HBA-SEB S.B. 118 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 118 By: Harris Juvenile Justice and Family Issues 4/6/1999 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law requires a person convicted of failing to pay child support to pay restitution directly to the victim or person eligible for restitution. If payment is made directly to a person, rather than through a local child support registry or the Title IV-D agency (Office of the Attorney General-Child Support Division), a person may be identified as delinquent on child support payment because the registry or agency is unable to keep records of payments that do not filter through the registry or agency. S.B. 118 requires a person who has been convicted of failure to pay court-ordered child support to pay restitution directly to a local registry or the Title IV-D agency and also requires a district or county attorney or a community supervision and corrections department to transfer child support payments to the registry or agency. 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 Chapter 2, Code of Criminal Procedure, by adding Article 2.025, as follows: Sec. 2.025. SPECIAL DUTY OF DISTRICT OR COUNTY ATTORNEY RELATING TO CHILD SUPPORT. Requires a district or county attorney to transfer money to a local child support registry or to the Title IV-D agency (Office of the Attorney General-Child Support Division) if the attorney receives money from a person who is required by a court order to pay child support through one of those entities and if the money is presented to the attorney as payment for the child support. SECTION 2. Amends Article 42.037(g)(4), Code of Criminal Procedure, to provide that Subsection (n) is an exception to this subdivision, which establishes that an order of restitution must require the defendant to make restitution directly to the 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 person. SECTION 3. Amends Article 42.037, Code of Criminal Procedure, by adding Subsection (n), to provide that an order of restitution issued by a court must require a defendant to pay child support in a specific manner if the defendant is convicted of or receives deferred adjudication for an offense under Section 25.05, Penal Code (Criminal Nonsupport), if the child support order that is the basis for prosecution requires the defendant to pay the support to a local registry or the Title IV-D agency, and if the court orders restitution under this article (Restitution). Establishes that the child support must be paid to a community supervision and corrections department for transfer to a designated local registry or Title IV-D agency during any period in which the defendant is under the supervision of the community supervision and corrections department. Provides that the child support must be paid directly to the designated local registry or Title IV-D agency during any period in which the defendant is not under the supervision of a community supervision and corrections department. SECTION 4. Makes application of Article 42.037, Code of Criminal Procedure, as amended by this Act, prospective. SECTION 5. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 6. Emergency clause.