BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 610|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 610
Author: Jones-Sawyer (D), et al.
Amended: 8/31/15 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 7/14/15
AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Anderson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning,
Wieckowski
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/27/15
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 69-4, 5/7/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Child support: suspension of support order
SOURCE: Placer County
San Francisco County
San Joaquin County
Stanislaus County
DIGEST: This bill, an urgency measure, until January 1, 2020,
specifies that the suspension of a child support order occurs by
operation of law for any period exceeding 90 consecutive days in
which an obligor is incarcerated or involuntarily
institutionalized, subject to specified exceptions. This bill
requires the Department of Child Support Services and the
Judicial Council to evaluate the effectiveness of the
administrative adjustment process and report to the Legislature
by January 1, 2019.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
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1)Establishes the Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) as
the single statewide agency responsible for the administration
and management of California's child support enforcement
program and administers the state plan for securing child
support and determining paternity. (Fam. Code Sec. 17202.)
2)Requires, at the local level, the child support enforcement
program to be run by local child support agencies (LCSA),
which shall have the responsibility for promptly and
effectively establishing, modifying, and enforcing child
support obligations. (Fam. Code Sec. 17400.)
3)Provides that a support order may be modified or terminated at
any time as the court determines to be necessary, pursuant to
the filing of a motion or an order to show cause. (Fam. Code
Sec. 3651.)
4)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. (42 U.S.C. Sec. 666(a)(9); Fam. Code Sec. 3653.)
5)Provides that the provision below does not apply 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. (Fam. Code Sec. 4007.5.)
6)Provides that the obligation to pay child support, as
specified, 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, upon release from incarceration or
institutionalization, may petition the court to adjust the
arrears as follows:
The obligor must show proof of dates of incarceration or
involuntary institutionalization, as well as proof that the
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Page 3
obligor did not have the means to pay support;
The obligor must serve copies of the petition on the
support obligee and the LCSA, who may file objections to
the petition;
Provides that arrears may not be adjusted until the
court has approved the petition; and
Sunsets these provisions effective July 1, 2015. (Fam.
Code Sec. 4007.5.)
This bill:
1)Removes the sunset in the above provision and instead makes it
operative on January 1, 2020.
2)Provides, until January 1, 2020, that the obligation to pay
child support is suspended by operation of law for the period
of time that an obligor is incarcerated or involuntarily
institutionalized, as specified, unless:
The obligor has the means to pay support while
incarcerated or institutionalized;
The obligor was incarcerated for any domestic violence
offence; or
The obligor was incarcerated for failure to pay child
support.
1)Provides that the suspension only applies during the period of
incarceration or institutionalization and automatically
resumes to the amount of the pre-suspension order on the first
day of the first full month after release.
2)Allows a local child support agency to administratively adjust
a child support order if the LCSA notifies the obligee and
provides him or her with a form to object to any adjustment,
if one of the following apply:
The arears and interest accrued were in violation of the
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provisions of this bill;
The agency verifies that the obligor a) did or did not
have the ability to pay support, or b) was, or was not,
incarcerated for domestic violence, as specified, or
failure to pay child support; and
Neither the obligee or obligor object, as specified.
1)Provides that if either party objects to an adjustment of
child support arears by the LCSA, the LCSA must instead file a
motion to adjust arears with the court and serve copies of the
motion on the parties.
2)Requires DCSS in consultation with Judicial Council, to
develop forms to implement the administrative adjustment
process.
3)Requires DCSS and the Judicial Council to conduct an
evaluation of the effectiveness of the administrative
adjustment process, as specified, and report the results and
any recommended changes to the Assembly Judiciary Committee
and the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Background
Prior law required, until July 1, 2015, that the obligation to
pay child support pursuant to an order being enforced by a LCSA
was to be suspended for the period of time exceeding 90
consecutive days in which an obligor is incarcerated or
involuntarily institutionalized, unless the obligor has the
means to pay, the obligor was incarcerated for an offense
constituting domestic violence, or the obligor was incarcerated
for failure to pay child support. Prior law provided that upon
release from incarceration or involuntary institutionalization,
an obligor could petition the court for an adjustment of the
arrears pursuant to the suspension of the support obligation
authorized, subject to 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. An obligor's arrears were not to be adjusted until the
court approved the petition.
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This bill seeks to provide for the suspension of child support
by operation of law during a period of incarceration or
involuntary institutionalization, and authorizes an LCSA to
administratively adjust the order, as specified. This bill also
expands the population of applicable obligors beyond those
individuals whose support orders are being enforced by LSCAs to
all child support obligors.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Forms and legislative report: Minor and absorbable one-time
costs to the Judicial Council and the DCSS to develop the
required forms, evaluate the process and report to the
Legislature, as specified, on or before January 1, 2019.
LCSA administration: Potential minor to moderate increase in
LCSA administrative costs (Federal Funds/General Fund) to
comply with this bill's provisions.
CalWORKs impact: Minor, if any, loss of child support payment
revenue to offset CalWORKs program costs, as only those
obligors who do not have the means to pay support will have
their child support orders automatically suspended.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/28/15)
Placer County (co-source)
San Francisco County (co-source)
San Joaquin County (co-source)
Stanislaus County (co-source)
Butte County Board of Supervisors
California Judges Association
California State Association of Counties
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/28/15)
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Department of Finance
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The author writes:
When noncustodial parents are incarcerated, unless they seek a
modification of their child support order, their support
obligation continues unabated, and interest accrues on the
unpaid debt. According to a study of California's child
support caseload by the Urban Institute, only about half of
incarcerated child support obligors had reported incomes in
the two years prior to their incarceration. Of those, their
median annual net income was just under $3,000, and their
median arrears were $14,564. Researchers have discovered that
the build-up of uncollectible child support while an obligor
is incarcerated has implications not just for the obligor, but
also for the state and the family. A just-released obligor,
with a large support debt and few employment prospects, is far
more likely to avoid the formal economy and, therefore, pay no
child support and have little or no contact with his or her
children. In addition, the failure to collect ongoing child
support will result in the state receiving less incentive
funding from the federal government. Finally, recidivism rates
appear to increase for obligors with large child support
debts.
In an effort to address these negative impacts, the
Legislature approved SB 1355 (Wright), Ch. 495, Stats. 2010,
which sunsets on July 1, 2015. Assembly Bill 610 will extend
this law as well as correct ineffective interpretation and
implementation of the bill by the Department of Child Support
Services.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: The Department of Finance writes:
This bill is unnecessary, as DCSS is already taking
administrative steps to proactively address the accrual of
unpaid child support for incarcerated obligors. The
Department is currently working closely with the Judicial
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Council to develop standard language for all child support
orders that will specify an order is automatically adjusted
should the obligor be incarcerated or involuntarily
institutionalized. Additionally, local child support agencies
already possess the authority to seek modification of existing
child support orders due to incarceration, and current federal
and state law allow for adjustment of arrears under certain
circumstances.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 69-4, 5/7/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta,
Brown, Burke, Calderon, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Holden, Irwin, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Lopez, Low, Maienschein,
Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte,
O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone,
Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Wood, Atkins
NOES: Travis Allen, Brough, Gallagher, Gonzalez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Campos, Chávez, Roger Hernández, Linder,
Melendez, Steinorth, Williams
Prepared by:Nichole Rapier / JUD. / (916) 651-4113
8/31/15 11:43:39
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