HBA-LCA H.B. 2421 BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2421
By: Uresti
Juvenile Justice & Family Issues
4/28/1999
Committee Report (Amended)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Current Law provides for the accrual of interest on unpaid child support.
Under certain conditions, interest may accrue even while the obligor is
making timely child-support payments under an employer child-support
withholding order. 

H.B. 2421 amends Chapter 157, Family Code (Enforcement), to provide for the
accrual of interest on child support that is not received before the date
an amount equal to the child support payable for one month becomes due. 

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 157.266, Family Code, as follows:

Sec.  157.266.  DELINQUENCY.  Provides that a child-support payment is
delinquent for the purpose of accrual of interest if the payment is not
received before the date an amount equal to the child support payable for
one month becomes past due.  Makes conforming and nonsubstantive changes. 

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

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.

EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS

Amendment #1:

In SECTION 1, replaces "one month" with "fifteen-day period" as the amount
of time after which delinquent child support becomes past due for purposes
of interest accrual.   

In SECTION 2, replaces "September 1, 1999" with "January 1, 2001" as the
effective date.