FINAL BILL REPORT

SHB 420

                                  C 435 L 87

BYHouse Committee on Judiciary (originally sponsored by Representatives Appelwick, Armstrong, Valle, Brekke, Holm, Sutherland, Locke and Winsley; by request of Department of Social and Health Services)

Creating the Washington state support registry.

House Committe on Judiciary

Senate Committee on Judiciary

SYNOPSIS AS ENACTED

BACKGROUND:

A parent who is entitled to receive payments for child support may seek the assistance of independent counsel or the Office of Support Enforcement to collect the support obligation.  At the time of dissolution of marriage proceedings, the court may order support payments to be made directly to the other party, to the Department of Social and Health Services, or to the clerk of the court.  The court may also order an assignment of earnings.  Any court order establishing a duty of support must include notice to the obligated parent that a mandatory wage assignment may be ordered if the support obligation becomes past due by more than one full payment.

The Governor's Executive Task Force on Support Enforcement has recommended the establishment of a centralized registry to collect and disburse all support payments and to centralize records relating to support obligations in the state.

SUMMARY:

The Washington State Support Registry is established within the Office of Support Enforcement.  The registry is responsible for collecting support payments, paying received funds to the entitled parent and maintaining records relating to support orders and debts.

The Department of Social and Health Services and the Department of Employment Security are directed to consult with business and employer groups on a single reporting system that meets the needs of both departments.  A report must be made to the legislature by November 1, 1987.

Any superior court order and any administrative determination which establishes or modifies support obligations must include a notice that if one month's support payment is more than 15 days past due, payroll deduction may be initiated without further notice to the person obligated to pay support.  The court may order child support payments to be made to the registry or, if the court approves, in the manner the parties agree.  The court or administrative agency must send to the registry a copy of the order establishing or modifying the support obligation.  The clerk of the court will be reimbursed for the costs of making the copies sent to the registry.

The Department of Social and Health Services may initiate payroll deduction of a parent obligated to pay child support if the support obligation is more than 15 days past due on one month's support amount.  The employer is liable to the registry for 100 percent of the amount of support which could have been collected if the employer fails to make required payroll deductions or fails to respond to the notice of payroll deduction.  The employer may deduct $10 from the employee's pay to cover the cost of the first payroll deduction and then $1 for each payroll deduction after the first.

A person obligated to pay support who is subject to a payroll deduction may petition the court to have the payroll deduction terminated if the person was not past due in support payments when the action to begin the deduction was initiated, or if the payroll deduction causes extreme hardship or substantial injustice.  A person who has been subject to payroll deduction for one year may also petition to have the deduction stopped if there is no past due support.

The department must establish a procedure for setting support obligations at a fixed dollar amount if the order establishing the support obligation does not do so.  The procedure must provide for notification to the party owing support.  The notice must contain an initial finding of a support amount and direct the responsible parent to appear at an administrative hearing to determine whether this amount should be set as the support obligation.

Records maintained by the support registry are confidential and may be released only when authorized by law or when necessary for child support enforcement purposes.  The address of a party to a custody action may be released to the other party after the notice of the request for the information has been given.  If the party whose address has been requested shows that a court has limited the right of a party to contact the other party or has prohibited the disclosure, the department cannot release the information.  Disclosure of information in violation of the act is a gross misdemeanor.

If a party to a custody proceeding initiates a mandatory wage assignment, the employer must pay the funds withheld to the support registry.

VOTES ON FINAL PASSAGE:

      House 50  46

      Senate    45     2 (Senate amended)

      House 63  35 (House concurred)

EFFECTIVE:January 1, 1988

            May 18, 1987 (Section 4)