BILL ANALYSIS Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary Senator Carole Migden, Chair 1082 (Morrow) Hearing Date: 5/16/05 Amended: 5/10/05 Consultant: Lisa Matocq Policy Vote: Judiciary 6-0 _________________________________________________________________ ____ BILL SUMMARY: SB 1082, an urgency measure, facilitates a process whereby deployed military personnel can seek a modification of their child support orders, and makes related changes. _________________________________________________________________ ____ Fiscal Impact (in thousands) Major Provisions 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 Fund DCSS Unknown, potentially significant, General costs. Costs may be offset to some extent by collection cost savings. Courts/Judicial Council Unknown costs or savings General _________________________________________________________________ ____ STAFF COMMENTS: This bill may meet the criteria for referral to the Suspense File, depending on the extent of the Department of Child Support Services' (DCSS) outreach efforts. The bill is intended to provide financial relief for activated reservists and National Guard personnel who experience a reduction in income due to activation, by establishing a process whereby they may seek a modification of their child support orders. Under current law, a court is prohibited from modifying a child support order retroactive to any period of time prior to the filing of a motion or order to show cause for modification. A court is authorized however, under certain circumstances, to make an order retroactive to the date of filing of the motion. This bill requires the court, except as otherwise specified, when modifying or terminating a child support order based on a change in income resulting from the activation to military service or National Guard duty and deployment overseas, to make the order retroactive to the date of service on the other party or the date of activation, whichever is later. It also establishes related procedures for an expedited modification. In addition, the bill prohibits the accumulation of interest and penalties, in certain circumstances, on the amount of support, and requires Judicial Council to develop related forms. Under current law, a final custody or visitation order may be modified by the family court only if some significant change in circumstances indicates that a different arrangement SB 1082 Page Two would be in the child's best interest. This bill provides that a party's absence from the home or failure to comply with a custody or visitation order may not, in and of itself, justify a modification of the order if the reason for the absence or failure is the party's activation to military service and deployment out-of-state. Current law requires the DCSS to establish and maintain a program for the compromise of child support arrears and interest owed. The compromised amount must take into consideration the obligor's ability to pay and meet other criteria. Currently, a total of $19 billion is in arrears; the collection costs on child support arrears are significant. This bill requires DCSS to work with the military and National Guard to inform service members of their ability to have support orders modified based on a change in income, and to develop a related form. Increased costs to DCSS are unknown, but could be significant, depending on the extent of outreach efforts. On the other hand, to the extent that this bill results in orders that more closely reflect the obligor's ability to pay, arrears may not accumulate at the same rate, and there could be unknown, though probably not substantial, collection cost savings. Increased costs to Judicial Council to develop forms are minor, absorbable. The additional workload to the courts would be relatively small, therefore increased costs for the new process are probably not substantial.