HBA-CBW C.S.H.B. 336 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 336 By: West, George "Buddy" Juvenile Justice & Family Issues 5/3/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, the court does not require that an obligee (custodial parent) establish a separate child support account to receive payments from the obligor (noncustodial parent). In some cases, the money is given to the custodial parent from the noncustodial parent with the sole intent of supporting the child, but often the money is spent on things other than the child. C.S.H.B. 336 authorizes the court, on request, to order an accounting of the expenditure of child support payments if the total child support obligation exceeds $750 per month. 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. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 336 amends the Family Code to authorize the court, on the request of a party to a child support order and for good cause shown, to order an accounting of the expenditure of child support payments if the total child support obligation exceeds $750 per month. The bill prohibits the accounting required by the court order from including a duty to account for money deposited in the account before the 12 months preceding the date of the order. If, after a hearing, the court finds that child support payments are not being used for the benefit of the child, the bill authorizes the court to order the obligee to open a child support account with a financial institution solely for the receipt and use of child support payments. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 336 differs from the original bill by authorizing the court to order an accounting of the expenditure of child support payments and by prohibiting the accounting from including a duty to account for money deposited in the account before the 12 months preceding the date of the court order. The substitute conditions the opening of a child support account on whether the court finds that the child support payments are not being used for the benefit of the child, rather than requiring the court to order the obligee to open such an account if monthly child support payments are in an amount equal to or greater than $600. The substitute removes the provision requiring the office of the attorney general, a local registry, or the state disbursement unit to electronically transfer the child support payments to a financial institution for placement in a separate child support account. The substitute removes the provision requiring the obligee to notify the obligor and the office of the attorney general, local registry, or state disbursement unit that the obligee has opened a separate child support account. The substitute removes the provision requiring the obligee to furnish the obligor and the office of the attorney general, local registry, or state disbursement unit with the name of the financial institution and the account number. The substitute removes provisions regarding responsibility for the costs of the separate child support account and access to account records and statements. The substitute also differs from the original by removing the provision establishing that such records and statements are subject to subpoena. The substitute differs from the original by providing an exemption from accounting of child support expenditures for a case of the office of the attorney general in which an electronic benefits transfer is used.