5344.E

AN ACT Relating to enhancing the child support enforcement program; amending RCW 26.09.170 and 67.70.255; adding a new section to chapter 26.26 RCW; creating new sections; providing a contingent expiration date; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 26.09.170 and 1992 c 229 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (7) of RCW 26.09.070, the provisions of any decree respecting maintenance or support may be modified: (a) Only as to installments accruing subsequent to the petition for modification or motion for adjustment except motions to compel court-ordered adjustments, which shall be effective as of the first date specified in the decree for implementing the adjustment; and, (b) except as otherwise provided in subsections (4), (5), (8), and (9) of this section, only upon a showing of a substantial change of circumstances. The provisions as to property disposition may not be revoked or modified, unless the court finds the existence of conditions that justify the reopening of a judgment under the laws of this state.

(2) Unless otherwise agreed in writing or expressly provided in the decree the obligation to pay future maintenance is terminated upon the death of either party or the remarriage of the party receiving maintenance.

(3) Unless otherwise agreed in writing or expressly provided in the decree, provisions for the support of a child are terminated by emancipation of the child or by the death of the parent obligated to support the child.

(4) An order of child support may be modified one year or more after it has been entered without showing a substantial change of circumstances:

(a) If the order in practice works a severe economic hardship on either party or the child;

(b) If a party requests an adjustment in an order for child support which was based on guidelines which determined the amount of support according to the child's age, and the child is no longer in the age category on which the current support amount was based;

(c) If a child is still in high school, upon a finding that there is a need to extend support beyond the eighteenth birthday to complete high school; or

(d) To add an automatic adjustment of support provision consistent with RCW 26.09.100.

(5) An order or decree entered prior to June 7, 1984, may be modified without showing a substantial change of circumstances if the requested modification is to:

(a) Require health insurance coverage for a child named therein; or

(b) Modify an existing order for health insurance coverage.

(6) An obligor's voluntary unemployment or voluntary underemployment, by itself, is not a substantial change of circumstances.

(7) The department of social and health services may file an action to modify an order of child support if public assistance money is being paid to or for the benefit of the child and the child support order is ((~~twenty-five~~)) twenty percent or more below the appropriate child support amount set forth in the standard calculation as defined in RCW 26.19.011 and reasons for the deviation are not set forth in the findings of fact or order. The determination of ((~~twenty-five~~)) twenty percent or more shall be based on the current income of the parties and the department shall not be required to show a substantial change of circumstances if the reasons for the deviations were not set forth in the findings of fact or order.

(8)(a) All child support decrees may be adjusted once every twenty-four months based upon changes in the income of the parents without a showing of substantially changed circumstances. Either party may initiate the adjustment by filing a motion and child support worksheets.

(b) A party may petition for modification in cases of substantially changed circumstances under subsection (1) of this section at any time. However, if relief is granted under subsection (1) of this section, twenty-four months must pass before a motion for an adjustment under (a) of this subsection may be filed.

(c) If, pursuant to (a) of this subsection or subsection (9) of this section, the court adjusts or modifies a child support obligation by more than thirty percent and the change would cause significant hardship, the court may implement the change in two equal increments, one at the time of the entry of the order and the second six months from the entry of the order. Twenty-four months must pass following the second change before a motion for an adjustment under (a) of this subsection may be filed.

(d) A parent who is receiving transfer payments who receives a wage or salary increase may not bring a modification action pursuant to subsection (1) of this section alleging that increase constitutes a substantial change of circumstances.

(9) An order of child support may be adjusted twenty-four months from the date of the entry of the decree or the last adjustment or modification, whichever is later, based upon changes in the economic table or standards in chapter 26.19 RCW.

(10) If a child support order varies twenty percent or more from the basic child support obligation as defined in RCW 26.19.011, the variance shall constitute a rebuttable presumption that a substantial change in the circumstances of the parties has occurred. This shall not apply to orders that vary from the child support schedule as a result of deviations from the schedule approved by the court or an administrative hearings officer.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) The office of support enforcement shall establish a pilot project to enter into contracts with collection agencies for collection of accounts that the office of support enforcement is unsuccessful in collecting after twelve months. The listing collection agency shall not assess the department any fee. All fees collected shall be in addition to the amount of the debt owed by the delinquent party and shall be assessed to the delinquent party not to exceed twenty percent of the amount owed. All child support collected by the collection agency shall be paid to the state.

(2) The department shall monitor each case that it refers to a collection agency.

(3) The department shall evaluate the effectiveness of entering into contracts for services under this section.

(4) The pilot project shall begin July 1, 1995, and end July 1, 1997.

(5) The department shall report to the legislature on the results of its analysis under subsections (2) and (3) of this section by December 1, 1998.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 26.26 RCW to read as follows:

Upon the birth of a child to a woman unmarried at the time of birth or conception, the administrator or person in charge of a hospital or similar institution in which births occur, or the administrator's or person's agent, shall:

(1) Provide an opportunity for the child's mother and putative father to complete an acknowledgment of parentage under this chapter; and

(2) Make available to the mother and putative father written information, that the department of social and health services shall furnish, regarding paternity establishment.

Sec. 4. RCW 67.70.255 and 1986 c 83 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Any state agency or political subdivision that maintains records of debts owed to the state or political subdivision, or that the state is authorized to enforce or collect, including past-due child support, may submit data processing tapes containing debt information to the lottery in a format specified by the lottery. State agencies or political subdivisions submitting debt information tapes shall provide updates on a regular basis at intervals not to exceed one month and shall be solely responsible for the accuracy of the information contained therein.

(2) The lottery shall include the debt information submitted by state agencies or political subdivisions in its validation and prize payment process. The lottery shall delay payment of a prize exceeding six hundred dollars for a period not to exceed two working days, to any person owing a debt to a state agency or political subdivision pursuant to the information submitted in subsection (1) of this section. The lottery shall contact the state agency or political subdivision that provided the information to verify the debt. The prize shall be paid to the claimant if the debt is not verified by the submitting state agency or political subdivision within two working days. If the debt is verified, the prize shall be disbursed pursuant to subsection (3) of this section.

(3) Prior to disbursement, any lottery prize exceeding six hundred dollars shall be set off against any debts owed by the prize winner to a state agency or political subdivision, or that the state is authorized to enforce or collect.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The governor and the department of social and health services shall seek all necessary exemptions and waivers from and amendments to federal statutes, rules, and regulations and shall report to the appropriate committees in the house of representatives and senate quarterly on the efforts to secure the federal changes to permit full implementation of section 3 of this act at the earliest possible date.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. In the event that the department of social and health services is not able to obtain the necessary exemptions, waivers, or amendments referred to in section 5 of this act before January 1, 1998, this act shall expire on that date and shall have no further force or effect.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.