Bill Text: CA AB1498 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Child support: Child Support Evader Law.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Failed) 2020-02-03 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB1498 Detail]
Download: California-2019-AB1498-Amended.html
|
Amended
IN
Assembly
March 14, 2019 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION
| Assembly Bill | No. 1498 |
| Introduced by Assembly Member Lackey (Coauthor: Senator Wilk) |
February 22, 2019 |
An act to add Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 17805) to Division 17 of the Family Code, relating to child support.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1498, as amended, Lackey.
Child support: Child Support Evader Law.
Existing law establishes requires the Department of Child Support Services to administer all federal and state laws and regulations relating to child support enforcement obligations.
This bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2021, to create an internet website and make publicly available information regarding persons who are delinquent in the payment of court-ordered child support, as specified, including the obligor’s name, photograph, and the amount of child support owed. The bill would require the department to comply with specified notification procedures before publishing an obligor’s information on the website. The bill would
require the department to update the amount of support payments in arrears for each obligor on a quarterly basis, and to maintain an obligor’s information on the website until the department is notified that the obligor has made support payments for at least 90 days. The bill would allow the department to publish a list of “top child support deadbeats” on one or more social media platforms. The bill would prohibit the use of information published on the website for specified purposes relating to credit, employment, and housing, among other things. The bill would impose a fine of at least $10,000 on a person who uses information from the website to commit a misdemeanor, and a fine of up to $50,000 on a person who uses information from the website to commit a felony.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 17805) is added to Division 17 of the Family Code, to read:CHAPTER 6. Child Support Evader Law
17805.
This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as The Child Support Evader Law.17806.
(a) Except as provided in subdivisions (d), (e), or (f), on or before January 1, 2021, the Department of Child Support Services shall create an internet website and make publicly available information concerning persons who are delinquent in the payment of court-ordered child support, as specified in this section. The department shall update the website on an ongoing basis. The website shall include, at a minimum, all of the following information:(1) The name of the obligor.
(2) A photograph of the obligor, if available.
(3) The ZIP Code of
the obligor’s last known place of residence.
(4) The amount of child support payments in arrears owed by the obligor.
(5) The number of children for whom the obligor owes child support.
(b) An obligor who owes past due child support as of the date the website is created shall be placed on the website if the custodial parent to whom payment of child support is owed is a resident of California and all of the following conditions are met:
(1)The obligor owes at least five thousand dollars ($5,000) in delinquent support.
(2)
(1) The obligor has been in arrears for 12 months of child support.
(3)
(2) The obligor has not made a support payment in at least six months.
(4)
(3) The obligor is not involved in bankruptcy proceedings.
(5)
(4) The obligor is not receiving state assistance.
(6)
(5) The obligor is not incarcerated in a
the state prison or a county jail.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), an obligor who owes past due child support shall be placed on the website if the custodial parent to whom payment of child support is owed is a resident of California and an arrest warrant has been issued against the delinquent parent for contempt of court due to nonpayment of child support.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), the department shall not place an obligor on the website if a written agreement for payment of the arrears exists between the obligor and the department, or if the arrearage is the subject of an administrative hearing, administrative review, or
judicial review that is currently pending.
(e) Prior to placing an obligor on the website, the department shall contact the custodial parent of the child or children for whom child support is owed. If the custodial parent objects to the obligor’s name or photograph, or both, being placed on the website, the department shall not publish the obligor’s name or photograph, or both, on the website.
(f) The department shall make a reasonable effort to notify obligors described in subdivisions (b) and (c) for whom no objection from the custodial parent was received pursuant to subdivision (e) within a time period set by the department. At least 60 days prior to publishing an obligor’s information on the website, the department shall mail a written notice to the obligor by certified mail
at the obligor’s last known address. The notice shall detail the amount of the arrearage and the department’s intent to disclose the information described in subdivision (a) on the website. The notice shall state that, unless the obligor complies with the applicable child support obligations or makes a partial payment of the arrears within 60 days, the obligor’s information shall be posted on the website described in subdivision (a). If the obligor does not make the required payment prior to the expiration of the 60-day period described in this subdivision, the department shall post the information described in subdivision (a).
(g) The information described in subdivision (a) shall remain on the website until the department receives notice that the obligor has complied with court-ordered support payments for at least 90 days. The
department shall update information regarding the amount of child support payments in arrears for each obligor at least quarterly.
(h) The department may disseminate a “top child support deadbeats” list from information included on the website via one or more social media platforms. No more than 50 names per month shall be disseminated pursuant to this subdivision.
(i) Notwithstanding Section 6254.5 of the Government Code, disclosure of information pursuant to this section is not a waiver of exemptions under Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code and does not affect other statutory restrictions on disclosure in other situations.
(j) A person who uses information disclosed
pursuant to this section to commit a misdemeanor shall be subject to, in addition to any other penalty or fine imposed, a fine of not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000). A person who uses information disclosed pursuant to this section to commit a felony shall be subject to, in addition to any other penalty or fine imposed, a fine of not more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).
(k) A person shall not use information disclosed pursuant to this section for purposes relating to any of the following:
(1) Health insurance.
(2) Insurance.
(3) Loans.
(4) Credit.
(5) Employment.
(6) Education, scholarships, or fellowships.
(7) Housing or accommodations.
(8) Benefits, privileges, or services provided by any business establishment.
(l) The website shall require that users acknowledge the prohibitions in subdivision (k) and the penalties described in subdivision (j) prior to being permitted to view entries containing the information contained in subdivision (a). This requirement does not apply to information disclosed pursuant to subdivision (h).
(m) The department may obtain the photograph
required pursuant to subdivision (a) from the custodial parent.
(n) As used in this section, the term “obligor” means a person who is delinquent in the payment of court-ordered child support.
