HBA-LJP H.B. 899 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 899 By: Thompson Juvenile Justice & Family Issues 3/4/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, when ordering retroactive child support, a court is required to consider the net resources of the obligor during the relevant time period and whether an order will impose an undue hardship on the obligor or the obligor's family. If a non-custodial parent is not in debt from retroactive child support, then the non-custodial parent is more likely to pay the child support obligation. According to the federal Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services in the 2000 report "The Establishment of Child Support Orders for Low Income Non-custodial Parents," when a court does not include in the child support order a retroactive arrearage, 14 percent of obligors nationwide do not pay child support, but when a court orders a non-custodial parent to pay more than 12 months of retroactive child support, nonpayment rises to 34 percent nationwide. House Bill 899 limits the court's discretionary period, in determining the payment of retroactive child support to four years preceding an order relating to the collection of child support payments. 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 House Bill 899 amends the Family Code to authorize a court in a suit for the collection of unpaid child support to render an order for retroactive child support payment, an order for enforcement of a child support payment, or a money judgment for arrearages only for the amount that became due and owing during the four years preceding an order or motion. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.