BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1355
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1355 (Wright)
As Amended June 10, 2010
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :35-0
JUDICIARY 9-1 APPROPRIATIONS 13-1
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|Ayes:|Feuer, Tran, Brownley, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Bradford, |
| |Evans, Hagman, Jones, | |Charles Calderon, Coto, |
| |Monning, Nava, Huffman | |Davis, De Leon, Gatto, |
| | | |Hall, Miller, Skinner, |
| | | |Solorio, Torlakson, |
| | | |Torrico |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Knight |Nays:|Harkey |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Suspends, until July 1, 2015, the obligation to pay
child support under an order enforced by the state child support
program while the obligor is incarcerated or involuntarily
institutionalized, except as specified. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Provides, effective July 1, 2011, that the obligation to pay
child support pursuant to an order that is being enforced
under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act 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
support while incarcerated or institutionalized.
2)Provides that the suspension only applies during the period of
incarceration or institutionalization and automatically
resumes to the original amount in the order upon release.
3)Allows the obligor, upon release from incarceration or
institutionalization, to petition the court to adjust arrears
pursuant to the suspension in 1) above. Requires the obligor
to show proof of dates of incarceration or involuntary
institutionalization, as well as proof that the obligor did
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not have the means to pay support. Requires the obligor to
serve copies of the petition on the support obligee and the
local child support agency, who may file objections to the
petition. Provides that arrears may not be adjusted until the
court has approved the petition.
4)Provides that, notwithstanding 1) above, the court may
continue the support obligation 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.
5)Defines "incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized" as
including, but not limited to, involuntary confinement to a
state prison, county jail, or juvenile facility operated by
the Division of Juvenile Facilities in the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation, or a mental health facility.
6)Defines "suspend" as modifying the child support order to zero
for the period in which the obligor is incarcerated or
involuntarily institutionalized.
7)Applies to all child support orders issued or modified after
July 1, 2011.
8)Requires the Judicial Council to develop the form necessary to
implement these provisions, including a form to petition to
adjust arrears.
9)Sunsets these provisions effective July 1, 2015.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that a support order may be modified or terminated at
any time as the court determines necessary. Provides that
such support modification or termination may only be made
pursuant to the filing of a motion or an order to show cause.
2)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
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of motion or order to show cause to modify or terminate the
order.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
analysis:
1)To the extent that suspending child support orders encourages
incarcerated noncustodial parents to resume paying child
support upon their release, it could result in an increase in
the amount of child support that is successfully collected.
2)The accumulation of past due child support, along with the
reduction in current support payments reduces the state's
performance on federal child support measures. This, in turn,
reduces the incentive funding California receives from the
federal government for its child support program. Therefore,
suspending child support orders and reducing the amount of
past due child support could increase the amount of federal
funding for the Department of Child Support Services (DCSS).
COMMENTS : There are approximately 2.3 million prisoners in the
United States. A majority of these inmates have children under
18 years of age. Between 1991 and 1997, the number of
incarcerated parent in state and federal prisons increased by
79%. For incarcerated parents who are subject to child support
orders, arrears and interest will accrue during their period of
incarceration unless the parent petitions the court for a
modification of the support order. However, this is often not a
realistic alternative for incarcerated parents who are unlikely
to know about the modification process. Currently, there is no
uniform statewide approach being utilized to assist this
population of obligors, although DCSS has recently established a
workgroup to work towards this end. Lack of resources at the
local level has compounded this problem, as local child support
agencies do not have the means to implement outreach programs to
parents incarcerated within their jurisdiction.
In the meantime, the arrears balances for the state's
incarcerated parents continue to grow, but will remain largely
uncollectible. According to research, discussed below, this
uncollectible support negatively impacts not only the obligor,
but also federal funding of the child support program, future
child support payments, as well as the obligor's contact with
the child, and even rates of recidivism for the obligor. In
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order to address these issues, this bill seeks to automatically
suspend child support obligations when a child support obligor
is incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized for more than
90 days, unless the obligor otherwise has the means to pay the
support.
In 1999, as part of legislation creating DCSS, DCSS was mandated
to analyze the current amount of child support arrears statewide
and determine the amount that is realistically collectible. The
study found that, although very few obligors were in state
prison at any point in time, their child support situations
were, on average, dismal. The median amount of child support
orders for incarcerated obligors was $291 per month, which was
only slightly lower than the median amount among all obligors.
Their median arrears were $14,564. As a result, the study
recommended suspending child support orders by operation of law
while noncustodial parents are incarcerated if they have no
income or assets.
Research strongly suggests that the build-up of uncollectible
debt has implications not just for the obligor, but also for the
family:
Most people agree that parents should support their
children to the best of their ability. However,
children receive the most benefit from reliable
long- term support from their parents, even if those
payments are modest. The key to regular child
support payments is steady employment. The reality
is that most parents coming home from prison have
trouble supporting themselves, let alone their
children. Those who cannot maintain steady
employment and keep up with their child support
obligations fall deeply into debt, and their
children lose out. . . .
When researchers from the Urban Institute asked
recently released men what kept them from returning
to prison, the largest percentage singled out
support from their families and seeing their
children as the most important factors: ties with
family and children mattered even more than housing
or employment. Strong family relationships are
positively correlated with maintaining employment,
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staying away from drugs, and rebuilding a social
network after incarceration-practices that also make
society safer and save taxpayers money. Yet, when
parents walk away from jobs, they often pull away
from their children. Parents who see no end in
sight to their child support debts are less likely
to remain in low-wage jobs, to comply with child
support obligations in the future, or to reunite
with their children and reintegrate into society.
(Kristen D. Levingston and Vicki Turetsky, Debtor's Prison -
Prisoners' Accumulation of Debt as a Barrier to Reentry (41
Clearinghouse Review (July-August 2007) (footnotes omitted).)
Moreover, the accumulation of uncollectible debt, along with the
reduction in current support payments will reduce the state's
performance on federal child support measures. This, in turn,
will directly reduce the incentive funding California receives
from the federal government for its child support program.
Analysis Prepared by : Leora Gershenzon / JUD. / (916)
319-2334FN: 0005106