California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 610

Introduced by Assembly Member Jones-Sawyer

February 24, 2015

An act to repeal and add Section 4007.5 of the Family Code, relating to child support, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 610, as introduced, Jones-Sawyer. Child support: suspension of support order.

Existing law, until July 1, 2015, provides 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 person required to pay support is incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized, with specified exceptions. Existing law requires that, upon the release of the obligor, the obligation to pay child support immediately resumes in the amount otherwise specified in the child support order prior to the suspension of that obligation. Existing law requires the court to provide notice to the parties of the support obligation suspension at the time the order is issued or modified. Existing law authorizes 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.

This bill would instead specify that the suspension of the child support order occurs by operation of law, and would authorize the local child support agency to administratively adjust account balances for cases managed by the agency if the agency verifies that arrears and interest were accrued in violation of these provisions. The bill would require the child support obligation to resume on the first day of the first full month after the release of the person owing support. The bill would make these provisions operative indefinitely.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Vote: ²⁄₃. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 4007.5 of the Family Code is repealed.

begin delete

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 90 consecutive days in which
the person ordered to pay support is incarcerated or involuntarily
institutionalized, unless the obligor has the means to pay support
while 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 or modified.

(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 did not have the means to pay the support. 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 finds that 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 and
modifications issued on or after July 1, 2011.

(h) The Judicial Council shall, on or before July 1, 2011, develop
forms necessary for the implementation of this section, including
forms for a petition to adjust arrears.

(i) This section shall remain in effect only until July 1, 2015,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before July 1, 2015, deletes or extends that date.

end delete

SEC. 2.  

Section 4007.5 is added to the Family Code, to read:

4007.5.  

(a) Every money judgment or order for support of a
child shall be suspended, by operation of law, for any period
exceeding 90 consecutive days in which the person ordered to pay
support is incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized, unless
either of the following conditions exist:

(1) The person owing support has the means to pay support
while incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized.

(2) The person owing support was incarcerated or involuntarily
institutionalized for any offense constituting domestic violence,
as defined in Section 6211, against the supported party 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.

(b) The child support obligation shall resume on the first day
of the first full month after the release of the person owing support
in the amount previously ordered, and that amount is presumed to
be appropriate under federal and state law. This section does not
preclude a person owing support from seeking a modification of
the child support order pursuant to Section 3651, based on a change
in circumstances or other appropriate reason.

(c) A local child support agency enforcing child support under
Title IV-D of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 651 et seq.)
may, upon notice to the person supported, administratively adjust
account balances for cases managed by the agency if the agency
verifies that arrears and interest were accrued in violation of this
section. The agency may perform this adjustment without regard
to whether a party was represented by the local child support
agency at the time he or she qualified for relief under this section.

(d) Nothing in this section prohibits an attorney, the local child
support agency, or a party from petitioning a court for a
determination of child support or arrears amounts.

(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
payment due on the current child support order and any arrears
payment, or interest resulting from these amounts, is, by operation
of law, set to zero dollars ($0) for the period in which the person
owing support is incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized.

(g) This section applies to all child support orders and
modifications issued on or after July 1, 2011.

SEC. 3.  

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order to avoid an interruption in the protections provided by
Section 4007.5 of the Family Code, it is necessary that this bill
take effect immediately.