BILL NUMBER: AB 610 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 8, 2015
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 amended, 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. provisions, that specified conditions
relating to the obligor's inability to pay while incarcerated and the
underlying offense for which he or she was incarcerated do not
exist, and neither the obligor nor the obligee object to the
adjustment. The bill would require the local child support agency to
give written notice of the adjustment to the obligor and obligee. If
either the obligor or the obligee objects to the
adjustment, the bill would require the agency to file a motion with
the court to adjust the arrears and would allow the adjustment only
after approval by the court. 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
require the Department of Child Support Services, in consultation
with the Judicial Council, to develop forms to implement these
provisions, and would require them to report specified information
relating to these provisions to the Assembly Judiciary Committee and
the Senate Judiciary Committee on or before January 1, 2019.
The bill would make these provisions operative indefinitely.
only until January 1, 2020, at which time, the
existing law described above would again become operative.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . 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.
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) (1) A local child support agency
enforcing a child support order under Title
IV-D of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 651 et seq.) may,
upon written notice of the proposed adjustment
to the person supported, support obligor and
obligee along with a blank form provided for the support obligor or
obligee to object to the administrative adjustment to the local child
support agency, administratively adjust account balances for
cases managed by the agency if the all of the
following occurs:
(A) The agency verifies that
arrears and interest were accrued in violation of this
section. The section.
(B) The agency verifies that neither of the conditions set forth
in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) exist.
(C) Neither the support obligor nor obligee objects, within 30
days of receipt of the notice of proposed adjustment, whether in
writing or by telephone, to the administrative adjustment by the
local child support agency.
(2) If either the support obligor or obligee objects to the
administrative adjustment set forth in this subdivision, the agency
shall not adjust the order, but shall file a motion with the court to
seek to adjust the arrears and shall serve copies of the motion on
the parties, who may file an objection to the agency's motion with
the court. The obligor's arrears shall not be adjusted unless the
court approves the adjustment.
(3) The agency may perform this
adjustment without regard to whether a party was represented
by the local child support agency it was enforcing
the child support order at the time he or she
the parent owing support qualified for relief
under this section.
(d) Nothing in this section prohibits an attorney,
the local child support agency,
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.
(h) The Department of Child Support Services shall, by January 1,
2016, and in consultation with the Judicial Council, develop forms to
implement this section.
(i) On or before January 1, 2019, the Department of Child Support
Services and the Judicial Council shall conduct an evaluation of the
effectiveness of the administrative adjustment process authorized by
this section and shall report the results of the review, as well as
any recommended changes, to the Assembly Judiciary Committee and the
Senate Judiciary Committee. The evaluation shall include a review of
the ease of the process to both the obligor and obligee, as well as
an analysis of the number of cases administratively adjusted, the
number of cases adjusted in court, and the number of cases not
adjusted.
(j) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2020, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 3. 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 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) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2020.
SEC. 3. SEC. 4. 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.