BILL NUMBER: SB 1355	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 28, 2010
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 12, 2010
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 5, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Wright

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2010

   An act to add Section 4007.5 to the Family Code, relating to child
support.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1355, as amended, Wright. Child support: suspension of support
order.
   Existing law provides that if a court orders a person to make
payments for child support until the occurrence of a specified event,
the obligation of the person ordered to pay support terminates on
the happening of the contingency.
   This bill would provide that the obligation of a person to pay
child support pursuant to an order that is being enforced by a local
child support agency under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act is
suspended for the period of time  exceeding 90 days  in
which the obligor is incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized,
with specified exceptions. The bill would require that, upon the
release of the obligor, the obligation to pay child support
immediately resume in the amount otherwise specified in the child
support order prior to the suspension of that obligation. The bill
would require the court to provide notice to the parties of the
support obligation suspension at the time the order is issued. The
bill would authorize an obligor, upon release from incarceration or
involuntary institutionalization, to petition the court for an
adjustment of the arrears pursuant to the suspension of the support
obligation. These provisions would apply to all child support orders
issued and all modifications of child support orders requested on or
after January 1, 2011.
   The bill would also require the Judicial Council to proscribe
forms necessary for the implementation of the above-described
provisions, including forms for a petition to adjust arrears.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 4007.5 is added to the Family Code, to read:
   4007.5.  (a) Every money judgment or order for support of a child
that is being enforced by a local child support agency under Title
IV-D of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 651 et seq.) shall
provide the following:
   (1) The obligation of the person ordered to pay support shall be
suspended for any period exceeding  30   90
 consecutive days in which the person ordered to pay support is
incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized.
   (2) The suspension of the support obligation shall only apply for
the period of time during which the obligor is incarcerated or
involuntarily institutionalized, after which the obligation shall
immediately resume in the amount otherwise specified in the child
support order.
   (b) The court shall provide notice to the parties of the support
obligation suspension provided in subdivision (a) at the time the
order is issued.
   (c) Upon release from incarceration or involuntary
institutionalization, an obligor may petition the court for an
adjustment of the arrears pursuant to the suspension of the support
obligation authorized in subdivision (b). The obligor must show proof
of the dates of incarceration or involuntary institutionalization,
as well as proof that during that time, the obligor was unable to
earn any income. The obligor shall serve copies of the petition to
the support obligee and the local child support agency, who may file
an objection to the obligor's petition with the court. An obligor's
arrears shall not be adjusted until the court has approved the
petition.
   (d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the court may deny the
obligor's petition if it makes a finding of one of the following:
   (1) The obligor had the means to pay support while incarcerated or
involuntarily institutionalized.
   (2) The obligor was incarcerated or involuntarily
institutionalized for any offense constituting domestic violence, as
defined in Section 6211, against the support obligee or supported
child, or for any offense that could be enjoined by a protective
order pursuant to Section 6320, or as a result of his or her failure
to comply with a court order to pay child support.
   (e) For purposes of this section, "incarcerated or involuntarily
institutionalized" includes, but is not limited to, involuntary
confinement to a state prison, county jail, juvenile facility
operated by the Division of Juvenile Facilities in the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation, or a mental health facility.
   (f) For purposes of this section, "suspend" means that the child
support order is modified and set to zero dollars ($0) for the period
in which the obligor is incarcerated or involuntarily
institutionalized.
   (g) This section applies to all child support orders issued and
all modifications of child support orders requested on or after
January 1, 2011.
   (h) The Judicial Council shall proscribe forms necessary for the
implementation of this section, including forms for a petition to
adjust arrears.