H.B. No. 2408




AN ACT
relating to delivery to an employer of an order or writ for the withholding of child support from an employee's earnings. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 158.105, Family Code, is amended by amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection (d) to read as follows: (b) The clerk shall issue and deliver [mail] the certified copy of the order or judicial writ not later than the fourth working day after the date the order is signed or the request is filed, whichever is later. (c) An order or judicial writ of withholding shall be delivered to the employer by first class mail or, if requested, by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, by electronic transmission, including electronic mail or facsimile transmission, or by service of citation to: (1) the person authorized to receive service of process for the employer in civil cases generally; or (2) a person designated by the employer, by written notice to the clerk, to receive orders or writs of withholding. (d) The clerk may deliver an order or judicial writ of withholding under Subsection (c) by electronic mail if the employer has an electronic mail address or by facsimile transmission if the employer is capable of receiving documents transmitted in that manner. If delivery is accomplished by electronic mail, the clerk must request acknowledgment of receipt from the employer or use an electronic mail system with a read receipt capability. If delivery is accomplished by facsimile transmission, the clerk's facsimile machine must create a delivery confirmation report. SECTION 2. Section 158.105, Family Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to an order or judicial writ of withholding delivered to an employer on or after the effective date of this Act. An order or judicial writ of withholding delivered before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the order or writ was delivered, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005. ______________________________ ______________________________ President of the Senate Speaker of the House I certify that H.B. No. 2408 was passed by the House on May 9, 2005, by a non-record vote. ______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House I certify that H.B. No. 2408 was passed by the Senate on May 25, 2005, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. ______________________________ Secretary of the Senate APPROVED: _____________________ Date _____________________ Governor