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Sen. Terry Burton, R-Newton, discusses legislation that would make overdue child support payable to the custodial parent after the emancipation of a child in the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013 at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss. Lawmakers face a Tuesday deadline for committees to report on general bills and constitutional amendments originating in their own chamber. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
House Bill 1009 passed the House 59-57 Tuesday.
A similar measure, Senate Bill 2734, passed the Senate 35-16 last week.
The two chambers would have to agree on a single bill before anything could go to the governor.
The bills would allow the Department of Human Services to hire a private vendor, or vendors, to collect overdue child support payments in some parts of the state.
Supporters say privatization could improve efficiency. Opponents say Mississippi's experience with privatizing child support collections from 1995 to 2000 was disastrous.
Both sides say DHS has too few attorneys working in child support collections, and the ones it has are overworked.