BILL NUMBER: SB 523 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 249
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 5, 2007
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 30, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 28, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 24, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 9, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 28, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Senator Yee
FEBRUARY 22, 2007
An act to amend Section 17400 of, and to amend, repeal, and add
Section 4505 of, the Family Code, relating to child support.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 523, Yee. Child support: order to seek employment.
(1) Existing law allows a court, in any proceeding in which there
is at issue the support of a child for whom support is authorized
under specified provisions of law, to order either or both parents to
pay an amount necessary for the support of the child. Existing law
allows a court to issue various orders to enforce a delinquent child
support obligation, including an order requiring the delinquent
parent to submit to any of specified entities, each 2 weeks or at a
frequency deemed appropriate by the court, a list of at least 5
different places the parent has applied for employment.
This bill would, until January 1, 2011, establish a pilot project
in the County of San Mateo to allow the superior court to order a
parent, concurrent with an initial child support order, to submit to
the appropriate child support enforcement agency, or any other entity
designated by the court, a list of at least 5 different places to
which the parent has applied for employment. It would allow the court
to issue that order only upon the filing of a declaration by a child
support enforcement officer of the local child support enforcement
agency meeting specified conditions. The bill would prohibit the
court from issuing a citation for contempt for the failure of the
parent to comply with the order unless the parent has become
delinquent in his or her child support payments. This bill would
require the San Mateo child support enforcement agency to report to
the Department of Child Support Services and the Legislature, on or
before January 1, 2010, on the cost and performance of the pilot
program. By increasing the duties of a local entity the bill would
impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) Existing law requires each county to maintain a local child
support agency that is responsible for establishing, modifying, and
enforcing child support obligations, including medical support,
enforcing spousal support orders, and determining paternity, as
specified.
This bill would authorize a local child support agency to
substitute original signatures with any form of electronic signatures
on pleadings filed for the purpose of establishing, modifying, or
enforcing paternity, child support, or medical support, except for
pleadings or documents required to be signed under penalty of
perjury.
(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 4505 of the Family Code is amended to read:
4505. (a) A court may require a parent who alleges that the
parent's default in a child or family support order is due to the
parent's unemployment to submit to the appropriate child support
enforcement agency or any other entity designated by the court,
including, but not limited to, the court itself, each two weeks, or
at a frequency deemed appropriate by the court, a list of at least
five different places the parent has applied for employment.
(b) (1) The Superior Court of the County of San Mateo may order a
parent, concurrent with an initial order for the parent to pay child
support, to submit to the appropriate child support enforcement
agency or any other entity designated by the court, each two weeks,
or at a frequency deemed appropriate by the court, a list of at least
five different places the parent has applied for employment during
the previous two-week period or other designated interval. The court
may issue that order only upon the filing of a declaration by a child
support enforcement officer of the local child support enforcement
agency satisfying the following conditions:
(A) The declaration states that the child support enforcement
officer has conducted an evaluation of the income and earning ability
of the parent.
(B) The declaration details the communication, if any, between the
obligor and the child support enforcement officer or the San Mateo
County child support enforcement agency.
(C) The declaration states both of the following:
(i) The child support enforcement officer believes that, unless
ordered by the court to seek employment under this subdivision, the
parent would ignore the child support order and would be likely to
default on his or her child support obligation.
(ii) The reasons for that belief.
(2) The Superior Court of the County of San Mateo shall not issue
a citation for contempt for the failure of a parent to comply with an
order issued pursuant to paragraph (1) unless the parent has become
delinquent in his or her child support payments.
(3) The San Mateo County child support enforcement agency shall
report to the department and the appropriate committees of the
Legislature, on or before January 1, 2010, on the cost and
performance of the pilot program described in this subdivision,
including both of the following:
(A) The number of parents issued contempt citations and the effect
of the citation on their employment status and support payments.
(B) The unemployment rate of, and the amount of support collected
from, parents who are ordered to seek work pursuant to this
subdivision compared with the unemployment rate of, and amount of
support collected from, parents who are not subject to these orders.
(4) All costs related to the pilot program established in this
subdivision shall be borne by the County of San Mateo.
(c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2011, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2011, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 2. Section 4505 is added to the Family Code, to read:
4505. (a) A court may require a parent who alleges that the
parent's default in a child or family support order is due to the
parent's unemployment to submit to the appropriate child support
enforcement agency or any other entity designated by the court,
including, but not limited to, the court itself, each two weeks, or
at a frequency deemed appropriate by the court, a list of at least
five different places the parent has applied for employment.
(b) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2011.
SEC. 3. Section 17400 of the Family Code is amended to read:
17400. (a) Each county shall maintain a local child support
agency, as specified in Section 17304, that shall have the
responsibility for promptly and effectively establishing, modifying,
and enforcing child support obligations, including medical support,
enforcing spousal support orders established by a court of competent
jurisdiction, and determining paternity in the case of a child born
out of wedlock. The local child support agency shall take appropriate
action, including criminal action in cooperation with the district
attorneys, to establish, modify, and enforce child support and, if
appropriate, enforce spousal support orders if the child is receiving
public assistance, including Medi-Cal, and, if requested, shall take
the same actions on behalf of a child who is not receiving public
assistance, including Medi-Cal.
(b) (1) Notwithstanding Sections 25203 and 26529 of the Government
Code, attorneys employed within the local child support agency may
direct, control, and prosecute civil actions and proceedings in the
name of the county in support of child support activities of the
Department of Child Support Services and the local child support
agency.
(2) Notwithstanding any other law, and except for pleadings or
documents required to be signed under penalty of perjury, a local
child support agency may substitute original signatures with any form
of electronic signatures, including, but not limited to, typed,
digital, or facsimile images of signatures, digital signatures, or
other computer-generated signatures, on pleadings filed for the
purpose of establishing, modifying, or enforcing paternity, child
support, or medical support. Any substituted signature used by a
local child support agency shall have the same effect as an original
signature, including, but not limited to, the requirements of Section
128.7 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(c) Actions brought by the local child support agency to establish
paternity or child support or to enforce child support obligations
shall be completed within the time limits set forth by federal law.
The local child support agency's responsibility applies to spousal
support only if the spousal support obligation has been reduced to an
order of a court of competent jurisdiction. In any action brought
for modification or revocation of an order that is being enforced
under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 651 et
seq.), the effective date of the modification or revocation shall be
as prescribed by federal law (42 U.S.C. Sec. 666(a)(9)), or any
subsequent date.
(d) (1) The Judicial Council, in consultation with the department
and representatives of the California Family Support Council, the
Senate Committee on Judiciary, the Assembly Committee on Judiciary,
and a legal services organization providing representation on child
support matters, shall develop simplified summons, complaint, and
answer forms for any action for support brought pursuant to this
section or Section 17404. The Judicial Council may combine the
summons and complaint in a single form.
(2) The simplified complaint form shall provide notice of the
amount of child support that is sought pursuant to the guidelines set
forth in Article 2 (commencing with Section 4050) of Chapter 2 of
Part 2 of Division 9 based upon the income or income history of the
support obligor as known to the local child support agency. If the
support obligor's income or income history is unknown to the local
child support agency, the complaint shall inform the support obligor
that income shall be presumed to be the amount of the minimum wage,
at 40 hours per week, established by the Industrial Welfare
Commission pursuant to Section 1182.11 of the Labor Code unless
information concerning the support obligor's income is provided to
the court. The complaint form shall be accompanied by a proposed
judgment. The complaint form shall include a notice to the support
obligor that the proposed judgment will become effective if he or she
fails to file an answer with the court within 30 days of service.
Except as provided in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section
17402, if the proposed judgment is entered by the court, the support
order in the proposed judgment shall be effective as of the first day
of the month following the filing of the complaint.
(3) (A) The simplified answer form shall be written in simple
English and shall permit a defendant to answer and raise defenses by
checking applicable boxes. The answer form shall include instructions
for completion of the form and instructions for proper filing of the
answer.
(B) The answer form shall be accompanied by a blank income and
expense declaration or simplified financial statement and
instructions on how to complete the financial forms. The answer form
shall direct the defendant to file the completed income and expense
declaration or simplified financial statement with the answer, but
shall state that the answer will be accepted by a court without the
income and expense declaration or simplified financial statement.
(C) The clerk of the court shall accept and file answers, income
and expense declarations, and simplified financial statements that
are completed by hand provided they are legible.
(4) (A) The simplified complaint form prepared pursuant to this
subdivision shall be used by the local child support agency or the
Attorney General in all cases brought under this section or Section
17404.
(B) The simplified answer form prepared pursuant to this
subdivision shall be served on all defendants with the simplified
complaint. Failure to serve the simplified answer form on all
defendants shall not invalidate any judgment obtained. However,
failure to serve the answer form may be used as evidence in any
proceeding under Section 17432 of this code or Section 473 of the
Code of Civil Procedure.
(C) The Judicial Council shall add language to the governmental
summons, for use by the local child support agency with the
governmental complaint to establish parental relationship and child
support, informing defendants that a blank answer form should have
been received with the summons and additional copies may be obtained
from either the local child support agency or the superior court
clerk.
(e) In any action brought or enforcement proceedings instituted by
the local child support agency pursuant to this section for payment
of child or spousal support, an action to recover an arrearage in
support payments may be maintained by the local child support agency
at any time within the period otherwise specified for the enforcement
of a support judgment, notwithstanding the fact that the child has
attained the age of majority.
(f) The county shall undertake an outreach program to inform the
public that the services described in subdivisions (a) to (c),
inclusive, are available to persons not receiving public assistance.
There shall be prominently displayed in every public area of every
office of the agencies established by this section a notice, in clear
and simple language prescribed by the Director of Child Support
Services, that the services provided in subdivisions (a) to (c),
inclusive, are provided to all individuals, whether or not they are
recipients of public assistance.
(g) (1) In any action to establish a child support order brought
by the local child support agency in the performance of duties under
this section, the local child support agency may make a motion for an
order effective during the pendency of that action, for the support,
maintenance, and education of the child or children that are the
subject of the action. This order shall be referred to as an order
for temporary support. This order has the same force and effect as a
like or similar order under this code.
(2) The local child support agency shall file a motion for an
order for temporary support within the following time limits:
(A) If the defendant is the mother, a presumed father under
Section 7611, or any father if the child is at least six months old
when the defendant files his or her answer, the time limit is 90 days
after the defendant files an answer.
(B) In any other case in which the defendant has filed an answer
prior to the birth of the child or not more than six months after the
birth of the child, then the time limit is nine months after the
birth of the child.
(3) If more than one child is the subject of the action, the
limitation on reimbursement shall apply only as to those children
whose parental relationship and age would bar recovery were a
separate action brought for support of that child or those children.
(4) If the local child support agency fails to file a motion for
an order for temporary support within the time limits specified in
this section, the local child support agency shall be barred from
obtaining a judgment of reimbursement for any support provided for
that child during the period between the date the time limit expired
and the date the motion was filed, or, if no motion is filed, when a
final judgment is entered.
(5) Except as provided in Section 17304, nothing in this section
prohibits the local child support agency from entering into
cooperative arrangements with other county departments as necessary
to carry out the responsibilities imposed by this section pursuant to
plans of cooperation with the departments approved by the Department
of Child Support Services.
(6) Nothing in this section otherwise limits the ability of the
local child support agency from securing and enforcing orders for
support of a spouse or former spouse as authorized under any other
law.
(h) As used in this article, "enforcing obligations" includes, but
is not limited to, all of the following:
(1) The use of all interception and notification systems operated
by the department for the purpose of aiding in the enforcement of
support obligations.
(2) The obtaining by the local child support agency of an initial
order for child support that may include medical support or that is
for medical support only, by civil or criminal process.
(3) The initiation of a motion or order to show cause to increase
an existing child support order, and the response to a motion or
order to show cause brought by an obligor parent to decrease an
existing child support order, or the initiation of a motion or order
to show cause to obtain an order for medical support, and the
response to a motion or order to show cause brought by an obligor
parent to decrease or terminate an existing medical support order,
without regard to whether the child is receiving public assistance.
(4) The response to a notice of motion or order to show cause
brought by an obligor parent to decrease an existing spousal support
order if the child or children are residing with the obligee parent
and the local child support agency is also enforcing a related child
support obligation owed to the obligee parent by the same obligor.
(5) The referral of child support delinquencies to the Franchise
Tax Board under subdivision (c) of Section 17500 in support of the
local child support agency.
(i) As used in this section, "out of wedlock" means that the
biological parents of the child were not married to each other at the
time of the child's conception.
(j) (1) The local child support agency is the public agency
responsible for administering wage withholding for current support
for the purposes of Title IV-D of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
Sec. 651 et seq.).
(2) Nothing in this section limits the authority of the local
child support agency granted by other sections of this code or
otherwise granted by law.
(k) In the exercise of the authority granted under this article,
the local child support agency may intervene, pursuant to subdivision
(b) of Section 387 of the Code of Civil Procedure, by ex parte
application, in any action under this code, or other proceeding in
which child support is an issue or a reduction in spousal support is
sought. By notice of motion, order to show cause, or responsive
pleading served upon all parties to the action, the local child
support agency may request any relief that is appropriate that the
local child support agency is authorized to seek.
() The local child support agency shall comply with all
regulations and directives established by the department that set
time standards for responding to requests for assistance in locating
noncustodial parents, establishing paternity, establishing child
support awards, and collecting child support payments.
(m) As used in this article, medical support activities that the
local child support agency is authorized to perform are limited to
the following:
(1) The obtaining and enforcing of court orders for health
insurance coverage.
(2) Any other medical support activity mandated by federal law or
regulation.
(n) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, venue for an action or
proceeding under this division shall be determined as follows:
(A) Venue shall be in the superior court in the county that is
currently expending public assistance.
(B) If public assistance is not currently being expended, venue
shall be in the superior court in the county where the child who is
entitled to current support resides or is domiciled.
(C) If current support is no longer payable through, or
enforceable by, the local child support agency, venue shall be in the
superior court in the county that last provided public assistance
for actions to enforce arrearages assigned pursuant to Section 11477
of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(D) If subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) do not apply, venue shall
be in the superior court in the county of residence of the support
obligee.
(E) If the support obligee does not reside in California, and
subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) do not apply, venue shall be in
the superior court of the county of residence of the obligor.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if the child becomes a resident
of another county after an action under this part has been filed,
venue may remain in the county where the action was filed until the
action is completed.
(o) The local child support agency of one county may appear on
behalf of the local child support agency of any other county in an
action or proceeding under this part.
SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district are the result of a program for which legislative authority
was requested by that local agency or school district, within the
meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code and Section 6 of
Article XIII B of the California Constitution.