HBA-SEB H.B. 1322 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1322
By: King, Phil
Juvenile Justice and Family Issues
2/18/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Current law prohibits county clerks from charging a fee to the Title IV-D
agency (Office of the Attorney General child support division), a domestic
relations office, or a friend of the court for recording the notice of a
child support lien or for release of the lien, but the clerks may charge
the fee to attorneys who file child support liens.  H.B. 1322 exempts any
other party from the fee, including attorneys, and clarifies the style of
the lien notice and release. 

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 Section 157.315(b), Family Code, to prohibit a county
clerk from charging any party a fee for recording the notice or for release
of a child support lien.  Provides that in order to qualify for this
exemption, the lien notice must be styled "Notice of Child Support Lien,"
and the lien release must be styled "Release of Child Support Lien."  Makes
conforming changes. 

SECTION 2.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.
                       Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.