BILL NUMBER: SB 1355	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 25, 2010
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 23, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 12, 2010
	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 of the Family Code,
relating to child support.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1355, 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 on or after July 1, 2011.
   The bill would also require the Judicial Council, by July 1, 2011,
to develop forms necessary for the implementation of the
above-described provisions, including forms for a petition to adjust
arrears.


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 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 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 on or after July 1, 2011.
   (h) The Judicial Council shall, on or before July 1, 2011, 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.