AB 610, as amended, Jones-Sawyer. Child support: suspension of support order.
Prior law required, until July 1, 2015, 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 to be 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. Prior law required 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. Prior law required the court to provide notice to the parties of the support obligation suspension at the time the order was issued or modified. Prior law authorized 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 enact similar provisions to require the suspension of a child support order to occur by operation of law when an obligor is incarcerated orbegin delete voluntarilyend deletebegin insert involuntarilyend insert institutionalized, unless the obligor has the means to pay support, or the obligor was incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized for either an offense constituting domestic violence or the failure to pay child support. The bill, would also authorize the local child support agency to administratively adjust account balances forbegin delete cases managed by the agencyend deletebegin insert a money
judgment or order for support of a child that is suspended by operation of lawend insert if the agency verifies that arrears and interest were accrued in violation of these 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 notice, as prescribed, 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 only until January 1, 2020.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Vote: 2⁄3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 4007.5 of the Family Code is repealed.
Section 4007.5 is added to the Family Code, to read:
(a) Every money judgment or order for support of a
2child shall be suspended, by operation of law, for any period
3exceeding 90 consecutive days in which the person ordered to pay
4support is incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized, unless
5either of the following conditions exist:
6(1) The person owing support has the means to pay support
7while incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized.
8(2) The person owing support was incarcerated or involuntarily
9institutionalized for an offense constituting domestic violence, as
10defined in Section 6211, against the supported party or supported
11child, or for an
offense that could be enjoined by a protective order
12pursuant to Section 6320, or as a result of his or her failure to
13comply with a court order to pay child support.
14(b) The child support obligation shall resume on the first day
15of the first full month after the release of the person owing support
16in the amount previously ordered, and that amount is presumed to
17be appropriate under federal and state law. This section does not
18preclude a person owing support from seeking a modification of
19the child support order pursuant to Section 3651, based on a change
20in circumstances or other appropriate reason.
21(c) (1) A local child support agency enforcing a child support
22order under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec.
23651 et seq.) may, upon written notice
of the proposed adjustment
24to the support obligor and obligee along with a blank form provided
25for the support obligor or obligee to object to the administrative
26adjustment to the local child support agency, administratively
27adjust account balances forbegin delete cases managed by the agencyend deletebegin insert a money
28judgment or order for support of a child suspended pursuant to
29subdivision (a)end insert if all of the following occurs:
30(A) The agency verifies that arrears and interest were accrued
31in violation of this section.
32(B) The agency verifies that neither of the conditions set forth
33in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) exist.
34(C) Neither the support obligor nor obligee objects, within 30
35days of receipt of the notice of proposed adjustment, whether in
36writing or by telephone, to the administrative adjustment by the
37local child support agency.
38(2) If either the support obligor or obligee objects to the
39administrative adjustment set forth in this subdivision, the agency
40shall not adjust the order, but shall file a motion with the court to
P4 1seek to adjust the arrears and shall serve copies of the motion on
2the parties, who may file an objection to the agency’s motion with
3the court. The obligor’s arrears shall not be adjusted unless the
4court approves the adjustment.
5(3) The agency may perform this adjustment without regard to
6whether it was
enforcing the child support order at the time the
7parent owing support qualified for relief under this section.
8(d) This section does not prohibit the local child support agency
9or a party from petitioning a court for a determination of child
10support or arrears amounts.
11(e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall
12apply:
13(1) “Incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized” includes,
14but is not limited to, involuntary confinement to the state prison,
15a county jail, a juvenile facility operated by the Division of Juvenile
16Facilities in the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, or
17a mental health facility.
18(2) “Suspend” means that the payment due on the current child
19support order and any arrears payment, or interest resulting from
20these amounts, is, by operation of law, set to zero
dollars ($0) for
21the period in which the person owing support is incarcerated or
22involuntarily institutionalized.
23(2) “Suspend” means that the payment due on the current child
24support order, an arrears payment on a preexisting arrears
25balance, or interest on arrears created during a qualifying period
26of incarceration pursuant to this section is, by operation of law,
27set to zero dollars ($0) for the period in which the person owing
28support is incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized.
29(f) This section appliesbegin delete as follows:end deletebegin insert to every money judgment or
30
child support order issued or modified on or after the enactment
31of this section.end insert
32(1) To every money judgment of child support order issued or
33modified on or after the enactment of this section.
34(2) If a local child support agency is enforcing a child support
35order under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec.
36651 et seq.), this section shall apply to an order or modification
37issued on or after July 1, 2011.
38(g) The Department of Child Support Services shall, by January
391,
2016, and in consultation with the Judicial Council, develop
40forms to implement this section.
P5 1(h) On or before January 1, 2019, the Department of Child
2Support Services and the Judicial Council shall conduct an
3evaluation of the effectiveness of the administrative adjustment
4process authorized by this section and shall report the results of
5the review, as well as any recommended changes, to the Assembly
6Judiciary Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee. The
7evaluation shall include a review of the ease of the process to both
8the obligor and obligee, as well as an analysis of the number of
9cases administratively adjusted, the number of cases adjusted in
10court, and the number of cases not adjusted.
11(i) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2020,
12and
as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
13is enacted before January 1, 2020, deletes or extends that date.
This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
15immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
16the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
17immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
18In order to limit the duration of the interruption in the protections
19provided bybegin insert formerend insert Section 4007.5 of the Family Code, it is
20necessary that this bill take effect immediately.
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