BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 1355
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          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 1355 (Wright)
          As Amended  August 12, 2010
          Majority vote 

           SENATE VOTE  :35-0  
           
           JUDICIARY           9-1         APPROPRIATIONS      13-1         
           
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          |Ayes:|Feuer, Tran, Brownley,    |Ayes:|Fuentes, Bradford,        |
          |     |Evans, Hagman, Jones,     |     |Charles Calderon, Coto,   |
          |     |Monning, Nava, Huffman    |     |Davis, De Leon, Gatto,    |
          |     |                          |     |Hall, Miller, Skinner,    |
          |     |                          |     |Solorio, Torlakson,       |
          |     |                          |     |Torrico                   |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |Nays:|Knight                    |Nays:|Harkey                    |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :  Suspends, until July 1, 2015, the obligation to pay  
          child support under an order enforced by the state child support  
          program while the obligor is incarcerated or involuntarily  
          institutionalized, except as specified.  Specifically,  this bill  :   


          1)Provides, effective July 1, 2011, that the obligation to pay  
            child support pursuant to an order that is being enforced under  
            Title IV-D of the Social Security Act is suspended for the  
            period of time in which the obligor is incarcerated or  
            involuntarily institutionalized for any period exceeding 90  
            consecutive days, unless the obligor has the means to pay  
            support while incarcerated or institutionalized.  

          2)Provides that the suspension only applies during the period of  
            incarceration or institutionalization and automatically resumes  
            to the original amount in the order upon release.

          3)Allows the obligor, upon release from incarceration or  
            institutionalization, to petition the court to adjust arrears  
            pursuant to the suspension in 1) above.  Requires the obligor to  
            show proof of dates of incarceration or involuntary  
            institutionalization, as well as proof that the obligor did not  
            have the means to pay support.  Requires the obligor to serve  
            copies of the petition on the support obligee and the local  







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            child support agency, who may file objections to the petition.   
            Provides that arrears may not be adjusted until the court has  
            approved the petition.

          4)Provides that, notwithstanding 1) above, the court may continue  
            the support obligation if the obligor is incarcerated or  
            involuntarily institutionalized for any domestic violence  
            offense against the custodial parent or the supported child, any  
            offense that could be enjoined by a domestic violence protective  
            order, or for failure to pay child support.  

          5)Defines "incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized" as  
            including, but not limited to, involuntary confinement to a  
            state prison, county jail, or juvenile facility operated by the  
            Division of Juvenile Facilities in the Department of Corrections  
            and Rehabilitation, or a mental health facility.

          6)Defines "suspend" as modifying the child support order to zero  
            for the period in which the obligor is incarcerated or  
            involuntarily institutionalized.   

          7)Applies to all child support orders issued or modified after  
            July 1, 2011.

          8)Requires the Judicial Council, on or before July 1, 2011, to  
            develop the forms necessary to implement these provisions,  
            including a form to petition to adjust arrears.

          9)Sunsets these provisions effective July 1, 2015.
           
          EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Provides that a support order may be modified or terminated at  
            any time as the court determines necessary.  Provides that such  
            support modification or termination may only be made pursuant to  
            the filing of a motion or an order to show cause.  

          2)Prohibits states from enacting laws providing for the  
            retroactive modification or termination of a support order,  
            except that an order modifying or terminating a support order  
            may be made retroactive to the date of the filing of a notice of  
            motion or order to show cause to modify or terminate the order.   


           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations analysis:








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          1)To the extent that suspending child support orders encourages  
            incarcerated noncustodial parents to resume paying child support  
            upon their release, it could result in an increase in the amount  
            of child support that is successfully collected. 

          2)The accumulation of past due child support, along with the  
            reduction in current support payments reduces the state's  
            performance on federal child support measures.  This, in turn,  
            reduces the incentive funding California receives from the  
            federal government for its child support program. Therefore,  
            suspending child support orders and reducing the amount of past  
            due child support could increase the amount of federal funding  
            for the Department of Child Support Services (DCSS). 

           COMMENTS  :  There are approximately 2.3 million prisoners in the  
          United States.  A majority of these inmates have children under 18  
          years of age.  Between 1991 and 1997, the number of incarcerated  
          parent in state and federal prisons increased by 79%.  For  
          incarcerated parents who are subject to child support orders,  
          arrears and interest will accrue during their period of  
          incarceration unless the parent petitions the court for a  
          modification of the support order.  However, this is often not a  
          realistic alternative for incarcerated parents who are unlikely to  
          know about the modification process.  Currently, there is no  
          uniform statewide approach being utilized to assist this  
          population of obligors, although DCSS has recently established a  
          workgroup to work towards this end.  Lack of resources at the  
          local level has compounded this problem, as local child support  
          agencies do not have the means to implement outreach programs to  
          parents incarcerated within their jurisdiction.  

          In the meantime, the arrears balances for the state's incarcerated  
          parents continue to grow, but will remain largely uncollectible.   
          According to research, discussed below, this uncollectible support  
          negatively impacts not only the obligor, but also federal funding  
          of the child support program, future child support payments, as  
          well as the obligor's contact with the child, and even rates of  
          recidivism for the obligor.  In order to address these issues,  
          this bill seeks to automatically suspend child support obligations  
          when a child support obligor is incarcerated or involuntarily  
          institutionalized for more than 90 days, unless the obligor  
          otherwise has the means to pay the support.

          In 1999, as part of legislation creating DCSS, DCSS was mandated  
          to analyze the current amount of child support arrears statewide  
          and determine the amount that is realistically collectible.  The  







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          study found that, although very few obligors were in state prison  
          at any point in time, their child support situations were, on  
          average, dismal.  The median amount of child support orders for  
          incarcerated obligors was $291 per month, which was only slightly  
          lower than the median amount among all obligors.  Their median  
          arrears were $14,564.  As a result, the study recommended  
          suspending child support orders by operation of law while  
          noncustodial parents are incarcerated if they have no income or  
          assets.  

          Research strongly suggests that the build-up of uncollectible debt  
          has implications not just for the obligor, but also for the  
          family:

               Most people agree that parents should support their  
               children to the best of their ability.  However,  
               children receive the most benefit from reliable long-  
               term support from their parents, even if those  
               payments are modest.  The key to regular child support  
               payments is steady employment.  The reality is that  
               most parents coming home from prison have trouble  
               supporting themselves, let alone their children.   
               Those who cannot maintain steady employment and keep  
               up with their child support obligations fall deeply  
               into debt, and their children lose out. . . . 

               When researchers from the Urban Institute asked  
               recently released men what kept them from returning to  
               prison, the largest percentage singled out support  
               from their families and seeing their children as the  
               most important factors: ties with family and children  
               mattered even more than housing or employment.  Strong  
               family relationships are positively correlated with  
               maintaining employment, staying away from drugs, and  
               rebuilding a social network after  
               incarceration-practices that also make society safer  
               and save taxpayers money.  Yet, when parents walk away  
               from jobs, they often pull away from their children.   
               Parents who see no end in sight to their child support  
               debts are less likely to remain in low-wage jobs, to  
               comply with child support obligations in the future,  
               or to reunite with their children and reintegrate into  
               society.

          (Kristen D. Levingston and Vicki Turetsky, Debtor's Prison -  
          Prisoners' Accumulation of Debt as a Barrier to Reentry (41  







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          Clearinghouse Review (July-August 2007) (footnotes omitted).)

          Moreover, the accumulation of uncollectible debt, along with the  
          reduction in current support payments will reduce the state's  
          performance on federal child support measures.  This, in turn,  
          will directly reduce the incentive funding California receives  
          from the federal government for its child support program.  


           Analysis Prepared by  :  Leora Gershenzon / JUD. / (916) 319-2334


                                                                  FN: 0005878