BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 646
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Date of Hearing: June 30, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
Mark Stone, Chair
SB
646 (Jackson) - As Amended June 24, 2015
PROPOSED CONSENT
SENATE VOTE: 40-0
SUBJECT: UNIFORM INTERSTATE FAMILY SUPPORT ACT
KEY ISSUE: IN ORDER TO COMPLY WITH A FEDERAL MANDATE, THE
FAILURE OF WHICH COULD LEAD TO A LOSS OF $680 million annually
in FEDERAL child support FUNDS, SHOULD CALIFORNIA ADOPT REQUIRED
CHANGES TO THE UNIFORM INTERSTATE FAMILY SUPPORT ACT?
SYNOPSIS
The Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) is a
comprehensive model act focused on intergovernmental
establishment, modification and enforcement of child support
obligations. All states were required to enact UIFSA in 1998 as
a condition of receiving federal funds for child support
enforcement. As a result, UIFSA is currently the law in all 50
states, including California. The federal Preventing Sex
Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act, codified in 2014,
now requires that all states adopt the updated UIFSA 2008,
verbatim, by the end of their 2015 legislative session as a
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condition of continued federal funding of the child support
program. (Pub. Law 113-183.) California receives approximately
$680 million annually in federal child support funds and risks
losing all of that should the updated UIFSA not be adopted by
the end of this year. As a result, this non-controversial bill,
sponsored by the Department of Child Support Services (DCSS),
repeals California's current version of UIFSA, and adopts the
2008 version. This updated version of UIFSA, among other
things, simplifies the process for enforcing orders in foreign
countries that are signatories to the 2007 Hague Convention on
the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of
Family Maintenance (Hague Convention). There is no reported
opposition to this bill.
SUMMARY: Updates the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act.
Specifically, this bill, among other things:
1)Clarifies that a state loses continuing, exclusive
jurisdiction if the parties agree, in writing, for another
state to assume jurisdiction.
2)Requires tribunals to permit a party or a witness residing in
another state to participate in a proceeding telephonically,
by audiovisual means, or any other electronic means designated
by the tribunal.
3)Requires, upon the request of the appropriate agency, the
issuing state agency to redirect payments to the agency in the
obligee's state and issue an administrative notice of change
to the obligor's employer that reflects the redirected
payments.
4)Provides the framework for the exchange of cases between
parties to the 2007 Hague Convention on the International
Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family
Maintenance. Specifically, this bill:
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a) Prescribes the role and responsibilities of central
authorities in Hague Convention countries, which in the
United States is the Secretary of the U.S. Department of
Health & Human Services; and recognizes DCSS as the agency
in California designated to perform specified child support
functions under the Hague Convention;
b) Expands the ability to challenge a Hague Convention
support order upon registration in California; and
c) Provides that a California court shall not recognize and
enforce a registered Hague Convention order if, among other
things, recognition and enforcement is manifestly
incompatible with public policy, including failure by an
issuing court to observe minimum due process standards,
which include notice and an opportunity to be heard.
Requires California to establish a new support order if the
registration of a Hague Convention support order is denied,
without further request from the other country.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Mandates, under the federal Preventing Sex Trafficking and
Strengthening Families Act, that each state adopt UIFSA 2008,
verbatim, by the end of the state's 2015 legislative session
as a condition of continued federal child support program
funding. (Pub. Law 113-183.)
2)Establishes, through UIFSA, rules regarding the establishment
and enforcement of child support orders across state lines,
and provides that the issuing state shall exercise continuing,
exclusive jurisdiction over the order as long as the obligor,
obligee, or child remains a resident of the state. (Family
Law Section 4900 et seq. Unless stated otherwise, all further
statutory references are to that code.)
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FISCAL EFFECT: As currently in print this bill is keyed fiscal.
COMMENTS: UIFSA is a comprehensive model act focused on
intergovernmental establishment, modification, and enforcement
of child support obligations. It was first developed by the
National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in
1992, amended in 1996, 2001 and again in 2008. All states were
required to enact the 1996 version of UIFSA in 1998 as a
condition of receiving federal funds for child support
enforcement. As a result, UIFSA, at least as amended in 1996,
is currently state law in all 50 states and jurisdictions.
California operates under the 1996 UIFSA, which is set out in
Sections 4900-5005.
However, as states have operated under the 1996 version of
UIFSA, it became apparent that some sections needed
clarification. UIFSA 2001 and 2008 addressed these issues by
making a number of technical and clarifying changes. In
addition, UIFSA 2008 allows states to redirect support payments
to a new state when all parties have left the state that
originally issued a support order; requires courts to permit
out-of-state parties to appear telephonically in proceedings to
establish, modify, or enforce a support order; allows states to
provide child support services to residents of other countries
pursuant to the Hague Convention.
In September of 2014, Congress passed, and the President signed
into law, the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening
Families Act. That Act requires that all states adopt the 2008
updated version of UIFSA, verbatim, by the end of their 2015
legislative session as a condition of continued child support
program funding. Accordingly, this bill would repeal
California's existing version of UIFSA, and replace it verbatim
with the 2008 version as required by federal law. In support of
the bill, the author writes:
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Currently, California is operating under UIFSA 1996. All
states and U.S. Territories must enact UIFSA 2008 by
January 1, 2016 in order to comply with the federal
mandate. If UIFSA 2008 is not enacted, this will affect
California's federal funding and will prevent the United
States from ratifying the 2007 Hague Convention.
Adds the Department of Child Support Services, the bill's
sponsor:
SB 646 will help ensure that a child gets the financial
support they need regardless of where they reside. The
bill synchronizes the provisions of UIFSA with the 2007
Hague Convention, enabling international child support
cases to move forward upon ratification. Finally, the bill
would protect California from hundreds of millions of
dollars in penalties and ensure that California law does
not pose any impediments to the ability of the United
States to ratify the treaty of the Convention.
Bill Makes Clarifying and Technical Changes to UIFSA in
California. Prior to the enactment of UIFSA, courts struggled
to enforce support orders over state lines, and it was unclear
which state had jurisdiction of a support order. Obligors could
sometimes avoid paying support simply by moving across state
lines. To combat these difficulties, UIFSA created a "one
order" system and a jurisdictional framework for parties and
states dealing with interstate support orders. The federal
government mandated that the 1996 version be adopted nationwide.
UIFSA was then updated in 2001 to provide clarification as
issues arose once states were operating under the 1996 version.
In 2002, California conditionally adopted UIFSA 2001 through
passage of AB 2934 (Wayne), Chap. 349, Stats. 2002. Operation
was conditioned on either the federal government mandating
adoption of UIFSA 2001, or California requesting a federal
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waiver to operate under that version. Neither condition has
been met and thus California continues to operate under UIFSA
1996. The 2008 updates that this bill incorporates include
those 2001 changes that the California Legislature has already
approved as well.
This bill additionally provides for the redirection of support
payments when all parties have left the state that issued the
original order. This should streamline payment processing and
ensure that child support payments are forwarded to families
more quickly. Finally, this bill clarifies that a nonresident
petitioner or respondent can fully participate in a proceeding
without being required to physically be present through the use
of telephonic, audiovisual or any other electronic means. This
will allow parties to make modifications to a support order when
they have relocated to another state without being subject to
the time and expense of travel.
Most Changes in the Updated Version of UIFSA are Part of the
Updates to the Hague Convention to Help Collect Child Support in
International Cases. The United States is a signatory and
participated in negotiating the multilateral treaty produced at
the 2007 Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child
Support and Other Forms of Maintenance. This bill provides a
framework for the exchange of cases between the United States
and other parties to the Hague Convention. The Hague Convention
entered into force in January of 2013 following ratification by
Albania and Norway, and the European Union became a party in
2014. Chapter Seven of the updated UIFSA in this bill (Sections
5700.701 to 5700.713) applies to support proceedings under the
Convention once the treaty is ratified by the United States. In
order to ratify the treaty, all states must first adopt UIFSA
2008.
Similar to how enactment of UIFSA 1996 enabled the collection of
child support across state lines, the adoption of Chapter Seven
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creates a mechanism for the collection and distribution of child
support in situations where one or both parties live outside the
United States in a Hague Convention country, and gives state
courts the authority to enforce foreign support orders for
foreign nationals living in the United States. However, the
revised UIFSA 2008 provides that California is not required to
recognize or enforce an order from another country that is
"manifestly incompatible with public policy," including an order
that fails to meet minimum due process standards, which include
notice and an opportunity to be heard. This helps ensure that
our courts will not be enforcing orders that violate this
State's public policy, while still requiring that most support
orders be enforced in California and that California support
orders be recognized and enforced by Hague Convention countries
around the world.
Prior Legislation: AB 2934 (Wayne), Chap. 349, Stats. 2002,
made substantive and procedural amendments to UIFSA, which were
to become effective only if Congress mandated that states adopt
UIFSA as revised in 2001 or California received a waiver to
operate under UIFSA 2001.
SB 568 (Sher), Chap. 194, Stats. 1997, enacted UIFSA 2006 in
California.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Department of Child Support Services (sponsor)
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Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Leora Gershenzon / JUD. / (916)
319-2334