H-3632              _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 1464

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1988 Regular Session

By Representatives Armstrong, Belcher, Brough, Crane, Hargrove, Locke, Zellinsky, Wang, Holland, Schmidt, Doty, B. Williams and Todd

Read first time 1/15/88 and referred to Committee on Judiciary.

AN ACT Relating to contempt actions for failure to comply with a child support order; and amending RCW 26.18.050.

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

        Sec. 1.  Section 5, chapter 260, Laws of 1984 and RCW 26.18.050 are each amended to read as follows:

          (1) A petition or motion may be filed without notice under RCW 26.18.040 to initiate a contempt action to coerce or punish the obligor if an obligor fails to comply with a child support order.  If the court finds there is reasonable cause to believe the obligor has ((failed to comply)) not complied with a support order, the court may issue an order to show cause requiring the obligor to appear at a certain time and place for a hearing, at which time the obligor may appear to show cause why the relief requested should not be granted.  A copy of the petition or motion shall be served on the obligor along with the order to show cause.

          (2) Service of the order to show cause shall be by personal service, or in the manner provided in the civil rules of superior court or applicable statute.

          (3) If the order to show cause served upon the obligor included a warning that an arrest warrant could be issued for failure to appear, the court may issue a bench warrant for the arrest of the obligor if the obligor fails to appear on the return date provided in the order.

          (4) If the court finds, after hearing, that the obligor ((failed to comply)) has not complied with the child support order previously entered and that the obligor ((has not established that he or she)) was ((unable)) able to comply with the order, the court shall find the obligor in contempt of court.  Contempt under this ((section)) subsection is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for a term of up to one hundred eighty days.  ((The court may suspend all or a part of the sentence upon terms that are reasonably likely to result in compliance with the support order.

          (5) If the obligor contends at the hearing that he or she lacked the means to comply with the support order, the obligor shall establish)) (5) If, based on all the facts and circumstances, the court finds after hearing that the obligor has not complied with the support order previously entered, that the obligor is presently able to comply with the order, and that the obligor is presently unwilling to comply with the order, the court shall find the obligor in contempt of court.  The court may order the obligor to be imprisoned in the county jail for contempt under this subsection until the obligor agrees to comply with the order, but for not more than one hundred eighty days.

(6) The obligor shall be deemed to have the present ability to comply with the support order unless he or she  establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she exercised due diligence in seeking employment, in conserving assets, or otherwise in rendering himself or herself able to comply with the court's order.

(7) This section authorizes the exercise of the court's punitive and coercive contempt power and is in addition to any other contempt power the court may possess.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.