AB 603

Under current law, a state agency may certify to the Department of Revenue

(DOR) a debt owed to the agency. DOR may then collect the debt by subtracting the

amount from the debtor's tax refund. If the debtor owes more than one certified debt,

DOR collects the earliest certified debt first. Under this bill, if a debtor owes more

than one certified debt, DOR collects child support obligations first.

Under current law, if an individual who is obligated to pay court-ordered child

or family support or maintenance (support) has an overdue support obligation

because of a failure to pay, his or her name and amount of support owed is posted on

a statewide support lien docket and the amount of support owed becomes a lien in

favor of the Department of Children and Families (DCF) on all of the individual's

property. The bill requires every insurer authorized to do business in this state,

before paying any claim, to check the statewide support lien docket to ensure that

the individual does not have an overdue support obligation (support liability). If the

individual has a support liability, the insurer must pay the claim proceeds, up to the

amount of the support liability, to DCF. After any support liability is paid, the

individual is paid any claim proceeds that remain.

Under current law, DCF may enforce the lien in favor of DCF that is created

automatically when an individual has an overdue support obligation by sending a

notice to a financial institution to freeze any accounts that the individual has at the

financial institution. The financial institution must then send to DCF funds from

the individual's accounts, up to the amount of the overdue support obligation, if the

individual does not request a hearing on the matter, or if the individual requests a

hearing but the court determines that the individual owes the overdue support

obligation. Current law also provides that DCF may send to a financial institution

notice of a lien in favor of another state for an overdue support obligation. The notice

must request enforcement of the lien and include a certification that any due process

requirements were met in the other state. The bill provides that a support

enforcement agency of another state may send to a financial institution in this state

directly, instead of through DCF, notice that the other state has a lien for an overdue

support obligation against accounts held at the financial institution, along with a

request to enforce the lien and certification that all due process requirements have

been met in the other state. If these requirements are met, the financial institution

must send the amount stated in the notice to the address specified in the notice.