronic benefits transfer, if the request for proposals issued by the Title IV-D agency and any contract resulting from the selection of a vendor to provide the services specified in the request for proposals provides for electronic benefits transfer. (e) Authorizes the work group to recommend and the Title IV-D agency to establish procedures to implement this section. (f) Authorizes the Title IV-D agency, after receiving the recommendation of the work group, to require an obligee to receive payments by direct deposit to the obligee's bank account or by electronic benefit transfer to an account established by the Title IV-D agency or the state disbursement unit, if the account is established at no cost to the obligee. SECTION 7. Amends Subchapter A, Chapter 302, Labor Code, by adding Section 302.0035, as follows: Sec. 302.0035. EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN PARENTS. Requires the Texas Workforce Commission (commission) to provide employment assistance services, including skills training, job placement, and employment-related services, to a person referred to the commission by the Title IV-D agency (Office of the Attorney General) under Chapter 231 (Title IV-D Services), Family Code. SECTION 8. Requires the Title IV-D agency, in cooperation with the commission and OCA, to conduct a study to determine the effectiveness of the employment assistance program described under Section 302.0035, Labor Code, as added by this Act, in increasing child support collections from referred obligors. Requires the Title !V-D agency, the commission, and OCA to report the results of the study no later than January 31, 2001, to the 77th Texas Legislature. SECTION 9. Authorizes the Title IV-D agency to contract with the office of court administration to provide state and federal funds under Part D, Title IV, of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section 631 et seq.) to establish 36 monitor positions under Section 201.106, Family Code, as amended by this Act, during the fiscal year beginning September 1, 1999, subject to the availability of funds. Authorizes the court of administration to provide monitors, to contract with counties to provide employees to serve as monitors, or to hire additional personnel to serve as monitors. SECTION 10. Requires OCA, in collaboration with the Title IV-D agency, to develop and implement a plan to conduct a pilot of the use of the court monitors, in one or more locations, guidelines for the duties of a monitor under Section 201.1065, Family Code, as added by this Act, and a procedure to evaluate the rate of success of monitors in increasing obligors' compliance with child support obligations in monitored cases. SECTION 11. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 12. Emergency clause.