HOUSE BILL REPORT
HB 2039
As Passed Legislature
Title: An act relating to child support pass through.
Brief Description: Concerning child support pass through.
Sponsors: Representatives Macri, Gregerson and Ormsby.
Brief History:
Committee Activity:
Appropriations: 4/4/25, 4/8/25 [DP].
Floor Activity:
Passed House: 4/17/25, 56-40.
Passed Senate: 4/26/25, 25-22.
Passed Legislature.
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Postpones to July 1, 2029, the requirement that the Department of Social and Health Services pass through to a family receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) all current child support collected each month, and disregard current child support when determining TANF eligibility and benefit amount.
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Majority Report: Do pass.Signed by 19 members:Representatives Ormsby, Chair; Gregerson, Vice Chair; Macri, Vice Chair; Berg, Bergquist, Callan, Cortes, Doglio, Fitzgibbon, Leavitt, Lekanoff, Peterson, Pollet, Ryu, Springer, Stonier, Street, Thai and Tharinger.
Minority Report: Do not pass.Signed by 12 members:Representatives Couture, Ranking Minority Member; Connors, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Penner, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Schmick, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Burnett, Caldier, Corry, Dye, Keaton, Manjarrez, Marshall and Rude.
Staff: Matt Mazur-Hart (786-7139).
Background:

Federal law requires each state to have a child support enforcement program that complies with federal requirements as a condition of receiving federal funds for child support enforcement and  Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).  As a condition of receiving TANF benefits, a family must assign its rights to child support to the state during the months the family receives the benefits.  Assigned child support collections are retained by the state and the federal government as partial reimbursement for TANF assistance.

 

State law currently requires the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) to pass through up to $50 each month for families on TANF with one child and up to $100 each month for families on TANF with more than one child.  Any amount collected above those thresholds is retained by the state, and a portion of that is remitted to the federal government for its share.

 

New state legislation enacted in 2024, Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1652, which takes effect January 1, 2026, requires the DSHS to pass through all current child support it receives for a family receiving TANF.  Under the new law, the state will no longer retain any current child support for TANF families.  The legislation also requires the DSHS to disregard and not count as income any current child support when determining TANF eligibility and benefit amount.
Summary of Bill:

The effective date for the requirement to pass through to a TANF family all current child support collected each month and disregard current child support for TANF eligibility is postponed by three and a half years to July 1, 2029.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Available.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.
Staff Summary of Public Testimony:

(In support) None.

 

(Opposed) Every single dollar counts when you are trying to raise children on a very limited income.  Child support is a vital source of income for families living in deep poverty.  The cost of raising children is rapidly rising and the supports for low-income families are not keeping up.  In addition to basic needs, kids also need to be enrolled in activities to develop socially and promote positive behaviors.  However, it is very hard to enroll kids in activities that have a fee on such a limited income.  This extra child support money would go a long way towards helping families in deep poverty successfully raise their kids.

 

This support is meant for the kids, not the state, and it is especially not meant to address the state's budget deficit.  We should not balance the budget on the backs of our poorest families.  Instead, we should pass progressive revenue bills that provide the state adequate funding so it can better support these families.  The funding needed to balance the state's budget should come from the families who can most easily afford it.
Persons Testifying:

Amy Lynn Roark; Diana Azevedo-McCaffrey, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; Jim Clark, National Parents Organization and 2023 Child Support Schedule Workgroup member; Jessica Silver; Lianna Kressin, Statewide Poverty Action Network; Irene Muller, Essentials First; Alina Swart; and Diane Evans.
Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: None.