Bill Text: FL S1532 | 2021 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Child Support
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 2-1)
Status: (Passed) 2021-06-17 - Chapter No. 2021-103 [S1532 Detail]
Download: Florida-2021-S1532-Comm_Sub.html
Bill Title: Child Support
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 2-1)
Status: (Passed) 2021-06-17 - Chapter No. 2021-103 [S1532 Detail]
Download: Florida-2021-S1532-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2021 CS for SB 1532 By the Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; and Senator Book 586-02621-21 20211532c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to child support; amending s. 61.13, 3 F.S.; revising requirements for child support 4 depositories in Title IV-D cases; requiring the 5 depositories to transmit case data through and set up 6 appropriate payment accounts in the Clerk of the Court 7 Child Support Enforcement Collection System upon 8 certain notice from the Department of Revenue; 9 amending s. 61.1354, F.S.; revising provisions related 10 to the sharing of information between consumer 11 reporting agencies and the department; requiring 12 consumer reports to be kept confidential and used only 13 for specified purposes; amending s. 61.30, F.S.; 14 prohibiting the treatment of incarceration as 15 voluntary unemployment for purposes of establishing or 16 modifying child support orders, with exceptions; 17 providing that certain social security benefits are 18 included in a parent’s gross income; authorizing 19 certain social security benefits paid to be applied as 20 a credit for purposes of monthly support obligations; 21 providing requirements for such credit; providing 22 procedures for a parent to seek application of such 23 credit; amending s. 409.256, F.S.; revising the 24 definition of the term “rendered”; amending s. 25 409.2563, F.S.; revising the definition of the term 26 “rendered”; deleting a requirement that a certain 27 order filed by the department be a certified copy of 28 the order; amending s. 409.25656, F.S.; authorizing 29 the department to deliver certain notices by secure 30 electronic means under certain circumstances; amending 31 s. 409.25658, F.S.; revising provisions related to the 32 department’s joint efforts with the Department of 33 Financial Services to use unclaimed property for past 34 due child support; amending s. 409.2567, F.S.; 35 authorizing the department to include confidential and 36 exempt information in unencrypted electronic mail 37 communications with parents, caregivers, or other 38 authorized persons under certain circumstances, with 39 exceptions; amending s. 409.2576, F.S.; requiring 40 service recipients to report certain information to 41 the State Directory of New Hires; defining the term 42 “service recipient”; providing reporting requirements 43 for service recipients; conforming provisions to 44 changes made by the act; providing an effective date. 45 46 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 47 48 Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section 49 61.13, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 50 61.13 Support of children; parenting and time-sharing; 51 powers of court.— 52 (1) 53 (d)1. All child support orders shall provide the full name 54 and date of birth of each minor child who is the subject of the 55 child support order. 56 2. If both parties request and the court finds that it is 57 in the best interest of the child, support payments need not be 58 subject to immediate income deduction. Support orders that are 59 not subject to immediate income deduction may be directed 60 through the depository under s. 61.181 or made payable directly 61 to the obligee. Payments made by immediate income deduction 62 shall be made to the State Disbursement Unit. The court shall 63 provide a copy of the order to the depository. 64 3. For support orders payable directly to the obligee, any 65 party, or the department in a IV-D case,may subsequently file 66 an affidavit with the depository alleging a default in payment 67 of child support and stating that the party wishes to require 68 that payments be made through the depository. The party shall 69 provide copies of the affidavit to the court and to each other 70 party. Fifteen days after receipt of the affidavit, the 71 depository shall notify all parties that future payments shall 72 be paid through the depository, except that payments in Title 73 IV-D cases and income deduction payments shall be made to the 74 State Disbursement Unit. In Title IV-D cases, an affidavit of 75 default or a default in payments is not required to receive 76 depository services. Upon notice by the department that it is 77 providing Title IV-D services in a case with an existing support 78 order, the depository shall transmit case data through, and set 79 up appropriate payment accounts in, regardless of whether there 80 is a delinquency, the Clerk of the Court Child Support 81 Enforcement Collection System as required under s. 61.181(2)(b). 82 Section 2. Subsection (3) of section 61.1354, Florida 83 Statutes, is amended to read: 84 61.1354 Sharing of information between consumer reporting 85 agencies and the IV-D agency.— 86 (3) A consumer reporting agencyFor purposes of determining87an individual’s income and establishing an individual’s capacity88to make support payments or for determining the appropriate89amount of child support payment to be made by the individual,90consumer reporting agenciesshall provide, upon request, 91 consumer reports to the departmenthead of the IV-D agency92 pursuant to s. 604 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, provided 93 that the departmenthead of the IV-D agency, or its designee,94 certifies that: 95 (a) The consumer report is needed for the purpose of 96determining an individual’s income andestablishing an 97 individual’s capacity to make support payments,ordetermining 98 the appropriate level of support payments, or enforcing a child 99 support order, award, agreement, or judgmentamount of child100support payment to be made by the individual; 101 (b) The consumer’s parentage of the child to whom the 102 obligation relates has been established or acknowledged by the 103 consumer in accordance with state laws under which the 104 obligation arisesPaternity of the child of the individual whose105report is sought, if that individual is the father of the child,106has been established or acknowledged pursuant to the laws of107Florida; 108 (c) The individual whose report is sought was provided with 109 at least 15 days’ prior notice, by regularcertified or110registeredmail to the individual’s last known address, that the 111 report was requested; and 112 (d) The consumer report will be kept confidential, will be 113 used solely for the purpose described in paragraph (a), and will 114 not be used in connection with any other civil, administrative, 115 or criminal proceeding or for any other purpose. 116 Section 3. Present paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of 117 section 61.30, Florida Statutes, is redesignated as paragraph 118 (e), new paragraphs (c) and (d) are added to that subsection, 119 and subsection (10) of that section is amended, to read: 120 61.30 Child support guidelines; retroactive child support.— 121 (2) Income shall be determined on a monthly basis for each 122 parent as follows: 123 (c) Except for incarceration for willful nonpayment of 124 child support or for an offense against a child or person who is 125 owed child support, incarceration may not be treated as 126 voluntary unemployment in establishing or modifying a support 127 order. However, the court may deviate from the child support 128 guideline amount as provided in paragraph (1)(a). 129 (d) Social security benefits received by a minor child due 130 to the retirement or disability of the child’s parent shall be 131 included in the parent’s gross income. 132 (10)(a) Each parent’s actual dollar share of the total 133 minimum child support need shall be determined by multiplying 134 the minimum child support need by each parent’s percentage share 135 of the combined monthly net income. 136 (b)1. A parent is entitled to credit for social security 137 benefits paid directly to the child or the child’s caregiver 138 when the benefits are paid due to the parent’s retirement or 139 disability. The parent’s share of the monthly support obligation 140 is paid in full each month for which such benefits are paid that 141 are equal to or greater than the parent’s share of the monthly 142 obligation. If the benefits are less than the parent’s share of 143 the monthly obligation, the parent owes the difference. If the 144 benefits are more than the parent’s share of the monthly 145 obligation, the excess inures to the benefit of the child and 146 may not be credited to arrears or retroactive support that 147 accrued before the benefits commenced. 148 2. To obtain credit for social security benefits paid, a 149 parent subject to a court order for child support, or the 150 department in a Title IV-D case, may file a motion with the 151 court or include the request in a petition to modify the support 152 order. Alternatively, in a Title IV-D case, the department may 153 determine and apply credit after notice and an opportunity for a 154 hearing are provided in accordance with chapter 120. If the 155 department determines that a credit applies, the department 156 shall notify the clerk of court, and the clerk shall update the 157 payment record to reflect the credit. 158 Section 4. Paragraph (i) of subsection (1) of section 159 409.256, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 160 409.256 Administrative proceeding to establish paternity or 161 paternity and child support; order to appear for genetic 162 testing.— 163 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 164 (i) “Rendered” means that a signed written order is issued 165 byfiled with the clerk or a deputy clerk ofthe Department of 166 Revenue and served on the respondent.The date of filing must be167indicated on the face of the order at the time of rendition.168 Section 5. Paragraph (e) of subsection (1) and subsection 169 (8) of section 409.2563, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 170 409.2563 Administrative establishment of child support 171 obligations.— 172 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 173 (e) “Rendered” means that a signed written order is issued 174 byfiled with the clerk or any deputy clerk ofthe department 175 and served on the respondent.The date of filing must be176indicated on the face of the order at the time of rendition.177 178 Other terms used in this section have the meanings ascribed in 179 ss. 61.046 and 409.2554. 180 (8) FILING WITH THE CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT; OFFICIAL 181 PAYMENT RECORD; JUDGMENT BY OPERATION OF LAW.—The department 182 shall file with the clerk of the circuit court acertifiedcopy 183 of an administrative support order rendered under this section. 184 The depository operated pursuant to s. 61.181 for the county 185 where the administrative support order has been filed shall: 186 (a) Act as the official recordkeeper for payments required 187 under the administrative support order; 188 (b) Establish and maintain the necessary payment accounts; 189 (c) Upon a delinquency, initiate the judgment by operation 190 of law procedure as provided by s. 61.14(6); and 191 (d) Perform all other duties required of a depository with 192 respect to a support order entered by a court of this state. 193 194 When a proceeding to establish an administrative support order 195 is commenced under subsection (4), the department shall file a 196 copy of the initial notice with the depository. The depository 197 shall assign an account number and provide the account number to 198 the department within 4 business days after the initial notice 199 is filed. 200 Section 6. Subsection (4) of section 409.25656, Florida 201 Statutes, is amended to read: 202 409.25656 Garnishment.— 203 (4) A notice that is delivered under this section is 204 effective at the time of delivery against all credits, other 205 personal property, or debts of the obligor which are not at the 206 time of such notice subject to an attachment, garnishment, or 207 execution issued through a judicial process. Upon express 208 written consent of a person who is or may be in possession of 209 personal property belonging to the obligor, the department may 210 deliver the notices required by this section to that person by 211 secure electronic means. 212 Section 7. Section 409.25658, Florida Statutes, is amended 213 to read: 214 409.25658 Use of unclaimed property for past due support.— 215 (1) In a joint effort to facilitate the collection and 216 payment of past due support, the Department of Revenue, in 217 cooperation with the Department of Financial Services, shall 218 identify persons owing support collected by the department 219through a courtwho are presumed to have unclaimed property held 220 by the Department of Financial Services. 221 (2) The Department of Financial Servicesdepartmentshall 222 periodically provide the departmentof Financial Serviceswith 223 an electronic file of unclaimed property accounts. The 224 department shall use the data to identify obligors with 225 unclaimed property accounts and shall provide the Department of 226 Financial Services with an electronic data file that includes 227 the names and other personal identifying information of the 228 obligorssupport obligors who owe past due support. The229Department of Financial Services shall conduct a data match of230the file against all apparent owners of unclaimed property under231chapter 717 and provide the resulting match list to the232department. 233 (3) As the state’s Title IV-D agency under s. 409.2557(1), 234 the department is authorized to submit claims for unclaimed 235 property to the Department of Financial Services for the purpose 236 of collecting past due support and shall do so in accordance 237 with the standards established by the Department of Financial 238 ServicesUpon receipt of the data match list, the department239shall provide to the Department of Financial Services the240obligor’s last known address. The Department of Financial241Services shall follow the notification procedures under s.242717.118. 243 (4) BeforePrior topaying an obligor’s approved claim, the 244 Department of Financial Services shall notify the department 245 that such claim has been approved. Upon confirmation that the 246 Department of Financial Services has approved the claim or a 247 claim submitted by the department, the department shall 248immediatelysend a notice by regularcertifiedmail to the 249 obligor, with a copy to the Department of Financial Services,250 advising the obligor of the department’s intent to intercept the 251 propertyapproved claimup to the amount of the past due 252 support, and informing the obligor of the obligor’s right to 253 request a hearing under chapter 120. If there is a hearing, the 254 Department of Financial Services shall retain custody of the 255 property until a final order has been entered and any appeals 256 thereon have been concluded. If the obligor fails to request a 257 hearing, the department shall informenter a final order258instructingthe Department of Financial Services to transfer to 259 the department the property up to the amount of past due support 260 owedin the amount stated in the final order. Uponsuch261 transfer, the Department of Financial Services shall be released 262 from further liability related to the transferred property. 263 (5)The provisions ofThis section providesprovidea 264 supplemental remedy, and the department may use this remedy in 265 conjunction with any other method of collecting support. 266 Section 8. Subsection (1) of section 409.2567, Florida 267 Statutes, is amended to read: 268 409.2567 Services to individuals not otherwise eligible.— 269 (1)(a) All support services provided by the department 270 shall be made available on behalf of all dependent children. 271 Services shall be provided upon acceptance of public assistance 272 or upon proper application filed with the department. The 273 federally required application fee for individuals who do not 274 receive public assistance is $1, which shall be waived for all 275 applicants and paid by the department. The annual fee required 276 under 42 U.S.C. s. 654(6)(B), as amended by Pub. L. No. 115-123, 277 for cases involving an individual who has never received 278 temporary cash assistance and for whom the department has 279 collected the federally required minimum amount of support shall 280 be paid by the department. 281 (b) The department may include confidential and exempt 282 information in unencrypted electronic mail communications with a 283 parent, a caregiver, or any other person who is authorized to 284 receive the information, provided the parent, caregiver, or 285 other person consents to such communications, except that social 286 security numbers, federal tax information, driver license 287 numbers, and bank account numbers may not be provided in this 288 manner. 289 Section 9. Section 409.2576, Florida Statutes, is amended 290 to read: 291 409.2576 State Directory of New Hires.— 292 (1) DIRECTORY CREATED.—The State Directory of New Hires is 293 hereby created and shall be administered by the Department of 294 Revenue or its agent. All employers and service recipients in 295 thisthestate shall furnish a report consistent with subsection 296 (3) for each newly hired or rehired employee or individual who 297 is not an employee but is provided payment for services 298 rendered, unless the employee or individual is employed by or 299 under contract with a federal or state agency performing 300 intelligence or counterintelligence functions and the head of 301 such agency has determined that reporting pursuant to this 302 section could endanger the safety of the employee or individual 303 or compromise an ongoing investigation or intelligence mission. 304 (2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 305 (a) “Employee” is defined as an individual who is an 306 employee within the meaning of chapter 24 of the Internal 307 Revenue Code of 1986. 308 (b) “Employer” has the meaning given such term in s. 309 3401(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and includes any 310 government entity and labor organization. 311 (c) “Labor organization” has the meaning given such term in 312 s. 2(5) of the National Labor Relations Act and includes any 313 entity which is used by the organization and an employer to 314 carry out requirements described in s. 8(f)(3) of such act of an 315 agreement between the organization and employer. 316 (d) “Date of hire” is the first day of work for which the 317 employee is owed income. 318 (e) “Service recipient” means a person engaged in a trade 319 or business who pays an individual for services rendered in the 320 course of such trade or business. 321 (3) EMPLOYERS AND SERVICE RECIPIENTS TO FURNISH REPORTS.— 322 (a)Each employer subject to the reporting requirements of323chapter 443 with 250 or more employees, shall provide to the324State Directory of New Hires, a report listing the employer’s325legal name, address, and reemployment assistance identification326number. The report must also provide the name and social327security number of each new employee or rehired employee at the328end of the first pay period following employment or329reemployment.330(b)All employers shall furnish a report to the State 331 Directory of New Hires of the state in which the newly hired or 332 rehired employee works. The report required in this section 333 shall be made on a W-4 form or, at the option of the employer, 334 an equivalent form, and can be transmitted magnetically, 335 electronically, by first-class mail, or other methods which may 336 be prescribed by the State Directory. Each report shall include 337 the name, address, date of hire, and social security number of 338 every new and rehired employee and the name, address, and 339 federal employer identification number of the reporting 340 employer. If available, the employer may also include the 341 employee’s date of birth in the report. Multistate employers 342 that report new hire information electronically or magnetically 343 may designate a single state to which it will transmit the above 344 noted report, provided the employer has employees in that state 345 and the employer notifies the Secretary of Health and Human 346 Services in writing to which state the information will be 347 provided. Agencies of the United States Government shall report 348 directly to the National Directory of New Hires. 349 (b) A service recipient shall report to the State Directory 350 of New Hires an individual who is not an employee in the same 351 manner as described in paragraph (a) but who the service 352 recipient, while engaged in a trade or business, pays in an 353 amount of $600 or more per calendar year for services rendered 354 in the course of the trade or business. The report must include 355 the name, address, and social security number or other 356 identifying number assigned to the individual under section 6109 357 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; the date services for 358 payment were first rendered by the individual; and the name, 359 address, and employer identification number of the service 360 recipient. 361 (c) Pursuant to the federal Personal Responsibility and 362 Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, each party is 363 required to provide his or her social security number in 364 accordance with this section. Disclosure of social security 365 numbers obtained through this requirement shall be limited to 366 the purpose of administration of the Title IV-D program for 367 child support enforcement and those programs listed in 368 subsection (9). 369 (4) TIME FOR REPORTS.— 370 (a) Employers must report new hire information, as 371 described in subsection (3), within 20 days of the hire date of 372 the employee, or, in the case of employers that report new hire 373 information electronically or by magnetic tape, by two monthly 374 transmissions, if necessary, not less than 12 days nor more than 375 16 days apart. 376 (b) Service recipients must report on individuals subject 377 to reporting under paragraph (3)(b) within 20 days after the 378 earlier of: 379 1. The date of the first payment made which requires an 380 information return in accordance with section 6041A(a) of the 381 Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or 382 2. The date on which a contract providing for such payments 383 is entered into. 384 385 If service recipients report individuals under this paragraph 386 electronically or by magnetic tape, the reports may be made by 387 two monthly transmissions, if necessary, but may not be less 388 than 12 days or more than 16 days apart. 389 (5) ENTRY OF DATA.—The State Directory of New Hires shall 390 enternew hireinformation reported under this section into an 391 automated database within 5 business days of receipt. 392 (6) MATCHES TO STATE REGISTRY.—Not later than May 1, 1998,393 The Department of Revenue or its agent must conduct automated 394 matches of the social security numbers of employees reported to 395 the State Directory of New Hires against the social security 396 numbers of records in the State Case Registry. The Title IV-D 397 agency shall use the new hire information received to locate 398 individuals for the purposes of establishing paternity and 399 establishing, modifying, and enforcing support obligations. 400 Private entities under contract with the Title IV-D agency to 401 provide Title IV-D services may have access to information 402 obtained from the State Directory of New Hires and must comply 403 with privacy safeguards. 404 (7) WAGE WITHHOLDING NOTICE AND NATIONAL MEDICAL SUPPORT 405 NOTICE.—The department shall transmit a wage withholding notice 406 consistent with s. 61.1301 and, when appropriate, a national 407 medical support notice, as defined in s. 61.046,to the408employee’s employerwithin 2 business days after entry of the 409 new hire information into the State Directory of New Hires’ 410 database, unless the court has determined that the obligor’s 411employee’swages or other income isarenot subject to 412 withholding or, for purposes of the national medical support 413 notice, the support order does not contain a provisionfor the414employeeto provide health insurance. The withholding notice 415 shall direct the employer or other payor of income to withhold 416 income in accordance with the income deduction order, and the 417 national medical support notice shall direct the employer to 418 withhold premiums for health insurance. 419 (8) PROVIDING INFORMATION TO NATIONAL DIRECTORY.—The State 420 Directory of New Hires must furnish information regarding newly 421 hired or rehired employees and other individuals subject to 422 reporting to the National Directory of New Hires for matching 423 with the records of other state case registries within 3 424 business days of entering such informationfrom the employer425 into the State Directory of New Hires. The State Directory of 426 New Hires shall enter into an agreement with the Department of 427 Economic Opportunity or its tax collection service provider for 428 the quarterly reporting to the National Directory of New Hires 429 information on wages and reemployment assistance taken from the 430 quarterly report to the Secretary of Labor, now required by 431 Title III of the Social Security Act, except that no report 432 shall be filed with respect to an employee of a state or local 433 agency performing intelligence or counterintelligence functions, 434 if the head of such agency has determined that filing such a 435 report could endanger the safety of the employee or compromise 436 an ongoing investigation or intelligence mission. 437 (9) DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.— 438 (a)New hireInformation reported under this section shall 439 be disclosed to the state agency administering the following 440 programs for the purposes of determining eligibility under those 441 programs: 442 1. Any state program funded under part A of Title IV of the 443 Social Security Act; 444 2. The Medicaid program under Title XIX of the Social 445 Security Act; 446 3. The reemployment assistance or unemployment compensation 447 program under s. 3304 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954; 448 4. The food assistance program under the Food and Nutrition 449 Act of 2008; and 450 5. Any state program under a plan approved under Title I 451 (Old-Age Assistance for the Aged), Title X (Aid to the Blind), 452 Title XIV (Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled), or 453 Title XVI (Aid to the Aged, Blind, or Disabled; Supplemental 454 Security Income for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled) of the Social 455 Security Act. 456 (b)New hireInformation reported under this section shall 457 be disclosed to the state agencies operating employment security 458 and workers’ compensation programs for the purposes of 459 administering such programs. 460 Section 10. This act shall take effect October 1, 2021.