CHAPTER 234. STATE CASE REGISTRY, DISBURSEMENT UNIT, AND DIRECTORY OF NEW HIRES

State Codes and Statutes

Statutes > Texas > Family-code > Title-5-the-parent-child-relationship-and-the-suit-affecting-the-parent-child-relationship > Chapter-234-state-case-registry-disbursement-unit-and-directory-of-new-hires

FAMILY CODE

TITLE 5. THE PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP AND THE SUIT AFFECTING THE

PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP

SUBTITLE D. ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

CHAPTER 234. STATE CASE REGISTRY, DISBURSEMENT UNIT, AND

DIRECTORY OF NEW HIRES

SUBCHAPTER A. UNIFIED STATE CASE REGISTRY AND DISBURSEMENT UNIT

Sec. 234.001. ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF STATE CASE REGISTRY

AND STATE DISBURSEMENT UNIT. (a) The Title IV-D agency shall

establish and operate a state case registry and state

disbursement unit meeting the requirements of 42 U.S.C. Sections

654a(e) and 654b and this subchapter.

(b) The state case registry shall maintain records of child

support orders in Title IV-D cases and in other cases in which a

child support order has been established or modified in this

state on or after October 1, 1998.

(1) receive, maintain, and furnish records of child support

payments in Title IV-D cases and other cases as authorized by

law;

(2) forward child support payments as authorized by law;

(3) maintain records of child support payments made through the

state disbursement unit; and

(4) make available to a local registry each day in a manner

determined by the Title IV-D agency the following information:

(A) the cause number of the suit under which withholding is

required;

(B) the payor's name and social security number;

(D) the date the disbursement unit received the payment;

(E) the amount of the payment; and

(F) the instrument identification information.

(d) A certified child support payment record produced by the

state disbursement unit is admissible as evidence of the truth of

the information contained in the record and does not require

further authentication or verification.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 911, Sec. 94, eff. Sept. 1,

1997. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 556, Sec. 68, eff.

Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1023, Sec. 69, eff.

Sept. 1, 2001.

Amended by:

Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.

972, Sec. 58, eff. September 1, 2007.

Sec. 234.002. INTEGRATED SYSTEM FOR CHILD SUPPORT AND MEDICAL

SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT. The statewide integrated system for child

support and medical support enforcement under Chapter 231 shall

be part of the state case registry and state disbursement unit

authorized by this subchapter.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 911, Sec. 94, eff. Sept. 1,

1997. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 556, Sec. 68, eff.

Sept. 1, 1999.

Sec. 234.004. CONTRACTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS. (a) The

Title IV-D agency may enter into contracts and cooperative

agreements as necessary to establish and operate the state case

registry and state disbursement unit authorized under this

subchapter.

(b) To the extent funds are available for this purpose, the

Title IV-D agency may enter into contracts or cooperative

agreements to process through the state disbursement unit child

support collections in cases not otherwise eligible under 42

U.S.C. Section 654b.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 911, Sec. 94, eff. Sept. 1,

1997. Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1023, Sec. 70, eff.

Sept. 1, 2001.

Sec. 234.006. RULEMAKING. The Title IV-D agency may adopt rules

in compliance with federal law for the operation of the state

case registry and the state disbursement unit.

Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 556, Sec. 68, eff. Sept. 1,

1999. Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1023, Sec. 71, eff.

Sept. 1, 2001.

Amended by:

Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.

972, Sec. 59, eff. September 1, 2007.

Sec. 234.007. NOTICE OF PLACE OF PAYMENT. (a) The Title IV-D

agency shall notify the courts that the state disbursement unit

has been established. After receiving notice of the establishment

of the state disbursement unit, a court that orders income to be

withheld for child support shall order that all income withheld

for child support be paid to the state disbursement unit.

(b) In order to redirect payments from a local registry to the

state disbursement unit after the date of the establishment of

the state disbursement unit, the Title IV-D agency shall issue a

notice of place of payment informing the obligor, obligee, and

employer that income withheld for child support is to be paid to

the state disbursement unit.

with the court of continuing jurisdiction and with the local

child support registry.

(d) The notice under Subsection (b) must include:

(1) the name of the child for whom support is ordered and of the

person to whom support is ordered by the court to be paid;

(2) the style and cause number of the case in which support is

ordered; and

(3) instructions for the payment of ordered support to the state

disbursement unit.

(e) On receipt of a copy of the notice under Subsection (b), the

clerk of the court shall file the notice in the appropriate case

file.

(f) The notice under Subsection (b) may be used by the Title

IV-D agency to redirect child support payments from the state

disbursement unit of this state to the state disbursement unit of

another state.

Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 556, Sec. 68, eff. Sept. 1,

1999. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1247, Sec. 45, eff.

Sept. 1, 2003.

Sec. 234.008. DEPOSIT, DISTRIBUTION, AND ISSUANCE OF PAYMENTS.

(a) Not later than the second business day after the date the

state disbursement unit receives a child support payment, the

state disbursement unit shall distribute the payment to the Title

IV-D agency or the obligee.

(b) The state disbursement unit shall deposit daily all child

support payments in a trust fund with the state comptroller.

Subject to the agreement of the comptroller, the state

disbursement unit may issue checks from the trust fund.

eff. September 1, 2007.

(d) Repealed by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 972, Sec. 65(5),

eff. September 1, 2007.

(e) Repealed by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 972, Sec. 65(5),

eff. September 1, 2007.

Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 556, Sec. 68, eff. Sept. 1,

1999. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1262, Sec. 4, eff.

Sept. 1, 2003.

Amended by:

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

1232, Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2005.

Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.

972, Sec. 60, eff. September 1, 2007.

Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.

972, Sec. 65(5), eff. September 1, 2007.

Sec. 234.009. OFFICIAL CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENT RECORD. (a) The

record of child support payments maintained by a local registry

is the official record of a payment received directly by the

local registry.

(b) The record of child support payments maintained by the state

disbursement unit is the official record of a payment received

directly by the unit.

local registry are redirected to the state disbursement unit, a

local registry may accept a record of payments furnished by the

state disbursement unit and may add the payments to the record of

payments maintained by the local registry so that a complete

payment record is available for use by the court.

(d) If the local registry does not add payments received by the

state disbursement unit to the record maintained by the registry

as provided by Subsection (c), the official record of child

support payments consists of the record maintained by the local

registry for payments received directly by the registry and the

record maintained by the state disbursement unit for payments

received directly by the unit.

Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 556, Sec. 68, eff. Sept. 1,

1999.

Sec. 234.0091. ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW OF CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENT

RECORD. (a) On request, the state disbursement unit shall

provide to an obligor or obligee a copy of the record of child

support payments maintained by the unit. The record must include

the amounts and dates of all payments received from or on behalf

of the obligor and disbursed to the obligee.

(b) An obligor or obligee may request that the Title IV-D agency

investigate an alleged discrepancy between the child support

payment record provided by the state disbursement unit under

Subsection (a) and the payment records maintained by the obligor

or obligee. The obligor or obligee making the request must

provide to the Title IV-D agency documentation of the alleged

discrepancy, including a canceled check or other evidence of a

payment or disbursement at issue.

Subsection (b) not later than the 20th day after the date the

agency receives the request. If, after an investigation, the

agency determines that the child support payment record

maintained by the state disbursement unit should be amended, the

state disbursement unit shall immediately make the required

amendment to the record and notify the obligor or obligee who

made the request under Subsection (b) of that amendment.

Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1085, Sec. 1, eff. June 20,

2003.

Sec. 234.010. DIRECT DEPOSIT AND ELECTRONIC BENEFITS TRANSFER OF

CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS. (a) The state disbursement unit

authorized under this chapter may make a direct deposit of a

child support payment to an obligee by electronic funds transfer

into an account with a financial institution maintained by the

obligee. It is the responsibility of the obligee to notify the

state disbursement unit of:

(1) the existence of an account;

(2) the appropriate routing information for direct deposit by

electronic funds transfer into an account; and

(3) any modification to account information previously provided

to the state disbursement unit, including information that an

account has been closed.

(b) Except as provided by Subsection (d), the state disbursement

unit shall deposit a child support payment by electronic funds

transfer into a debit card account established for the obligee by

the Title IV-D agency if the obligee:

(1) does not maintain an account with a financial institution;

(2) fails to notify the state disbursement unit of the existence

of an account maintained with a financial institution; or

(3) closes an account maintained with a financial institution

previously used to accept direct deposit of a child support

payment without establishing a new account and notifying the

state disbursement unit of the new account in accordance with

Subsection (a).

(1) issue a debit card to each obligee for whom a debit card

account is established under Subsection (b); and

(2) provide the obligee with instructions for activating and

using the debit card.

(c-1) Chapter 604, Business & Commerce Code, does not apply

to a debit card issued under Subsection (c).

(d) An obligee may decline in writing to receive child support

payments by electronic funds transfer into an account with a

financial institution or a debit card account and request that

payments be provided by paper warrants if the obligee alleges

that receiving payments by electronic funds transfer would impose

a substantial hardship.

(e) A child support payment disbursed by the state disbursement

unit by electronic funds transfer into an account with a

financial institution maintained by the obligee or into a debit

card account established for the obligee under Subsection (b) is

solely the property of the obligee.

Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1072, Sec. 6, Sept. 1, 1999.

Renumbered from Sec. 234.006 by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1420,

Sec. 21.001(33), eff. Sept. 1, 2001.

Amended by:

Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.

551, Sec. 1, eff. June 19, 2009.

Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.

767, Sec. 30, eff. June 19, 2009.

Sec. 234.012. RELEASE OF INFORMATION FROM STATE CASE REGISTRY.

Unless prohibited by a court in accordance with Section

105.006(c), the state case registry shall, on request and to the

extent permitted by federal law, provide the information required

under Sections 105.006 and 105.008 in any case included in the

registry under Section 234.001(b) to:

(1) any party to the proceeding;

(2) an amicus attorney;

(3) an attorney ad litem;

(4) a friend of the court;

(5) a guardian ad litem;

(6) a domestic relations office;

(7) a prosecuting attorney or juvenile court acting in a

proceeding under Title 3; or

(8) a governmental entity or court acting in a proceeding under

Chapter 262.

Added by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.

972, Sec. 61, eff. September 1, 2007.

SUBCHAPTER B. STATE DIRECTORY OF NEW HIRES

Sec. 234.101. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:

(1) "Employee" means an individual who is an employee within the

meaning of Chapter 24 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26

U.S.C. Section 3401(c)). The term does not include an employee of

a state agency performing intelligence or counterintelligence

functions if the head of the agency has determined that reporting

employee information under this subchapter could endanger the

safety of the employee or compromise an ongoing investigation or

intelligence activity.

(2) "Employer" has the meaning given that term by Section

3401(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. Section

3401(d)) and includes a governmental entity and a labor

organization, as that term is identified in Section 2(5) of the

National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. Section 152(5)),

including an entity, also known as a "hiring hall," used by the

labor organization and an employer to carry out requirements of

an agreement between the organization and an employer described

in Section 8(f)(3) of that Act (29 U.S.C. Section 158(f)(3)).

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 911, Sec. 94, eff. Sept. 1,

1997.

Sec. 234.102. OPERATION OF NEW HIRE DIRECTORY. In cooperation

with the Texas Workforce Commission, the Title IV-D agency shall

develop and operate a state directory to which employers in the

state shall report each newly hired or rehired employee in

accordance with the requirements of 42 U.S.C. Section 653a.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 911, Sec. 94, eff. Sept. 1,

1997. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 178, Sec. 12, eff.

Aug. 30, 1999.

Sec. 234.103. CONTRACTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS. The Title

IV-D agency may enter into cooperative agreements and contracts

as necessary to create and operate the directory authorized under

this subchapter.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 911, Sec. 94, eff. Sept. 1,

1997. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 178, Sec. 13, eff.

Aug. 30, 1999.

Sec. 234.104. PROCEDURES. The Title IV-D agency by rule shall

establish procedures for reporting employee information and for

operating a state directory of new hires meeting the requirements

of federal law.

Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 911, Sec. 94, eff. Sept. 1,

1997. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 178, Sec. 14, eff.

Aug. 30, 1999.

Sec. 234.105. CIVIL PENALTY. (a) In addition to any other

remedy provided by law, an employer who knowingly violates a

procedure adopted under Section 234.104 for reporting employee

information may be liable for a civil penalty as permitted by

Section 453A(d) of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

Section 653a).

(b) The amount of the civil penalty may not exceed:

(1) $25 for each occurrence in which an employer fails to report

an employee; or

(2) $500 for each occurrence in which the conduct described by

Subdivision (1) is the result of a conspiracy between the

employer and an employee to not supply a required report or to

submit a false or incomplete report.

A penalty collected under this section shall be deposited in a

special fund in the state treasury.

Added by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch.

972, Sec. 62, eff. September 1, 2007.

State Codes and Statutes

State Codes and Statutes

State Codes and Statutes

State Codes and Statutes

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