HOUSE BILL REPORT

ESHB 1465

BYHouse Committee on Judiciary (originally sponsored by Representatives Armstrong, Brough, Belcher, Appelwick, Locke, Schmidt and Todd)

Providing for a state-wide child support schedule.

House Committe on Judiciary

Majority Report:  The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.  (15)

      Signed by Representatives Armstrong, Chair; Crane, Vice Chair; Appelwick, Belcher, Brough, Hargrove, P. King, Lewis, Meyers, Moyer, Patrick, Schmidt, Scott, Wang and Wineberry.

Minority Report:  Do not pass.  (1)

      Signed by Representative Padden.

House Staff:Harry Reinert (786-7110)

AS PASSED HOUSE FEBRUARY 5, 1988

BACKGROUND:

The Legislature in 1987 established the Washington State Child Support Schedule Commission.  The Commission is composed of nine members, including two non-custodial parents.  The Commission was directed to propose a child support schedule after considering several factors. These factors included: updated economic data, adjustments for the costs of rearing children of different ages, and the need to provide funding for the costs of the child's primary residence.

The Commission has made its report and recommended that the Legislature adopt a child support schedule.  The Commission is scheduled to go out of existence on June 30, 1988.

There is currently no statutory procedure for a parent who believes that child support is being misspent to seek an accounting of how support is spent.

SUMMARY:

The Legislature expresses its intent that a child support order must be adequate to meet a child's basic needs and that child support should be based on the parents' income, assets and standard of living.  The child support obligation should be shared equitably between the parents.

The number of Commission members is increased to ten, with three being non-custodial parents.

The child support schedule adopted by the Washington Child Support Schedule Commission and dated January 26, 1988 is adopted and shall take effect July 1, 1988.  The schedule must be used by all courts and administrative agencies in determining child support.  An order of child support must be supported by written findings of fact.  All income of the parents must be disclosed and considered by the court in determining the amount of support. Worksheets developed by the Commission must be filed in each case. The amount of support determined using the standard calculation in the worksheet must be followed unless the court states specific reasons for deviating from this amount in written findings of fact which are supported by the evidence.

The Commission is given continuing responsibility to review the child support schedule in even numbered years and report to the legislature on recommended changes in the schedule.  If the Legislature recommends no changes in the Commission's recommendations, the changes go into effect in July of each odd numbered year.

The Commission also has authority to develop and adopt worksheets and instructions to be used in child support determinations.

The Commission is directed to study methods that may be used to verify the expenditure of child support payments.  The report must be made to the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Law and Justice Committee not later than January 10, 1989.  This provision takes effect immediately.

A procedure for verification of child support expenditures is established.  A parent may file a motion and affidavit requesting a hearing on how child support payments are spent.  If the affidavit and motion establish reasonable cause to believe that a substantial portion of the support payments are not spent on the child for whom they are intended, the court may order the receiving parent to appear at a hearing with documentation on how the payments are spent.  If the court determines that a substantial portion of the payments are not spent on the child, it may enter an order directing the receiving parent to modify the situation.  Unless the court enters an order, only one motion may be filed in a six month period.  If the parent filing the motion fails to obtain an order, the court may award costs and reasonable attorney's fees to the other parent.  This provision takes effect July 1, 1989.

EFFECT OF SENATE AMENDMENT(S):  The engrossed substitute establishes a child support schedule that applies in all counties.  The Senate amendments permit superior courts to make variations in the economic table for net income of $2,500 or more per month.  The variations may not be greater than 25 percent.  The engrossed substitute established a procedure for an accounting of how child support is spent.  The procedure would go into effect July 1, 1989.  The Senate amendments delete this procedure.  The Senate amendments provide a July 1, 1990 expiration date for the child support schedule commission.  The Senate amendments authorize the Department of Social and Health Services to file an action to modify a child support award if public assistance is being paid and the support order is at least 25 percent below the child support schedule.  The Senate amendments eliminate a provision in current law permitting a modification of child support without showing a substantial change of circumstances if the order works a severe hardship, if the request is to extend support through high school, if the request is to change support based on the child's age category, or to add an automatic adjustment of support provision.  The Senate amendments require the Office of Support Enforcement Child Support Registry to distribute support payments within eight days of receipt and to pay to the parent entitled to support the amount of support due to that parent before distributing to the Department of Social and Health Services any amounts due the department because public assistance payments have been made.  A current provision limiting the department's duty to assist in collecting child support for former public assistance recipients is revised to require assistance whenever requested.  The effective date of the provision adding a member to the Child Support Schedule Commission is changed and the section will take effect immediately.

Fiscal Note:      Requested January 18, 1988.

Effective Date:Except for provisions relating to the verification process, the bill takes effect on July 1, 1988.  The provision providing for a study of verification measures is declared an emergency and takes effect immediately.  The provision creating a verification process takes effect July 1, 1989.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Steve Gaddis, Peter Nickerson, Washington Child Support Schedule Commission; Robert Hoyden, Washington Child Support Schedule Commission, United Fathers of American, HADD, DADS (in part); Lucille Christenson, DSHS, Governor's Executive Task Force on Child Support; Lonnie Johns-Brown, NOW; Natalie Dethloff and Levi Fisher, United States Office of Child Support Enforcement; Barbara Wechsler, N.W. Women's Law Center.

House Committee - Testified Against:      None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:    The proposed child support schedule takes into account as many variations on family situations as is possible.  It will help insure that children after divorce will have a standard of living that is close to the standard before the breakup.  The bill also provides for consistent treatment throughout the state.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      None Presented.

VOTE ON FINAL PASSAGE:

      Yeas 81; Nays 13; Excused 4

Voting Nay: Representatives Baugher, Day, Dellwo, Doty, Fuhrman, Heavey, Lewis, Nealey, Nutley, Padden, Rayburn, Smith C, Williams J

Excused:    Representatives Allen, Amondson, Bumgarner, Chandler