Senate committee considers lowering interest on overdue child support to fixed 5%

The Texas Senate Committee on Jurisprudence heard testimony on House Bill 4213 on May 7, 2025, a measure that would change how interest accrues on overdue child support and require the Office of the Attorney General to report on the change.

The bill as filed would replace a variable interest calculation tied to the prime rate with a fixed annual rate of 5 percent for child support arrearages. The committee substitute described to the panel would make that change and require the Office of the Attorney General to include metrics about the effect of the lower interest rate in its biannual child-support enforcement report.

Dean Zaffirini, presenting the bill for the Senate, said the measure was intended to address the difficulty many families face when pursuing overdue support and to improve collection from low-income obligors. "This high interest rate compounds the debt, making it increasingly difficult for…