BILL NUMBER: SB 1355	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 10, 2010
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 28, 2010
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 12, 2010
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 5, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Wright

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2010

   An act to add  and repeal  Section 4007.5  to
  of  the Family Code, relating to child support.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1355, as amended, Wright. Child support: suspension of support
order.
   Existing law provides that if a court orders a person to make
payments for child support until the occurrence of a specified event,
the obligation of the person ordered to pay support terminates on
the happening of the contingency.
   This bill would  , until July 1, 2015,  provide 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 obligor is incarcerated or
involuntarily institutionalized, with specified exceptions. The bill
would require 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. The bill would require the court to provide notice to the
parties of the support obligation suspension at the time the order
is issued  or modified  . The bill would authorize 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. These
provisions would apply to all child support orders  and
modifications  issued  and all modifications of child
support orders requested  on or after  January
  July  1, 2011.
   The bill would also require the Judicial Council to 
proscribe   develop  forms necessary for the
implementation of the above-described provisions, including forms for
a petition to adjust arrears.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  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  was
unable to earn any income   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 makes a finding of one of the
following:  
   (1) The obligor had the means to pay support while incarcerated or
involuntarily institutionalized. 
    (2)     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  and all modifications of child
support orders requested  on or after  January
  July  1, 2011.
   (h) The Judicial Council shall  proscribe  
develop  forms necessary for the implementation of this section,
including forms for a petition to adjust arrears. 
   (i) This section shall remain in effect only until July 1, 2015,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before July 1, 2015, deletes or extends that date.