BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 610| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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: AB 610 Page 2 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 AB 610 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 AB 610 Page 4 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. AB 610 Page 5 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) AB 610 Page 6 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 AB 610 Page 7 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 **** END ****