Bill Text: MS HB537 | 2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Gaming; create method for collection of child support debts from winnings of legal activities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2015-02-03 - Died In Committee [HB537 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2015-HB537-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2015 Regular Session
To: Judiciary B
By: Representative Howell
House Bill 537
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A METHOD FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES TO COLLECT CHILD SUPPORT DEBTS FROM THE PROCEEDS OF ANY WINNINGS DERIVED BY A DEBTOR FROM LEGAL GAMING ACTIVITIES LICENSED UNDER THE MISSISSIPPI GAMING CONTROL ACT; TO AMEND SECTIONS 43-19-101, 75-76-3, 75-76-153, 93-11-71, 93-11-101 AND 93-11-103, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO; TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 93-11-105 AND 93-11-111, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR PURPOSES OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) For purposes of this section and Section 2 of this act, the following words and phrases have the meanings ascribed in this section, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(a) "Commission" means the Mississippi Gaming Commission.
(b) "Child support debt" means any obligation owed for the care, support or maintenance of a child, that is overdue, unpaid or in arrears.
(c) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Human Services.
(d) "Debtor" means any individual owing a child support debt to another individual or the department.
(e) "Gaming licensee" means any licensee under the Mississippi Gaming Control Act which may conduct legal gaming activities.
(2) The purpose of this act is to provide a method for the collection of child support debts by the department from the proceeds of any winnings derived by a debtor from legal gaming activities licensed under the Mississippi Gaming Control Act. The department and the commission shall cooperate in identifying such debtors and collecting overdue or unpaid child support obligations. The collection remedy authorized under this act is in addition to and not in substitution for any other remedy available by law.
(3) If a gaming licensee determines that the winner of a progressive slot machine annuity or cash gaming winnings is a person who owes a child support debt, then the gaming licensee shall deduct the child support debt from the payment of a progressive slot machine annuity or cash gaming winnings. Within seven (7) days of the payment of gaming winnings subject to the child support debt deduction, the gaming licensee shall forward the deducted amount to the Central Receipting and Disbursement Unit of the department. After deduction of the administrative fee set forth in subsection (6) of this section, the gaming licensee shall pay the remaining amount of the gaming winnings to the debtor. If the remaining amount is equal to or less than zero (0), then the debtor shall not receive a payment.
(4) The department may encumber and seize the gaming winnings of a debtor which are held by a gaming licensee. The department shall release the encumbered gaming winnings to the debtor after either:
(a) The expiration of twenty (20) days from the day the winnings are encumbered; or
(b) Such time as the issue of the child support debt is resolved, provided the debtor has filed a petition for hearing with a court of appropriate jurisdiction and served the department through the Attorney General of the State of Mississippi before the end of the twenty-day period.
(5) Grounds for the petition challenging the encumbrance of gaming winnings shall be limited to the following:
(a) Mistakes of identity; or
(b) Mistakes in the amount of the child support debt.
(6) The gaming licensee may deduct an administrative fee from each periodic payment of a progressive slot machine annuity, beginning with the second annuity payment, or from the payment of cash gaming winnings, made to a debtor, in an amount not to exceed Thirty-five Dollars ($35.00).
(7) The commission shall require that gaming licensees adopt procedures designed to prevent employees from willfully failing to withhold payments of progressive slot machine annuities or cash gaming winnings from debtors, based upon the identifying information provided by the department.
(8) Progressive slot machine annuities or cash gaming winnings shall only include payments for which the gaming licensee is required to file form W2-G, or a substantially equivalent form, with the United States Internal Revenue Service.
(9) The commission may require the department to provide information relating to child support debt in a manner, format or record approved by the commission which gives the gaming licensee real-time or immediate access to an electronic database containing the information. If the information relating to the child support debt which is provided by the Department of Human Services is not available through real-time or immediate access to an electronic database, then the licensee shall not be responsible for withholding child support debt from gaming winnings.
(10) The commission and any gaming licensee, including any of its officers, employees, attorneys, accountants or other agents, shall not be civilly or criminally liable to any person, including any customer, for any disclosure of information made in accordance with this section, for encumbering or surrendering assets in response to information provided by the department, or for any claims for damages arising from withholding or failing to withhold any progressive slot machine annuities or cash gaming winnings, based upon information provided by the department.
(11) The provisions of this section shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2016.
SECTION 2. Before July 1, 2016, the commission shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of Section 1 of this act, including, but not limited to, a procedure consistent with the provisions of Section 1 of this act for withholding from payments of progressive slot machine annuities and cash gaming winnings of debtors who have outstanding child support debt, before the payment of any progressive slot machine annuity or cash gaming winnings.
SECTION 3. Section 43-19-101, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-19-101. (1) The following child support award guidelines shall be a rebuttable presumption in all judicial or administrative proceedings regarding the awarding or modifying of child support awards in this state:
Number Of Children Percentage Of Adjusted Gross Income
Due Support That Should Be Awarded For Support
1 14%
2 20%
3 22%
4 24%
5 or more 26%
(2) The guidelines provided for in subsection (1) of this section apply unless the judicial or administrative body awarding or modifying the child support award makes a written finding or specific finding on the record that the application of the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate in a particular case as determined under the criteria specified in Section 43-19-103.
(3) The amount of "adjusted gross income" as that term is used in subsection (1) of this section shall be calculated as follows:
(a) Determine gross income from all potential sources that may reasonably be expected to be available to the absent parent including, but not limited to, the following: wages and salary income; income from self-employment; income from commissions; income from legal gaming winnings occurring on or after July 1, 2016; income from investments, including dividends, interest income and income on any trust account or property; absent parent's portion of any joint income of both parents; workers' compensation, disability, unemployment, annuity and retirement benefits, including an Individual Retirement Account (IRA); any other payments made by any person, private entity, federal or state government or any unit of local government; alimony; any income earned from an interest in or from inherited property; any other form of earned income; and gross income shall exclude any monetary benefits derived from a second household, such as income of the absent parent's current spouse;
(b) Subtract the following legally mandated deductions:
(i) Federal, state and local taxes. Contributions to the payment of taxes over and beyond the actual liability for the taxable year shall not be considered a mandatory deduction;
(ii) Social security contributions;
(iii) Retirement and disability contributions except any voluntary retirement and disability contributions;
(c) If the absent parent is subject to an existing court order for another child or children, subtract the amount of that court-ordered support;
(d) If the absent parent is also the parent of another child or other children residing with him, then the court may subtract an amount that it deems appropriate to account for the needs of said child or children;
(e) Compute the total annual amount of adjusted gross income based on paragraphs (a) through (d) of this subsection, then divide this amount by twelve (12) to obtain the monthly amount of adjusted gross income.
Upon conclusion of the calculation of paragraphs (a) through (e) of this subsection, multiply the monthly amount of adjusted gross income by the appropriate percentage designated in subsection (1) of this section to arrive at the amount of the monthly child support award.
(4) In cases in which the adjusted gross income as defined in this section is more than One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00) or less than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00), the court shall make a written finding in the record as to whether or not the application of the guidelines established in this section is reasonable.
(5) The Department of Human Services shall review the appropriateness of these guidelines beginning January 1, 1994, and every four (4) years thereafter and report its findings to the Legislature no later than the first day of the regular legislative session of that year. The Legislature shall thereafter amend these guidelines when it finds that amendment is necessary to ensure that equitable support is being awarded in all cases involving the support of minor children.
(6) All orders involving support of minor children, as a matter of law, shall include reasonable medical support. Notice to the obligated parent's employer that medical support has been ordered shall be on a form as prescribed by the Department of Human Services. In any case in which the support of any child is involved, the court shall make the following findings either on the record or in the judgment:
(a) The availability to all parties of health insurance coverage for the child(ren);
(b) The cost of health insurance coverage to all parties.
The court shall then make appropriate provisions in the judgment for the provision of health insurance coverage for the child(ren) in the manner that is in the best interests of the child(ren). If the court requires the custodial parent to obtain the coverage then its cost shall be taken into account in establishing the child support award. If the court determines that health insurance coverage is not available to any party or that it is not available to either party at a cost that is reasonable as compared to the income of the parties, then the court shall make specific findings as to such either on the record or in the judgment. In that event, the court shall make appropriate provisions in the judgment for the payment of medical expenses of the child(ren) in the absence of health insurance coverage.
SECTION 4. Section 75-76-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-76-3. (1) The provisions of this chapter shall not be construed to legalize any form of gaming which is prohibited under the Mississippi Constitution or the laws of this state. All legal gaming which is conducted in this state and which is otherwise authorized by law shall be regulated and licensed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, unless the Legislature specifically provides otherwise. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as encouraging the legalization of gambling in this state.
(2) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that lotteries and gaming both consist of the material element of chance. The Legislature is prohibited from legislating upon lotteries and permitted by virtue of its inherent powers to legislate upon gaming as the occasion arises. The Legislature derives its power to legislate upon gaming or gambling devices from its inherent authority over the morals and policy of the people and such power shall not be considered to conflict with the constitutional prohibition of lotteries.
(3) The Legislature hereby finds, and declares it to be the public policy of this state, that:
(a) Regulation of licensed gaming is important in order that licensed gaming is conducted honestly and competitively, that the rights of the creditors of licensees are protected and that gaming is free from criminal and corruptive elements.
(b) Public confidence and trust can only be maintained by strict regulation of all persons, locations, practices, associations and activities related to the operation of licensed gaming establishments and the manufacture or distribution of gambling devices and equipment.
(c) All establishments where gaming is conducted and where gambling devices are operated, and manufacturers, sellers and distributors of certain gambling devices and equipment must therefore be licensed, controlled and assisted to protect the public health, safety, morals, good order and general welfare of the inhabitants of the state.
(d) Children are affected adversely when parents who are delinquent in satisfying their child support obligations divert their financial resources to gaming activities, and the gaming winnings of such parents should be applied to their outstanding child support obligations.
(4) It is the intent of the Legislature that gaming licensees, to the extent practicable, employ residents of Mississippi as gaming employees and other employees in the operation of their gaming establishments located in this state.
(5) No applicant for a license or other affirmative commission approval has any right to a license or the granting of the approval sought. Any license issued or other commission approval granted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter is a revocable privilege, and no holder acquires any vested right therein or thereunder.
(6) The Legislature recognizes that Section 98 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 prohibits the conducting of any lottery in this state and that, while not defining the term "lottery," Section 98 clearly contemplates, as indicated by specific language contained therein, that a lottery involves the sale of tickets and a drawing in order to determine the winner. The Legislature also recognizes that Section 98 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 directs the Legislature to provide by law for the enforcement of its provisions. Therefore, in carrying out its duties under the Constitution and effectuating the intent of Section 98, the Legislature hereby finds that a lottery, as prohibited by the Constitution, does not include all forms of gambling but means any activity in which:
(a) The player or players pay or agree to pay something of value for chances, represented and differentiated by tickets, slips of paper or other physical and tangible documentation upon which appear numbers, symbols, characters or other distinctive marks used to identify and designate the winner or winners; and
(b) The winning chance or chances are to be determined by a drawing or similar selection method based predominately upon the element of chance or random selection rather than upon the skill or judgment of the player or players; and
(c) The holder or holders of the winning chance or chances are to receive a prize or something of valuable consideration; and
(d) The activity is conducted and participated in without regard to geographical location, with the player or players not being required to be present upon any particular premises or at any particular location in order to participate or to win.
SECTION 5. Section 75-76-153, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-76-153. Except as may be provided otherwise in Section 1 of this act on or after July 1, 2016, an application to a court for an order requiring the commission or the executive director to release any information declared by law to be confidential shall be made only upon motion in writing on ten (10) days' written notice to the commission or the executive director, the Attorney General and all persons who may be affected by the entry of such order. Copies of the motion and all papers filed in support of it shall be served with the notice by delivering a copy in person or by certified mail to the last known address of the person to be served.
SECTION 6. Section 93-11-71, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-11-71. (1) Whenever a court orders any person to make periodic payments of a sum certain for the maintenance or support of a child, and whenever such payments as have become due remain unpaid for a period of at least thirty (30) days, a judgment by operation of law shall arise against the obligor in an amount equal to all payments that are then due and owing.
(a) A judgment arising under this section shall have the same effect and be fully enforceable as any other judgment entered in this state. A judicial or administrative action to enforce the judgment may be begun at any time; and
(b) Such judgments arising in other states by operation of law shall be given full faith and credit in this state.
(2) Any judgment arising under the provisions of this section shall operate as a lien upon all the property of the judgment debtor, both real and personal, which lien shall be perfected as to third parties without actual notice thereof only upon enrollment on the judgment roll. The department or attorney representing the party to whom support is owed shall furnish an abstract of the judgment for periodic payments for the maintenance and support of a child, along with sworn documentation of the delinquent child support, to the circuit clerk of the county where the judgment is rendered, and it shall be the duty of the circuit clerk to enroll the judgment on the judgment roll. Liens arising under the provisions of this section may be executed upon and enforced in the same manner and to the same extent as any other judgment.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions in subsection (2) of this section, any judgment arising under the provisions of this section shall subject the following assets to interception or seizure without regard to the entry of the judgment on the judgment roll of the situs district or jurisdiction and such assets shall apply to all child support owed including all arrears:
(a) Periodic or lump-sum payments from a federal, state or local agency, including unemployment compensation, workers' compensation and other benefits;
(b) Winnings from lotteries and gaming winnings that are received in periodic payments made over a period in excess of thirty (30) days, and winnings from legal gaming activities occurring on or after July 1, 2016, on the premises of a licensee under the Mississippi Gaming Control Act, regardless of whether payments of such gaming winnings are made periodically or at one time;
(c) Assets held in financial institutions;
(d) Settlements and awards resulting from civil actions;
(e) Public and private retirement funds, only to the extent that the obligor is qualified to receive and receives a lump-sum or periodic distribution from the funds; and
(f) Lump-sum payments as defined in Section 93-11-101.
(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (1) and (2) of this section, upon disestablishment of paternity granted pursuant to Section 93-9-10 and a finding of clear and convincing evidence including negative DNA testing that the obligor is not the biological father of the child or children for whom support has been ordered, the court shall disestablish paternity and may forgive any child support arrears of the obligor for the child or children determined by the court not to be the biological child or children of the obligor, if the court makes a written finding that, based on the totality of the circumstances, the forgiveness of the arrears is equitable under the circumstances.
(5) In any case in which a child receives assistance from block grants for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and the obligor owes past-due child support, the obligor, if not incapacitated, may be required by the court to participate in any work programs offered by any state agency.
(6) A parent who receives social security disability insurance payments who is liable for a child support arrearage and whose disability insurance benefits provide for the payment of past due disability insurance benefits for the support of the minor child or children for whom the parent owes a child support arrearage shall receive credit toward the arrearage for the payment or payments for the benefit of the minor child or children if the arrearage accrued after the date of disability onset as determined by the Social Security Administration.
SECTION 7. Section 93-11-101, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-11-101. As used in Sections 93-11-101 through 93-11-119, the following words shall have the meaning ascribed to them herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) "Order for support" means any order of the chancery, circuit, county or family court, which provides for periodic payment of funds for the support of a child, whether temporary or final, and includes any such order which provides for:
(i) Modification or resumption of, or payment of arrearage accrued under, a previously existing order; or
(ii) Reimbursement of support.
"Order for
support" shall also mean: * * * an order for support and maintenance of a
spouse if a minor child is living with such spouse; or * * * in actions to which the Department of
Human Services is a party, an order for support and maintenance of a spouse if
a minor child is living with such spouse and such maintenance is collected in
conjunction with child support.
(b) "Court" means the court that enters an order for withholding pursuant to Section 93-11-103(1).
(c) "Clerk of the court" means the clerk of the court that enters an order for withholding pursuant to Section 93-11-103(1).
(d) "Arrearage" means the total amount of unpaid support obligations.
(e) "Delinquency" means any payments that are ordered by any court to be paid by a noncustodial parent for the support of a child that have remained unpaid for at least thirty (30) days after payment is due. Delinquency shall also include payments that are ordered by any court to be paid for maintenance of a spouse in cases in which the department is collecting such support in conjunction with child support. "Delinquency" shall be synonymous with "overdue support."
(f) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Human Services.
(g) "Employer" means a person who has control of the payment of income to an individual.
(h) "Income" means any form of periodic payment to an individual, regardless of source, including, but not limited to: wages, salary, commission, legal gaming winnings occurring on or after July 1, 2016, compensation as an independent contractor, workers' compensation, disability, annuity and retirement benefits, and any other payments made by any person, private entity, federal or state government or any unit of local government, notwithstanding any other provisions of state or local law which limit or exempt income or the amount or percentage of income that can be withheld; provided, however, that income excludes:
(i) Any amounts required by law to be withheld, other than creditor claims, including, but not limited to, federal, state and local taxes, social security and other retirement and disability contributions;
(ii) Any amounts exempted by federal law;
(iii) Public assistance payments; and
(iv) Unemployment insurance benefits except as provided by law.
(i) "Obligor" means the individual who owes a duty to make payments under an order for support.
(j) "Obligee" means:
(i) An individual to whom a duty of support is or is alleged to be owed or in whose favor a support order has been issued or a judgment determining parentage has been rendered;
(ii) A state or political subdivision to which the rights under a duty of support or support order have been assigned or which independent claims based on financial assistance provided to an individual obligee; or
(iii) An individual seeking a judgment determining parentage of the individual's child.
(k) "Payor" means any payor of income to an obligor.
(l) "Lump-sum
payment" means any form of income paid to an individual at other than
regular intervals or a payment made upon a particular occasion regardless of
frequency that is dependent upon meeting a condition precedent, including, but
not limited to, the performance of a contract, commission paid outside of and
in addition to a person's regular pay cycle, the satisfaction of a job
performance standard or quota, the receipt of a seasonal or occasional bonus or
incentive payment, the liquidation of unused sick or vacation pay or leave, the
settlement of a claim, an amount paid as severance pay, * * * an award for length of service or legal
gaming winnings occurring on or after July 1, 2016. "Lump-sum
payment" shall not include liens under Section 71-3-129.
SECTION 8. Section 93-11-103, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-11-103. (1) Upon entry of any order for support by a court of this state where the custodial parent is a recipient of services under Title IV-D of the federal Social Security Act, issued on or after October 1, 1996, the court entering such order shall enter a separate order for withholding which shall take effect immediately without any requirement that the obligor be delinquent in payment. All such orders for support issued prior to October 1, 1996, shall, by operation of law, be amended to conform with the provisions contained herein. All such orders for support issued shall:
(a) Contain a provision for monthly income withholding procedures to take effect in the event the obligor becomes delinquent in paying the order for support without further amendment to the order or further action by the court; and
(b) Require that the payor withhold any additional amount for delinquency specified in any order if accompanied by an affidavit of accounting, a notarized record of overdue payments, official payment record or an attested judgment for delinquency or contempt. Any person who willfully and knowingly files a false affidavit, record or judgment shall be subject to a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00). The Department of Human Services shall be the designated agency to receive payments made by income withholding in child support orders enforced by the department. All withholding orders shall be on a form as prescribed by the department.
(2) Upon entry of any order for support by a court of this state where the custodial parent is not a recipient of services under Title IV-D of the federal Social Security Act, issued or modified or found to be in arrears on or after January 1, 1994, the court entering such order shall enter a separate order for withholding which shall take effect immediately. Such orders shall not be subject to immediate income withholding under this subsection: (a) if one (1) of the parties (i.e., noncustodial or custodial parent) demonstrates, and the court finds, that there is good cause not to require immediate income withholding, or (b) if both parties agree in writing to an alternative arrangement. The Department of Human Services shall be the designated agency to receive payments made by income withholding in all child support orders. Withholding orders shall be on a form as prescribed by the department.
(3) If a child support order is issued or modified in the state but is not subject to immediate income withholding, it automatically becomes so if the court finds that a support payment is thirty (30) days past due. If the support order was issued or modified in another state but is not subject to immediate income withholding, it becomes subject to immediate income withholding on the date on which child support payments are at least thirty (30) days in arrears, or (a) the date as of which the noncustodial parent requests that withholding begin, (b) the date as of which the custodial parent requests that withholding begin, or (c) an earlier date chosen by the court, whichever is earlier.
(4) The clerk of the court shall submit copies of such orders to the obligor's payor, any additional or subsequent payor, and to the Mississippi Department of Human Services Case Registry. The clerk of the court, the obligee's attorney, or the department may serve such immediate order for withholding by first-class mail or personal delivery on the obligor's payor, superintendent, manager, agent or subsequent payor, as the case may be. There shall be no need for further notice, hearing, order, process or procedure before service of said order on the payor or any additional or subsequent payor. The obligor may contest, if grounds exist, service of the order of withholding on additional or subsequent payors, by filing an action with the issuing court. Such filing shall not stay the obligor's duty to support pending judicial determination of the obligor's claim. Nothing herein shall be construed to restrict the authority of the courts of this state from entering any order it deems appropriate to protect the rights of any parties involved.
(5) The order for withholding shall:
(a) Direct any payor to withhold an amount equal to the order for current support;
(b) Direct any payor to withhold an additional amount, not less than fifteen percent (15%) of the order for support, until payment in full of any delinquency; and
(c) Direct the payor not to withhold in excess of the amounts allowed under Section 303(b) of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, being 15 USCS 1673, as amended.
(6) All orders for withholding may permit the Department of Human Services to withhold through said withholding order additional amounts to recover costs incurred through its efforts to secure the support order, including, but not limited to, all filing fees, court costs, service of process fees, mailing costs, birth certificate certification fee, genetic testing fees, the department's attorney's fees; and, in cases where the state or any of its entities or divisions have provided medical services to the child or the child's mother, all medical costs of prenatal care, birthing, postnatal care and any other medical expenses incurred by the child or by the mother as a consequence of her pregnancy or delivery.
(7) At the time the order for withholding is entered, the clerk of the court shall provide copies of the order for withholding and the order for support to the obligor, which shall be accompanied by a statement of the rights, remedies and duties of the obligor under Sections 93-11-101 through 93-11-119. The clerk of the court shall make copies available to the obligee and to the department or its local attorney.
(8) The order for withholding shall remain in effect for as long as the order for support upon which it is based.
(9) The failure of an order for withholding to state an arrearage is not conclusive of the issue of whether an arrearage is owing.
(10) Any order for withholding entered pursuant to this section shall not be considered a garnishment.
(11) All existing orders for support shall become subject to additional withholding if arrearages occur, subject to court hearing and order. Except as may be provided otherwise in Section 1 of this act with regard to withholding from legal gaming winnings on or after July 1, 2016, the Department of Human Services or the obligee or his agent or attorney must send to each delinquent obligor notice that:
(a) The withholding on the delinquency has commenced;
(b) The information along with the required affidavit of accounting, notarized record of overdue payment or attested judgment of delinquency or contempt has been sent to the employer; and
(c) The obligor may file an action with the issuing court on the grounds of mistake of fact. Such filing must be made within thirty (30) days of receipt of the notice and shall not stay the obligor's duty to support pending judicial determination of the obligor's claim.
(12) An employer who complies with an income withholding notice that is regular on its face and which is accompanied by the required accounting affidavit, notarized record of overdue payments or attested judgment of delinquency or contempt shall not be subject to civil liability to any individual or agency for conduct in compliance with the notice.
(13) Any employer who has been served with an order for withholding under this section, which includes a provision for payment of arrears, shall notify the Department of Human Services before making any lump-sum payment of more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) to the obligor.
An employer to whom this section applies shall notify the Department of Human Services of its intention to make a lump-sum payment at least forty-five (45) days before the planned date of the lump-sum payment, or as soon as the decision is made to make the payment, should that be less than forty-five (45) days. The employer shall not release the lump sum to the obligor until thirty (30) days after the intended date of the payment or until authorization is received from the Department of Human Services, whichever is earlier.
Upon receipt of notice to pay a lump sum from an employer, the Department of Human Services shall provide the employer with a Notice of Lien in accordance with Section 93-11-71 specifying the amount of the lump sum to be withheld for payment of child support arrearage. Unless the lump sum is considered severance pay, any amount of the lump sum up to the entire arrearage may be withheld. If the lump sum is for severance pay, the amount withheld for child support arrearages may not exceed an amount equal to the amount the employer would have withheld if the severance pay had been paid as the employee's usual earnings.
SECTION 9. Section 93-11-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
93-11-105. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 93-11-103, the Department of Human Services shall be authorized to implement administrative orders for withholding without the necessity of obtaining an order through judicial proceedings. The administrative order for withholding shall be implemented pursuant to a previously rendered order for support and shall be on a form prescribed by the Department of Human Services. Unless inconsistent with the provisions of this section, the order for withholding shall be subject to the same requirements as provided in Sections 93-11-101 through 93-11-118.
(2) A copy of the administrative order shall be transmitted to the obligor by regular mail to the last-known address of the obligor.
(3) The order for withholding shall:
(a) Direct any payor to withhold an amount equal to the order for the current support obligation;
(b) Direct any payor to withhold an additional amount equal to twenty percent (20%) of the current support obligation, unless a different amount has been previously ordered by the court, until payment in full of any delinquency; and
(c) Direct the payor not to withhold in excess of the amounts allowed under Section 303(b) of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, being 15 USCS 1673, as amended.
SECTION 10. Section 93-11-111, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
93-11-111. (1) It shall be the duty of any payor who has been served with a copy of the order for withholding and an attached affidavit of accounting, a certified record of payments, or judgment for delinquency to deduct and pay over income as provided in this section. The payor shall deduct the amount designated in the order for withholding beginning with the next payment of income that is payable to the obligor after fourteen (14) days following service of the order and notice. The payor shall pay the amounts withheld to the department within seven (7) days of the date the obligor is paid in accordance with the order for withholding and in accordance with any later notification received redirecting payments. The department shall then forward those amounts to the obligee.
(2) For each intrastate withholding of income, the payor shall be entitled to receive a fee of Two Dollars ($2.00) to be withheld from the income of the obligor in addition to the support payments, regardless of the number of payments the payor makes to the department. However, in all interstate withholding, the rules and laws of the state where the obligor works shall determine the payor's processing fee.
(3) The payor shall, unless otherwise notified by the department, withhold from the income of the obligor and forward to the department each month, an amount specified by the department not to exceed Fifteen Dollars ($15.00) per month to defray the department's administrative costs incurred in receiving and distributing money withheld under Sections 93-11-101 through 93-11-119. The payor may pay such amount to the department in any manner determined by the payor to be convenient and may include that amount in checks to the department for amounts withheld pursuant to the order for withholding.
(4) Regardless of the amount designated in the order for withholding and regardless of other fees imposed or amounts withheld under this section, the payor shall not deduct from the income of the obligor in excess of the amounts allowed under Section 303(b) of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, being 15 USCS 1673, as amended.
(5) A payor may combine all amounts that he is required to withhold and pay to the department in one (1) payment; however, the payor must send to the department a list showing the amount of the payment attributable to each obligor.
(6) Whenever the obligor is no longer receiving income from the payor, the payor shall return a copy of the order for withholding to the department and shall forward the obligor's last known address and name and address of the obligor's new employer, if known, to the department. The payor shall cooperate in providing further information for the purpose of enforcing Sections 93-11-101 through 93-11-119.
(7) Withholding of income under this section shall be made without regard to any prior or subsequent garnishments, attachments, wage assignments or any other claims of creditors. Payment as required by the order for withholding shall be a complete defense by the payor against any claims of the obligor or his creditors as to the sum so paid.
(8) In cases in which the payor has been served more than one (1) order for withholding for the same obligor, the payor shall honor the orders on a pro rata basis to result in withholding an amount for each order that is in direct proportion to the percentage of the obligor's adjusted gross income that the order represents, and the payor shall honor all those withholdings to the extent that the total amount withheld does not exceed the maximum amount specified in subsection (1) of this section.
(9) No payor shall discharge, discipline, refuse to hire or otherwise penalize any obligor because of the duty to withhold income.
SECTION 11. The provisions of Sections 1 and 2 of this act shall be codified in Chapter 76, Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972.
SECTION 12. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015.
