Bill Text: CA AB2882 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Judiciary omnibus: family law.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)
Status: (Passed) 2016-09-22 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 474, Statutes of 2016. [AB2882 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB2882-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2882 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 474
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 22, 2016
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 22, 2016
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 19, 2016
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 24, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 16, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 14, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 29, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Committee on Judiciary (Assembly Members Mark Stone
(Chair), Alejo, Chau, Chiu, Cristina Garcia, and Holden)
FEBRUARY 25, 2016
An act to amend Sections 302, 304, 306.5, 308, 360, 500, 2103,
4014, 4052.5, 8714, 17212, 17306, 17400, 17434, 17450, 17460, 17506,
17508, 17522.5, 17523.5, 17525, 17528, 17710, and 17801 of, to add
Section 17504.1 to, to add Article 4 (commencing with Section 17390)
to Chapter 1 of Division 17 of, and to repeal Sections 17458 and
17802 of, the Family Code, to add Section 69619.5 to the Government
Code, and to amend Section 361 of, to repeal Sections 11475.2,
11475.3, and 11476.2 of, to repeal Chapter 4 (commencing with Section
10080) of Part 1 of, and to repeal Chapter 6 (commencing with
Section 16575) of Part 4 of, Division 9 of, the Welfare and
Institutions Code, relating to family law.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2882, Committee on Judiciary. Judiciary omnibus: family law.
(1) Existing law provides that an unmarried person under 18 years
of age is capable of consenting to and consummating marriage upon
obtaining a court order granting permission of the underage person or
persons to marry. Existing law requires the court order and written
consent of the parents of each underage person, or of one of the
parents or the guardian of each underage person, to be filed with the
clerk of the court, and requires a certified copy of the order to be
presented to the county clerk at the time the marriage license is
issued.
This bill would instead require the court order and written
consent of at least one of the parents or the guardian of each
underage person to be filed with the clerk of the court.
Existing law provides that parties to a marriage are not required
to have the same name. Existing law provides that one party or both
parties to a marriage may elect to change the middle or last names,
or both, by which that party wishes to be known after solemnization
of the marriage, and authorizes a person to adopt any of the
specified last names and middle names, including a hyphenated
combination of last names and a hyphenated combination of the current
middle name and current last name of the person or spouse or a
hyphenated combination of the current middle name and the last name
given at birth of the person or spouse.
This bill would instead authorize a person to adopt a combination
of last names, and a combination of the current middle name and the
current last name of the person or spouse or a combination of the
current middle name and the last name given at birth of the person or
spouse.
Existing law requires the person solemnizing the marriage to
obtain a duplicate marriage license, if a marriage license is lost,
damaged, or destroyed after the marriage ceremony, but before it is
returned to the county recorder, or deemed unacceptable for
registration by the county recorder. Existing law prohibits the
duplicate marriage license from being issued later than one year
after the issuance of the original license and requires the license
to be returned by the person solemnizing the marriage to the county
recorder within one year of the issuance date shown on the original
license.
This bill would instead prohibit the duplicate marriage license
from being issued later than one year after the date of marriage, and
would require the license to be returned by the person solemnizing
the marriage to the county recorder within one year of the date of
marriage.
(2) Existing law authorizes a person desiring to adopt a
nondependent child to file an adoption request in an authorized
county. Under existing law, a petition for adoption of a nondependent
child may be filed in specified locations, including the county in
which the petitioner resides or where the adoption agency,
department, or public adoption agency is located. If a child has been
adjudged to be a dependent of the juvenile court, and thereafter has
been freed for adoption by the juvenile court, existing law
authorizes the petition to be filed in either the county where the
petitioner resides or in the county where the child was freed for
adoption.
This bill would instead provide that a petitioner desiring to
adopt a dependent child who is freed for adoption by the juvenile
court and with whom that dependent child is placed for adoption may
file the adoption request either in the county where the petitioner
resides or in the county where the child was freed for adoption.
(3) Existing law authorizes the court to limit the control to be
exercised over a dependent child by any parent or guardian and
requires the court, by its order, to clearly and specifically set
forth all those limitations in all cases in which a minor is adjudged
to be a dependent child of the court. Existing law provides that the
court's authority does not limit the ability of a parent to
voluntarily relinquish his or her child to the State Department of
Social Services, to a county adoption agency, or to a licensed
private adoption agency at any time while the child is the subject of
a petition to declare him or her a dependent child, if the
department, county adoption agency, or licensed private adoption
agency is willing to accept the relinquishment. When accepting the
relinquishment of a child subject to a petition to declare him or her
a dependent child, existing law requires a licensed private adoption
agency to file with the court one original and 10 copies of a
request to approve the relinquishment within 5 court days of
accepting the relinquishment.
This bill would instead require a licensed private adoption
agency, or allow another party or that party's counsel, to file with
the court one original and 5 copies of a request to approve the
relinquishment within 10 court days of accepting the relinquishment.
(4) Existing law establishes the Department of Child Support
Services within the California Health and Human Services Agency,
which administers all services and performs all functions necessary
to establish, collect, and distribute child support. Existing state
law establishes within the Department of Child Support Services a
Statewide Child Support Registry and a single statewide automated
child support system as required under federal law, referred to as
the California Child Support Automation System. Existing law requires
the Statewide Child Support Registry to include storage and data
retrieval of specified information, including any information
required under federal law, for all California child support orders.
This bill would reenact those provisions relating to the Statewide
Child Support Registry in the Family Code. The bill would delete
obsolete provisions in the Welfare and Institutions Code relating to
the procurement and development of the California Child Support
Automation System.
Existing law requires each clerk of the court to provide the child
support information described above within 20 days to the Department
of Child Support Services or the registry from each new or modified
child support order. Existing law requires the department to, among
other things, ensure that all child support data received from the
clerks of the court are entered into the registry within 10 days of
receipt. Existing law requires any information maintained by the
Statewide Child Support Registry received from the clerks of the
court to be provided to county district attorneys, the Franchise Tax
Board, the courts, and others as provided by law.
This bill would instead require the department to ensure that all
child support data received from the clerks of the court are entered
into the Statewide Child Support Registry within 5 business days of
receipt. The bill would instead require any information maintained by
the registry received from the clerks of the court to be provided to
local child support agencies, the court, and others as provided by
law. The bill would require the registry to operate to ensure that
all data in the registry can be accessed and integrated for
statistical analysis and reporting purposes with all child support
order data contained in the California Child Support Enforcement
System.
(5) Existing law establishes within the Department of Child
Support Services the State Disbursement Unit for the collection and
disbursement of payments under support orders. Existing law requires
any child support delinquency collected by the department to be
deposited into the State Treasury to the credit of the Special
Deposit Fund, which is a continuously appropriated fund, and
distributed as specified by interagency agreement executed by the
Franchise Tax Board and the department, with concurrence of the
Controller. Upon availability of the State Disbursement Unit,
existing law requires any child support delinquency collected to be
deposited in a manner that the deposit and subsequent disbursement
are consistent with federal law.
This bill would repeal these requirements.
(6) Existing law requires each county to maintain a local child
support agency that is responsible for promptly and effectively
establishing, modifying, and enforcing child support obligations.
Existing law requires local child support agencies, on a monthly
basis, to provide to any CalWORKs recipient or former recipient from
whom an assignment is currently effective, a notice of amount
assigned support payments made on behalf of the recipient or former
recipient.
This bill would reenact this requirement in the Family Code.
(7) Existing law requires any person, financial institution, or
securities intermediary in possession or control of a financial asset
upon which a levy has been issued to withhold the amount of the
financial asset for the purpose of collecting a delinquent child
support obligation to liquidate the financial asset in a commercially
reasonable manner within 20 days of issuance of the levy or notice
to withhold. Existing law requires, within 5 business days of
liquidation, the person, financial institution, or securities
intermediary to transfer to the local child support agency, the
Franchise Tax Board, or the department, as applicable, the proceeds
of the liquidation, as specified.
This bill would instead require the person, financial institution,
or securities intermediary to transfer to the State Disbursement
Unit the proceeds of the liquidation.
(8) This bill would delete references to the California Child
Support Automation System and would refer instead to the California
Child Support Enforcement System. The bill would delete obsolete
references to the Franchise Tax Board and the California Family
Support Council, and would also delete other obsolete provisions and
make other conforming changes.
(9) Existing law specifies the number of judges of the superior
court for each county, and allocates additional judgeships to the
various counties in accordance with uniform standards for factually
determining additional need in each county, as approved by the
Judicial Council, and other specified criteria. Existing law provides
for the conversion of 146 subordinate judicial officer positions in
eligible superior courts upon the occurrence of specified conditions,
including that the proposed action is ratified by the Legislature,
except that no more than 16 positions may be converted to judgeships
in any fiscal year. Notwithstanding this provision, existing law
authorizes up to 10 additional subordinate judicial officer positions
to be converted to judgeships in any fiscal year if the conversions
will result in a judge being assigned to a family law or juvenile law
assignment previously presided over by a subordinate judicial
officer and the proposed action is ratified by the Legislature.
This bill would ratify the authority of the Judicial Council to
convert 10 subordinate judicial officer positions to judgeships in
the 2016-17 fiscal year when the conversion will result in a judge
being assigned to a family law or juvenile law assignment previously
presided over by a subordinate judicial officer.
(10) The bill would delete an obsolete provision, and make other
nonsubstantive changes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 302 of the Family Code is amended to read:
302. (a) An unmarried person under 18 years of age is capable of
consenting to and consummating marriage upon obtaining a court order
granting permission to the underage person or persons to marry.
(b) The court order and written consent of at least one of the
parents or the guardian of each underage person shall be filed with
the clerk of the court, and a certified copy of the order shall be
presented to the county clerk at the time the marriage license is
issued.
SEC. 2. Section 304 of the Family Code is amended to read:
304. As part of the court order granting permission to marry
under Section 302 or 303, the court shall, if it considers it
necessary, require the parties to the prospective marriage of a minor
to participate in premarital counseling concerning social, economic,
and personal responsibilities incident to marriage. The parties
shall not be required, without their consent, to confer with
counselors provided by religious organizations of any denomination.
In determining whether to order the parties to participate in the
premarital counseling, the court shall consider, among other factors,
the ability of the parties to pay for the counseling. The court may
impose a reasonable fee to cover the cost of any premarital
counseling provided by the county or the court. The fees shall be
used exclusively to cover the cost of the counseling services
authorized by this section.
SEC. 3. Section 306.5 of the Family Code is amended to read:
306.5. (a) Parties to a marriage shall not be required to have
the same name. Neither party shall be required to change his or her
name. A person's name shall not change upon marriage unless that
person elects to change his or her name pursuant to subdivision (b).
(b) (1) One party or both parties to a marriage may elect to
change the middle or last names, or both, by which that party wishes
to be known after solemnization of the marriage by entering the new
name in the spaces provided on the marriage license application
without intent to defraud.
(2) A person may adopt any of the following last names pursuant to
paragraph (1):
(A) The current last name of the other spouse.
(B) The last name of either spouse given at birth.
(C) A name combining into a single last name all or a segment of
the current last name or the last name of either spouse given at
birth.
(D) A combination of last names.
(3) A person may adopt any of the following middle names pursuant
to paragraph (1):
(A) The current last name of either spouse.
(B) The last name of either spouse given at birth.
(C) A combination of the current middle name and the current last
name of the person or spouse.
(D) A combination of the current middle name and the last name
given at birth of the person or spouse.
(4) (A) An election by a person to change his or her name pursuant
to paragraph (1) shall serve as a record of the name change. A
certified copy of a marriage certificate containing the new name, or
retaining the former name, shall constitute proof that the use of the
new name or retention of the former name is lawful.
(B) A certified copy of a marriage certificate shall be accepted
as identification establishing a true, full name for purposes of
Section 12800.7 of the Vehicle Code.
(C) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the
Department of Motor Vehicles from accepting as identification other
documents establishing a true, full name for purposes of Section
12800.7 of the Vehicle Code. Those documents may include, without
limitation, a certified copy of a marriage certificate recording a
marriage outside of this state.
(D) This section shall be applied in a manner consistent with the
requirements of Sections 1653.5 and 12801 of the Vehicle Code.
(5) The adoption of a new name, or the choice not to adopt a new
name, by means of a marriage license application pursuant to
paragraph (1) shall only be made at the time the marriage license is
issued. After a marriage certificate is registered by the local
registrar, the certificate shall not be amended to add a new name or
change the name adopted pursuant to paragraph (1). An amendment may
be issued to correct a clerical error in the new name fields on the
marriage license. In this instance, the amendment shall be signed by
one of the parties to the marriage and the county clerk or his or her
deputy, and the reason for the amendment shall be stated as
correcting a clerical error. A clerical error as used in this part is
an error made by the county clerk, his or her deputy, or a notary
authorized to issue confidential marriage licenses, whereby the
information shown in the new name field does not match the
information shown on the marriage license application. This
requirement shall not abrogate the right of either party to adopt a
different name through usage at a future date, or to petition the
superior court for a change of name pursuant to Title 8 (commencing
with Section 1275) of Part 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to abrogate the
common law right of any person to change his or her name, or the
right of any person to petition the superior court for a change of
name pursuant to Title 8 (commencing with Section 1275) of Part 3 of
the Code of Civil Procedure.
SEC. 4. Section 308 of the Family Code is amended to read:
308. A marriage contracted outside this state that would be valid
by laws of the jurisdiction in which the marriage was contracted is
valid in California.
SEC. 5. Section 360 of the Family Code is amended to read:
360. (a) If a marriage license is lost, damaged, or destroyed
after the marriage ceremony, but before it is returned to the county
recorder, or deemed unacceptable for registration by the county
recorder, the person solemnizing the marriage, in order to comply
with Section 359, shall obtain a duplicate marriage license by filing
an affidavit setting forth the facts with the county clerk of the
county in which the license was issued.
(b) The duplicate marriage license shall not be issued later than
one year after the date of marriage and shall be returned by the
person solemnizing the marriage to the county recorder within one
year of the date of marriage.
(c) The county clerk may charge a fee to cover the actual costs of
issuing a duplicate marriage license.
(d) If a marriage license is lost, damaged, or destroyed before a
marriage ceremony takes place, the applicants shall purchase a new
marriage license and the old license shall be voided.
SEC. 6. Section 500 of the Family Code is amended to read:
500. When two unmarried people, not minors, have been living
together as spouses, they may be married pursuant to this chapter by
a person authorized to solemnize a marriage under Chapter 1
(commencing with Section 400) of Part 3.
SEC. 7. Section 2103 of the Family Code is amended to read:
2103. In order to provide full and accurate disclosure of all
assets and liabilities in which one or both parties may have an
interest, each party to a proceeding for dissolution of the marriage
or legal separation of the parties shall serve on the other party a
preliminary declaration of disclosure under Section 2104, unless
service of the preliminary declaration of disclosure is waived as
provided in Section 2107 or is not required pursuant to Section 2110,
and a final declaration of disclosure under Section 2105, unless
service of the final declaration of disclosure is waived pursuant to
Section 2105, 2107, or 2110, and shall file proof of service of each
with the court.
SEC. 8. Section 4014 of the Family Code is amended to read:
4014. (a) Any order for child support issued or modified pursuant
to this chapter shall include a provision requiring the obligor and
child support obligee to notify the other parent or, if the order
requires payment through an agency designated under Title IV-D of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 651 et seq.), the agency named
in the order, of the name and address of his or her current employer.
(b) The requirements set forth in this subdivision apply only in
cases in which the local child support agency is not providing child
support services pursuant to Section 17400. To the extent required by
federal law, and subject to applicable confidentiality provisions of
state or federal law, any judgment for paternity and any order for
child support entered or modified pursuant to any provision of law
shall include a provision requiring the child support obligor and
obligee to file with the court all of the following information:
(1) Residential and mailing address.
(2) Social security number.
(3) Telephone number.
(4) Driver's license number.
(5) Name, address, and telephone number of the employer.
(6) Any other information prescribed by the Judicial Council.
The judgment or order shall specify that each parent is
responsible for providing his or her own information, that the
information must be filed with the court within 10 days of the court
order, and that new or different information must be filed with the
court within 10 days after any event causing a change in the
previously provided information.
(c) The requirements set forth in this subdivision shall only
apply in cases in which the local child support agency is not
providing child support services pursuant to Section 17400. Once the
child support registry, as described in Section 17391 is operational,
any judgment for paternity and any order for child support entered
or modified pursuant to any provision of law shall include a
provision requiring the child support obligor and obligee to file and
keep updated the information specified in subdivision (b) with the
child support registry.
(d) The Judicial Council shall develop forms to implement this
section. The forms shall be developed so as not to delay the
implementation of the Statewide Child Support Registry described in
Section 17391 and shall be available no later than 30 days prior to
the implementation of the Statewide Child Support Registry.
SEC. 9. Section 4052.5 of the Family Code is amended to read:
4052.5. (a) The statewide uniform guideline, as required by
federal regulations, shall apply in any case in which a child has
more than two parents. The court shall apply the guideline by
dividing child support obligations among the parents based on income
and amount of time spent with the child by each parent, pursuant to
Section 4053.
(b) Consistent with federal regulations, after calculating the
amount of support owed by each parent under the guideline, the
presumption that the guideline amount of support is correct may be
rebutted if the court finds that the application of the guideline in
that case would be unjust or inappropriate due to special
circumstances, pursuant to Section 4057. If the court makes that
finding, the court shall divide child support obligations among the
parents in a manner that is just and appropriate based on income and
amount of time spent with the child by each parent, applying the
principles set forth in Section 4053 and this article.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require
reprogramming of the California Child Support Enforcement System, a
change to the statewide uniform guideline for determining child
support set forth in Section 4055, or a revision by the Department of
Child Support Services of its regulations, policies, procedures,
forms, or training materials.
SEC. 10. Section 8714 of the Family Code is amended to read:
8714. (a) A person desiring to adopt a nondependent child may for
that purpose file an adoption request in a county authorized by
Section 8609.5. A person desiring to adopt a child who has been
adjudged to be a dependent of the juvenile court pursuant to Section
300 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, freed for adoption by the
juvenile court, and placed for adoption with the petitioner, may file
the adoption request either in the county where the petitioner
resides or in the county where the child was freed for adoption.
(b) The court clerk shall immediately notify the department at
Sacramento in writing of the pendency of the proceeding and of any
subsequent action taken.
(c) If the petitioner has entered into a postadoption contact
agreement with the birth parent as set forth in Section 8616.5, the
agreement, signed by the participating parties, shall be attached to
and filed with the petition for adoption under subdivision (a).
(d) The caption of the adoption petition shall contain the names
of the petitioners, but not the child's name. The petition shall
state the child's sex and date of birth. The name the child had
before adoption shall appear in the joinder signed by the licensed
adoption agency.
(e) If the child is the subject of a guardianship petition, the
adoption petition shall so state and shall include the caption and
docket number or have attached a copy of the letters of the
guardianship or temporary guardianship. The petitioners shall notify
the court of any petition for guardianship or temporary guardianship
filed after the adoption petition. The guardianship proceeding shall
be consolidated with the adoption proceeding.
(f) The order of adoption shall contain the child's adopted name,
but not the name the child had before adoption.
SEC. 11. Section 17212 of the Family Code is amended to read:
17212. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to protect
individual rights of privacy, and to facilitate and enhance the
effectiveness of the child and spousal support enforcement program,
by ensuring the confidentiality of support enforcement and child
abduction records, and to thereby encourage the full and frank
disclosure of information relevant to all of the following:
(1) The establishment or maintenance of parent and child
relationships and support obligations.
(2) The enforcement of the child support liability of absent
parents.
(3) The enforcement of spousal support liability of the spouse or
former spouse to the extent required by the state plan under Section
17604 and Part 6 (commencing with Section 5700.101) of Division 9.
(4) The location of absent parents.
(5) The location of parents and children abducted, concealed, or
detained by them.
(b) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (c), all files,
applications, papers, documents, and records established or
maintained by any public entity pursuant to the administration and
implementation of the child and spousal support enforcement program
established pursuant to Part D (commencing with Section 651) of
Subchapter IV of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States Code and
this division, shall be confidential, and shall not be open to
examination or released for disclosure for any purpose not directly
connected with the administration of the child and spousal support
enforcement program. No public entity shall disclose any file,
application, paper, document, or record, or the information contained
therein, except as expressly authorized by this section.
(2) In no case shall information be released or the whereabouts of
one party or the child disclosed to another party, or to the
attorney of any other party, if a protective order has been issued by
a court or administrative agency with respect to the party, a good
cause claim under Section 11477.04 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code has been approved or is pending, or the public agency
responsible for establishing paternity or enforcing support has
reason to believe that the release of the information may result in
physical or emotional harm to the party or the child. When a local
child support agency is prohibited from releasing information
pursuant to this subdivision, the information shall be omitted from
any pleading or document to be submitted to the court and this
subdivision shall be cited in the pleading or other document as the
authority for the omission. The information shall be released only
upon an order of the court pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision
(c).
(3) Notwithstanding any other law, a proof of service filed by the
local child support agency shall not disclose the address where
service of process was accomplished. Instead, the local child support
agency shall keep the address in its own records. The proof of
service shall specify that the address is on record at the local
child support agency and that the address may be released only upon
an order from the court pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (c).
The local child support agency shall, upon request by a party
served, release to that person the address where service was
effected.
(c) Disclosure of the information described in subdivision (b) is
authorized as follows:
(1) All files, applications, papers, documents, and records as
described in subdivision (b) shall be available and may be used by a
public entity for all administrative, civil, or criminal
investigations, actions, proceedings, or prosecutions conducted in
connection with the administration of the child and spousal support
enforcement program approved under Part D (commencing with Section
651) of Subchapter IV of Chapter 7 of Title 42 of the United States
Code and to the county welfare department responsible for
administering a program operated under a state plan pursuant to Part
A, Subpart 1 or 2 of Part B, or Part E of Subchapter IV of Chapter 7
of Title 42 of the United States Code.
(2) A document requested by a person who wrote, prepared, or
furnished the document may be examined by or disclosed to that person
or his or her designee.
(3) The payment history of an obligor pursuant to a support order
may be examined by or released to the court, the obligor, or the
person on whose behalf enforcement actions are being taken or that
person's designee.
(4) An income and expense declaration of either parent may be
released to the other parent for the purpose of establishing or
modifying a support order.
(5) Public records subject to disclosure under the California
Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of
Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code) may be released.
(6) After a noticed motion and a finding by the court, in a case
in which establishment or enforcement actions are being taken, that
release or disclosure to the obligor or obligee is required by due
process of law, the court may order a public entity that possesses an
application, paper, document, or record as described in subdivision
(b) to make that item available to the obligor or obligee for
examination or copying, or to disclose to the obligor or obligee the
contents of that item. Article 9 (commencing with Section 1040) of
Chapter 4 of Division 8 of the Evidence Code shall not be applicable
to proceedings under this part. At any hearing of a motion filed
pursuant to this section, the court shall inquire of the local child
support agency and the parties appearing at the hearing if there is
reason to believe that release of the requested information may
result in physical or emotional harm to a party. If the court
determines that harm may occur, the court shall issue any protective
orders or injunctive orders restricting the use and disclosure of the
information as are necessary to protect the individuals.
(7) To the extent not prohibited by federal law or regulation,
information indicating the existence or imminent threat of a crime
against a child, or location of a concealed, detained, or abducted
child or the location of the concealing, detaining, or abducting
person, may be disclosed to any district attorney, any appropriate
law enforcement agency, or to any state or county child protective
agency, or may be used in any judicial proceedings to prosecute that
crime or to protect the child.
(8) The social security number, most recent address, and the place
of employment of the absent parent may be released to an authorized
person as defined in Section 653(c) of Title 42 of the United States
Code, only if the authorized person has filed a request for the
information, and only if the information has been provided to the
California Parent Locator Service by the federal Parent Locator
Service pursuant to Section 653 of Title 42 of the United States
Code.
(9) A parent's or relative's name, social security number, most
recent address, telephone number, place of employment, or other
contact information may be released to a county child welfare agency
or county probation department pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section
17506.
(d) (1) "Administration and implementation of the child and
spousal support enforcement program," as used in this division, means
the carrying out of the state and local plans for establishing,
modifying, and enforcing child support obligations, enforcing spousal
support orders, and determining paternity pursuant to Part D
(commencing with Section 651) of Subchapter IV of Chapter 7 of Title
42 of the United States Code and this article.
(2) For purposes of this division, "obligor" means any person
owing a duty of support.
(3) As used in this division, "putative parent" shall refer to any
person reasonably believed to be the parent of a child for whom the
local child support agency is attempting to establish paternity or
establish, modify, or enforce support pursuant to Section 17400.
(e) Any person who willfully, knowingly, and intentionally
violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to compel the
disclosure of information relating to a deserting parent who is a
recipient of aid under a public assistance program for which federal
aid is paid to this state, if that information is required to be kept
confidential by the federal law or regulations relating to the
program.
SEC. 12. Section 17306 of the Family Code is amended to read:
17306. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) While the State Department of Social Services has had
statutory authority over the child support system, the locally
elected district attorneys have operated their county programs with a
great deal of autonomy.
(2) District attorneys have operated the child support programs
with different forms, procedures, and priorities, making it difficult
to adequately evaluate and modify performance statewide.
(3) Problems collecting child support reflect a fundamental lack
of leadership and accountability in the collection program. These
management problems have cost California taxpayers and families
billions of dollars.
(b) The director shall develop uniform forms, policies, and
procedures to be employed statewide by all local child support
agencies. Pursuant to this subdivision, the director shall:
(1) Adopt uniform procedures and forms.
(2) Establish standard caseworker to case staffing ratios,
adjusted as appropriate to meet the varying needs of local programs.
(3) Establish standard attorney to caseworker ratios, adjusted as
appropriate to meet the varying needs of local programs.
(4) Institute a consistent statewide policy on the appropriateness
of closing cases to ensure that, without relying solely on federal
minimum requirements, all cases are fully and pragmatically pursued
for collections prior to closing.
(5) Evaluate the best practices for the establishment,
enforcement, and collection of child support, for the purpose of
determining which practices should be implemented statewide in an
effort to improve performance by local child support agencies. In
evaluating the best practices, the director shall review existing
practices in better performing counties within California, as well as
practices implemented by other state Title IV-D programs nationwide.
(6) Evaluate the best practices for the management of effective
child support enforcement operations for the purpose of determining
what management structure should be implemented statewide in an
effort to improve the establishment, enforcement, and collection of
child support by local child support agencies, including an
examination of the need for attorneys in management level positions.
In evaluating the best practices, the director shall review existing
practices in better performing counties within California, as well as
practices implemented by other state Title IV-D programs nationwide.
(7) Set priorities for the use of specific enforcement mechanisms
for use by local child support agencies. As part of establishing
these priorities, the director shall set forth caseload processing
priorities to target enforcement efforts and services in a way that
will maximize collections and avoid welfare dependency.
(8) Develop uniform training protocols, require periodic training
of all child support staff, and conduct training sessions as
appropriate.
(9) Review and approve annual budgets submitted by the local child
support agencies to ensure each local child support agency operates
an effective and efficient program that complies with all federal and
state laws, regulations, and directives, including the directive to
hire sufficient staff.
(c) The director shall submit any forms intended for use in court
proceedings to the Judicial Council for approval at least six months
prior to the implementation of the use of the forms.
(d) In adopting the forms, policies, and procedures, the director
shall consult with appropriate organizations representing
stakeholders in California, such as the California State Association
of Counties, labor organizations, custodial and noncustodial parent
advocates, child support commissioners, family law facilitators, and
the appropriate committees of the Legislature.
(e) (1) (A) Notwithstanding the Administrative Procedure Act,
Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code, through December 31, 2007, the
department may implement the applicable provisions of this division
through child support services letters or similar instructions from
the director.
(B) The department shall adopt regulations implementing the forms,
policies, and procedures established pursuant to this section. The
director may delay implementation of any of these regulations in any
county for any time as the director deems necessary for the smooth
transition and efficient operation of a local child support agency,
but implementation shall not be delayed beyond the time at which the
transition to the new county department of child support services is
completed. The department may adopt regulations to implement this
division in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. The
adoption of any emergency regulation filed with the Office of
Administrative Law on or
before December 31, 2007, shall be deemed to be an emergency and
necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health,
and safety or general welfare. These emergency regulations shall
remain in effect for no more than 180 days.
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that the amendments to
paragraph (1) of this subdivision made by Assembly Bill 3032 of the
2001-02 Regular Session shall be retroactive to June 30, 2002.
SEC. 13. Article 4 (commencing with Section 17390) is added to
Chapter 1 of Division 17 of the Family Code, to read:
Article 4. Statewide Registry for Child Support
17390. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that there is no
single statewide database containing statistical data regarding child
support orders.
(b) The California Child Support Enforcement System or its
replacement may be utilized to provide a single statewide registry of
all child support orders in California, including orders for cases
under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act and all cases with child
support orders.
17391. (a) The department shall develop an implementation plan
for the Statewide Child Support Registry. The Statewide Child Support
Registry shall be operated by the agency responsible for operation
of the California Child Support Enforcement System or its
replacement. The Statewide Child Support Registry shall include
storage and data retrieval of the data elements specified in Section
17392 for all California child support orders. The Statewide Child
Support Registry will operate to ensure that all data in the
Statewide Child Support Registry can be accessed and integrated for
statistical analysis and reporting purposes with all child support
order data contained in the California Child Support Enforcement
System.
(b) Each clerk of the court shall provide the information
specified in Section 17392 within 20 days to the department or the
Statewide Child Support Registry from each new or modified child
support order, including child support arrearage orders.
(c) The department shall maintain a system for compiling the child
support data received from the clerks of the court, ensure that all
child support data received from the clerks of the court are entered
into the Statewide Child Support Registry within five business days
of receipt in the Statewide Child Support Registry, and ensure that
the Statewide Child Support Registry is fully implemented statewide.
(d) The department shall provide aggregate data on a periodic
basis on the data maintained by the Statewide Child Support Registry
to the Judicial Council, the appropriate agencies of the executive
branch, and the Legislature for statistical analysis and review. The
data shall not include individual identifying information for
specific cases.
(e) Any information maintained by the Statewide Child Support
Registry received from clerks of the court shall be provided to local
child support agencies, the courts, and others as provided by law.
17392. (a) The Judicial Council shall develop any forms that may
be necessary to implement the Statewide Child Support Registry. The
forms may be in electronic form or in hardcopy, as appropriate. The
forms shall be developed so as not to delay implementation, and shall
be available no later than 30 days prior to the implementation, of
the Statewide Child Support Registry.
(b) The information transmitted from the clerks of the court to
the Statewide Child Support Registry shall include all of the
following:
(1) Any information required under federal law.
(2) Any other information the department and the Judicial Council
find appropriate.
17393. The Judicial Council shall develop the forms necessary to
implement this article.
SEC. 14. Section 17400 of the Family Code is amended to read:
17400. (a) Each county shall maintain a local child support
agency, as specified in Section 17304, that shall have the
responsibility for promptly and effectively establishing, modifying,
and enforcing child support obligations, including medical support,
enforcing spousal support orders established by a court of competent
jurisdiction, and determining paternity in the case of a child born
out of wedlock. The local child support agency shall take appropriate
action, including criminal action in cooperation with the district
attorneys, to establish, modify, and enforce child support and, if
appropriate, enforce spousal support orders if the child is receiving
public assistance, including Medi-Cal, and, if requested, shall take
the same actions on behalf of a child who is not receiving public
assistance, including Medi-Cal.
(b) (1) Notwithstanding Sections 25203 and 26529 of the Government
Code, attorneys employed within the local child support agency may
direct, control, and prosecute civil actions and proceedings in the
name of the county in support of child support activities of the
Department of Child Support Services and the local child support
agency.
(2) Notwithstanding any other law, and except for pleadings or
documents required to be signed under penalty of perjury, a local
child support agency may substitute original signatures with any form
of electronic signatures, including, but not limited to, typed,
digital, or facsimile images of signatures, digital signatures, or
other computer-generated signatures, on pleadings filed for the
purpose of establishing, modifying, or enforcing paternity, child
support, or medical support. Any substituted signature used by a
local child support agency shall have the same effect as an original
signature, including, but not limited to, the requirements of Section
128.7 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(3) Notwithstanding any other law, effective July 1, 2016, a local
child support agency may electronically file pleadings signed by an
agent of the local child support agency under penalty of perjury. An
original signed pleading shall be executed prior to, or on the same
day as, the day of electronic filing. Original signed pleadings shall
be maintained by the local child support agency for the period of
time prescribed by subdivision (a) of Section 68152 of the Government
Code. A local child support agency may maintain the original signed
pleading by way of an electronic copy in the Statewide Automated
Child Support System. The Judicial Council, by July 1, 2016, shall
develop rules to implement this subdivision.
(c) Actions brought by the local child support agency to establish
paternity or child support or to enforce child support obligations
shall be completed within the time limits set forth by federal law.
The local child support agency's responsibility applies to spousal
support only if the spousal support obligation has been reduced to an
order of a court of competent jurisdiction. In any action brought
for modification or revocation of an order that is being enforced
under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 651 et
seq.), the effective date of the modification or revocation shall be
as prescribed by federal law (42 U.S.C. Sec. 666(a)(9)), or any
subsequent date.
(d) (1) The Judicial Council, in consultation with the department,
the Senate Committee on Judiciary, the Assembly Committee on
Judiciary, and a legal services organization providing representation
on child support matters, shall develop simplified summons,
complaint, and answer forms for any action for support brought
pursuant to this section or Section 17404. The Judicial Council may
combine the summons and complaint in a single form.
(2) The simplified complaint form shall provide notice of the
amount of child support that is sought pursuant to the guidelines set
forth in Article 2 (commencing with Section 4050) of Chapter 2 of
Part 2 of Division 9 based upon the income or income history of the
support obligor as known to the local child support agency. If the
support obligor's income or income history is unknown to the local
child support agency, the complaint shall inform the support obligor
that income shall be presumed to be the amount of the minimum wage,
at 40 hours per week, established by the Industrial Welfare
Commission pursuant to Section 1182.11 of the Labor Code unless
information concerning the support obligor's income is provided to
the court. The complaint form shall be accompanied by a proposed
judgment. The complaint form shall include a notice to the support
obligor that the proposed judgment will become effective if he or she
fails to file an answer with the court within 30 days of service.
Except as provided in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section
17402, if the proposed judgment is entered by the court, the support
order in the proposed judgment shall be effective as of the first day
of the month following the filing of the complaint.
(3) (A) The simplified answer form shall be written in simple
English and shall permit a defendant to answer and raise defenses by
checking applicable boxes. The answer form shall include instructions
for completion of the form and instructions for proper filing of the
answer.
(B) The answer form shall be accompanied by a blank income and
expense declaration or simplified financial statement and
instructions on how to complete the financial forms. The answer form
shall direct the defendant to file the completed income and expense
declaration or simplified financial statement with the answer, but
shall state that the answer will be accepted by a court without the
income and expense declaration or simplified financial statement.
(C) The clerk of the court shall accept and file answers, income
and expense declarations, and simplified financial statements that
are completed by hand provided they are legible.
(4) (A) The simplified complaint form prepared pursuant to this
subdivision shall be used by the local child support agency or the
Attorney General in all cases brought under this section or Section
17404.
(B) The simplified answer form prepared pursuant to this
subdivision shall be served on all defendants with the simplified
complaint. Failure to serve the simplified answer form on all
defendants shall not invalidate any judgment obtained. However,
failure to serve the answer form may be used as evidence in any
proceeding under Section 17432 of this code or Section 473 of the
Code of Civil Procedure.
(C) The Judicial Council shall add language to the governmental
summons, for use by the local child support agency with the
governmental complaint to establish parental relationship and child
support, informing defendants that a blank answer form should have
been received with the summons and additional copies may be obtained
from either the local child support agency or the superior court
clerk.
(e) In any action brought or enforcement proceedings instituted by
the local child support agency pursuant to this section for payment
of child or spousal support, an action to recover an arrearage in
support payments may be maintained by the local child support agency
at any time within the period otherwise specified for the enforcement
of a support judgment, notwithstanding the fact that the child has
attained the age of majority.
(f) The county shall undertake an outreach program to inform the
public that the services described in subdivisions (a) to (c),
inclusive, are available to persons not receiving public assistance.
There shall be prominently displayed in every public area of every
office of the agencies established by this section a notice, in clear
and simple language prescribed by the Director of Child Support
Services, that the services provided in subdivisions (a) to (c),
inclusive, are provided to all individuals, whether or not they are
recipients of public assistance.
(g) (1) In any action to establish a child support order brought
by the local child support agency in the performance of duties under
this section, the local child support agency may make a motion for an
order effective during the pendency of that action, for the support,
maintenance, and education of the child or children that are the
subject of the action. This order shall be referred to as an order
for temporary support. This order has the same force and effect as a
like or similar order under this code.
(2) The local child support agency shall file a motion for an
order for temporary support within the following time limits:
(A) If the defendant is the mother, a presumed father under
Section 7611, or any father if the child is at least six months old
when the defendant files his or her answer, the time limit is 90 days
after the defendant files an answer.
(B) In any other case in which the defendant has filed an answer
prior to the birth of the child or not more than six months after the
birth of the child, then the time limit is nine months after the
birth of the child.
(3) If more than one child is the subject of the action, the
limitation on reimbursement shall apply only as to those children
whose parental relationship and age would bar recovery were a
separate action brought for support of that child or those children.
(4) If the local child support agency fails to file a motion for
an order for temporary support within the time limits specified in
this section, the local child support agency shall be barred from
obtaining a judgment of reimbursement for any support provided for
that child during the period between the date the time limit expired
and the date the motion was filed, or, if no motion is filed, when a
final judgment is entered.
(5) Except as provided in Section 17304, nothing in this section
prohibits the local child support agency from entering into
cooperative arrangements with other county departments as necessary
to carry out the responsibilities imposed by this section pursuant to
plans of cooperation with the departments approved by the Department
of Child Support Services.
(6) Nothing in this section otherwise limits the ability of the
local child support agency from securing and enforcing orders for
support of a spouse or former spouse as authorized under any other
law.
(h) As used in this article, "enforcing obligations" includes, but
is not limited to, all of the following:
(1) The use of all interception and notification systems operated
by the department for the purpose of aiding in the enforcement of
support obligations.
(2) The obtaining by the local child support agency of an initial
order for child support that may include medical support or that is
for medical support only, by civil or criminal process.
(3) The initiation of a motion or order to show cause to increase
an existing child support order, and the response to a motion or
order to show cause brought by an obligor parent to decrease an
existing child support order, or the initiation of a motion or order
to show cause to obtain an order for medical support, and the
response to a motion or order to show cause brought by an obligor
parent to decrease or terminate an existing medical support order,
without regard to whether the child is receiving public assistance.
(4) The response to a notice of motion or order to show cause
brought by an obligor parent to decrease an existing spousal support
order if the child or children are residing with the obligee parent
and the local child support agency is also enforcing a related child
support obligation owed to the obligee parent by the same obligor.
(5) The referral of child support delinquencies to the department
under subdivision (c) of Section 17500 in support of the local child
support agency.
(i) As used in this section, "out of wedlock" means that the
biological parents of the child were not married to each other at the
time of the child's conception.
(j) (1) The local child support agency is the public agency
responsible for administering wage withholding for current support
for the purposes of Title IV-D of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
Sec. 651 et seq.).
(2) Nothing in this section limits the authority of the local
child support agency granted by other sections of this code or
otherwise granted by law.
(k) In the exercise of the authority granted under this article,
the local child support agency may intervene, pursuant to subdivision
(b) of Section 387 of the Code of Civil Procedure, by ex parte
application, in any action under this code, or other proceeding in
which child support is an issue or a reduction in spousal support is
sought. By notice of motion, order to show cause, or responsive
pleading served upon all parties to the action, the local child
support agency may request any relief that is appropriate that the
local child support agency is authorized to seek.
( l ) The local child support agency shall comply with
all regulations and directives established by the department that set
time standards for responding to requests for assistance in locating
noncustodial parents, establishing paternity, establishing child
support awards, and collecting child support payments.
(m) As used in this article, medical support activities that the
local child support agency is authorized to perform are limited to
the following:
(1) The obtaining and enforcing of court orders for health
insurance coverage.
(2) Any other medical support activity mandated by federal law or
regulation.
(n) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, venue for an action or
proceeding under this division shall be determined as follows:
(A) Venue shall be in the superior court in the county that is
currently expending public assistance.
(B) If public assistance is not currently being expended, venue
shall be in the superior court in the county where the child who is
entitled to current support resides or is domiciled.
(C) If current support is no longer payable through, or
enforceable by, the local child support agency, venue shall be in the
superior court in the county that last provided public assistance
for actions to enforce arrearages assigned pursuant to Section 11477
of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(D) If subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) do not apply, venue shall
be in the superior court in the county of residence of the support
obligee.
(E) If the support obligee does not reside in California, and
subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) do not apply, venue shall be in
the superior court of the county of residence of the obligor.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if the child becomes a resident
of another county after an action under this part has been filed,
venue may remain in the county where the action was filed until the
action is completed.
(o) The local child support agency of one county may appear on
behalf of the local child support agency of any other county in an
action or proceeding under this part.
SEC. 15. Section 17434 of the Family Code is amended to read:
17434. (a) The department shall publish a booklet describing the
proper procedures and processes for the collection and payment of
child and spousal support. The booklet shall be written in language
understandable to the lay person and shall direct the reader to
obtain the assistance of the local child support agency, the family
law facilitator, or legal counsel where appropriate. The department
may contract on a competitive basis with an organization or
individual to write the booklet.
(b) The department shall have primary responsibility for the
design and development of the contents of the booklet. The department
shall solicit comment regarding the content of the booklet from the
Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts. The department
shall verify the appropriateness and accuracy of the contents of the
booklet with at least one representative of each of the following
organizations:
(1) A local child support agency.
(2) The State Attorney General's office.
(3) A community organization that advocates for the rights of
custodial parents.
(4) A community organization that advocates for the rights of
supporting parents.
(c) Upon receipt of booklets on support collection, each county
welfare department shall provide a copy to each head of household
whose application for public assistance under Division 9 (commencing
with Section 10000) of the Welfare and Institutions Code has been
approved and for whom support rights have been assigned pursuant to
Section 11477 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. The department
shall provide copies of the booklet to local child support agencies
for distribution, and to any person upon request. The department
shall also distribute the booklets to all superior courts. Upon
receipt of those booklets, each clerk of the court shall provide two
copies of the booklet to the petitioner or plaintiff in any action
involving the support of a minor child. The moving party shall serve
a copy of the booklet on the responding party.
(d) The department shall expand the information provided under its
toll-free information hotline in response to inquiries regarding the
process and procedures for collection and payment of child and
spousal support. This toll-free number shall be advertised as
providing information on child and spousal support. The hotline
personnel shall not provide legal consultation or advice, but shall
provide only referral services.
(e) The department shall maintain a file of referral sources to
provide callers to the telephone hotline with the following
information specific to the county in which the caller resides:
(1) The location and telephone number of the local child support
agency, the county welfare office, the family law facilitator, and
any other government agency that handles child and spousal support
matters.
(2) The telephone number of the local bar association for referral
to attorneys in family law practice.
(3) The name and telephone number of at least one organization
that advocates the payment of child and spousal support or the name
and telephone number of at least one organization that advocates the
rights of supporting parents, if these organizations exist in the
county.
SEC. 16. Section 17450 of the Family Code is amended to read:
17450. (a) For purposes of this article:
(1) "Child support delinquency" means a delinquency defined in
subdivision (c) of Section 17500.
(2) "Earnings" shall include the items described in Section 5206.
(b) (1) When a delinquency is submitted to the department pursuant
to subdivision (c) of Section 17500, the amount of the child support
delinquency shall be collected by the department in any manner
authorized under state or federal law.
(2) Any compensation, fee, commission, expense, or any other fee
for service incurred by the department in the collection of a child
support delinquency authorized under this article shall not be an
obligation of, or collected from, the obligated parent.
(c) (1) The department may return or allow a local child support
agency to retain a child support delinquency for a specified purpose
for collection where the department determines that the return or
retention of the delinquency for the purpose so specified will
enhance the collectibility of the delinquency. The department shall
establish a process whereby a local child support agency may request
and shall be allowed to withdraw, rescind, or otherwise recall the
submittal of an account that has been submitted.
(2) If an obligor is disabled, meets the federal Supplemental
Security Income resource test, and is receiving Supplemental Security
Income/State Supplementary Payments (SSI/SSP), or, but for excess
income as described in Section 416.1100 and following of Part 416 of
Title 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations, would be eligible to
receive as SSI/SSP, pursuant to Section 12200 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, and the obligor has supplied the local child
support agency with proof of his or her eligibility for, and, if
applicable, receipt of, SSI/SSP or Social Security Disability
Insurance benefits, then the child support delinquency shall not be
referred to the department for collection, and, if referred, shall be
withdrawn, rescinded, or otherwise recalled from the department by
the local child support agency. The department shall not take any
collection action, or if the local child support agency has already
taken collection action, shall cease collection actions in the case
of a disabled obligor when the delinquency is withdrawn, rescinded,
or otherwise recalled by the local child support agency in accordance
with the process established as described in paragraph (1).
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that when the California
Child Support Enforcement System (CSE) is fully operational, any
statutes that should be modified based upon the status of the system
shall be revised. During the development and implementation of CSE,
the department, as the Title IV-D agency, may, through appropriate
interagency agreement, delegate any and all of the functions or
procedures specified in this article to the Franchise Tax Board. The
Franchise Tax Board shall perform those functions or procedures as
specified in Sections 19271 to 19275, inclusive, of the Revenue and
Taxation Code until such time as the director, by letter to the
executive officer of the Franchise Tax Board, revokes such delegation
of Title IV-D functions. Sections 19271 to 19275, inclusive, of the
Revenue and Taxation Code shall be effective for these purposes until
the revocation of delegation to the Franchise Tax Board.
(e) Consistent with the development and implementation of the
California Child Support Enforcement System, the Franchise Tax Board
and the department shall enter into a letter of agreement and an
interagency agreement whereby the department shall assume
responsibility for collection of child support delinquencies and the
Financial Institution Data Match System as set forth in this article.
The letter of agreement and interagency agreement shall, at a
minimum, set forth all of the following:
(1) Contingent upon the enactment of the Budget Act, and staffing
authorization from the Department of Finance and the Department of
Human Resources, the department shall assume responsibility for
leadership and staffing of the collection of child support
delinquencies and the Financial Institution Data Match System.
(2) All employees and other personnel who staff or provide support
for the collection of child support delinquencies and the Financial
Institution Data Match System at the Franchise Tax Board shall become
the employees of the department at their existing or equivalent
classification, salaries, and benefits.
(3) Any other provisions necessary to ensure continuity of
function and meet or exceed existing levels of service, including,
but not limited to, agreements for continued use of automated systems
used by the Franchise
Tax Board to locate child support obligors and their assets.
SEC. 17. Section 17458 of the Family Code is repealed.
SEC. 18. Section 17460 of the Family Code is amended to read:
17460. (a) As necessary, the department shall seek reciprocal
agreements with other states to improve its ability to collect child
support payments from out-of-state obligated parents on behalf of
custodial parents residing in California. The department may pursue
agreements with the Internal Revenue Service, as permitted by federal
law, to improve collections of child support delinquencies from
out-of-state obligated parents through cooperative agreements with
the service.
(b) The California Child Support Enforcement System shall, for
purposes of this article, include the capacity to interface and
exchange information, if feasible, with the Internal Revenue Service,
to enable the immediate reporting and tracking of obligated parent
information.
(c) The department shall enter into any interagency agreements
that are necessary for the implementation of this article. State
departments and boards shall cooperate with the department to the
extent necessary for the implementation of this article. Out of any
money received from the federal government for the purpose of
reimbursing state departments and boards for their actual and
reasonable costs incurred in complying with this section, the
department shall reimburse those departments and boards. To the
extent that money is not provided by the federal government for that
purpose, and subject to the annual Budget Act, the state shall fund
departments and boards for their costs in complying with this
section.
SEC. 19. Section 17504.1 is added to the Family Code, to read:
17504.1. On a monthly basis, the local child support agency shall
provide to any CalWORKs recipient or former recipient for whom an
assignment pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 11477 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code is currently effective, a notice of the
amount of assigned support payments made on behalf of the recipient
or former recipient or any other family member for whom public
assistance is received.
SEC. 20. Section 17506 of the Family Code is amended to read:
17506. (a) There is in the department a California Parent Locator
Service and Central Registry that shall collect and disseminate all
of the following, with respect to any parent, putative parent,
spouse, or former spouse:
(1) The full and true name of the parent together with any known
aliases.
(2) Date and place of birth.
(3) Physical description.
(4) Social security number.
(5) Employment history and earnings.
(6) Military status and Veterans Administration or military
service serial number.
(7) Last known address, telephone number, and date thereof.
(8) Driver's license number, driving record, and vehicle
registration information.
(9) Criminal, licensing, and applicant records and information.
(10) (A) Any additional location, asset, and income information,
including income tax return information obtained pursuant to Section
19548 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, and to the extent permitted
by federal law, the address, telephone number, and social security
number obtained from a public utility, cable television corporation,
a provider of electronic digital pager communication, or a provider
of mobile telephony services that may be of assistance in locating
the parent, putative parent, abducting, concealing, or detaining
parent, spouse, or former spouse, in establishing a parent and child
relationship, in enforcing the child support liability of the absent
parent, or enforcing the spousal support liability of the spouse or
former spouse to the extent required by the state plan pursuant to
Section 17604.
(B) For purposes of this subdivision, "income tax return
information" means all of the following regarding the taxpayer:
(i) Assets.
(ii) Credits.
(iii) Deductions.
(iv) Exemptions.
(v) Identity.
(vi) Liabilities.
(vii) Nature, source, and amount of income.
(viii) Net worth.
(ix) Payments.
(x) Receipts.
(xi) Address.
(xii) Social security number.
(b) Pursuant to a letter of agreement entered into between the
Department of Child Support Services and the Department of Justice,
the Department of Child Support Services shall assume responsibility
for the California Parent Locator Service and Central Registry. The
letter of agreement shall, at a minimum, set forth all of the
following:
(1) Contingent upon funding in the Budget Act, the Department of
Child Support Services shall assume responsibility for leadership and
staff of the California Parent Locator Service and Central Registry
commencing July 1, 2003.
(2) All employees and other personnel who staff or provide support
for the California Parent Locator Service and Central Registry
shall, at the time of the transition, at their option, become the
employees of the Department of Child Support Services at their
existing or equivalent classification, salaries, and benefits.
(3) Until the department's automation system for the California
Parent Locator Service and Central Registry functions is fully
operational, the department shall use the automation system operated
by the Department of Justice.
(4) Any other provisions necessary to ensure continuity of
function and meet or exceed existing levels of service.
(c) To effectuate the purposes of this section, the California
Child Support Enforcement System and the California Parent Locator
Service and Central Registry shall utilize the federal Parent Locator
Service to the extent necessary, and may request and shall receive
from all departments, boards, bureaus, or other agencies of the
state, or any of its political subdivisions, and those entities shall
provide, that assistance and data that will enable the Department of
Child Support Services and other public agencies to carry out their
powers and duties to locate parents, spouses, and former spouses, and
to identify their assets, to establish parent-child relationships,
and to enforce liability for child or spousal support, and for any
other obligations incurred on behalf of children, and shall also
provide that information to any local child support agency in
fulfilling the duties prescribed in Section 270 of the Penal Code,
and in Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 3130) of Part 2 of Division
8 of this code, relating to abducted, concealed, or detained
children and to any county child welfare agency or county probation
department in fulfilling the duties prescribed in Article 5.5
(commencing with Section 290.1) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2
of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and prescribed in Article 6
(commencing with Section 300) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of
the Welfare and Institutions Code to identify, locate, and notify
parents or relatives of children who are the subject of juvenile
court proceedings, to establish parent and child relationships
pursuant to Section 316.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and
to assess the appropriateness of placement of a child with a
noncustodial parent pursuant to Section 361.2 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code. Consistent with paragraph (1) of subdivision (e)
of Section 309 of, and paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section
628 of, the Welfare and Institutions Code, in order for county child
welfare and probation departments to carry out their duties to
identify and locate all grandparents, adult siblings, and other adult
relatives of the child as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision
(f) of Section 319 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, including
any other adult relatives suggested by the parents, county personnel
are permitted to request and receive information from the California
Parent Locator Service and Federal Parent Locator Service. County
child welfare agencies and probation departments shall be entitled to
the information described in this subdivision regardless of whether
an all-county letter or similar instruction is issued pursuant to
subparagraph (C) of paragraph (8) of subdivision (c) of Section
11478.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. The California Child
Support Enforcement System shall be entitled to the same cooperation
and information as the California Parent Locator Service and Central
Registry to the extent allowed by law. The California Child Support
Enforcement System shall be allowed access to criminal record
information only to the extent that access is allowed by state and
federal law.
(d) (1) To effectuate the purposes of this section, and
notwithstanding any other law, regulation, or tariff, and to the
extent permitted by federal law, the California Parent Locator
Service and Central Registry and the California Child Support
Enforcement System may request and shall receive from public
utilities, as defined in Section 216 of the Public Utilities Code,
customer service information, including the full name, address,
telephone number, date of birth, employer name and address, and
social security number of customers of the public utility, to the
extent that this information is stored within the computer database
of the public utility.
(2) To effectuate the purposes of this section, and
notwithstanding any other law, regulation, or tariff, and to the
extent permitted by federal law, the California Parent Locator
Service and Central Registry and the California Child Support
Enforcement System may request and shall receive from cable
television corporations, as defined in Section 216.4 of the Public
Utilities Code, the providers of electronic digital pager
communication, as defined in Section 629.51 of the Penal Code, and
the providers of mobile telephony services, as defined in Section
224.4 of the Public Utilities Code, customer service information,
including the full name, address, telephone number, date of birth,
employer name and address, and social security number of customers of
the cable television corporation, customers of the providers of
electronic digital pager communication, and customers of the
providers of mobile telephony services.
(3) In order to protect the privacy of utility, cable television,
electronic digital pager communication, and mobile telephony service
customers, a request to a public utility, cable television
corporation, provider of electronic digital pager communication, or
provider of mobile telephony services for customer service
information pursuant to this section shall meet the following
requirements:
(A) Be submitted to the public utility, cable television
corporation, provider of electronic digital pager communication, or
provider of mobile telephony services in writing, on a transmittal
document prepared by the California Parent Locator Service and
Central Registry or the California Child Support Enforcement System
and approved by all of the public utilities, cable television
corporations, providers of electronic digital pager communication,
and providers of mobile telephony services. The transmittal shall be
deemed to be an administrative subpoena for customer service
information.
(B) Have the signature of a representative authorized by the
California Parent Locator Service and Central Registry or the
California Child Support Enforcement System.
(C) Contain at least three of the following data elements
regarding the person sought:
(i) First and last name, and middle initial, if known.
(ii) Social security number.
(iii) Driver's license number.
(iv) Birth date.
(v) Last known address.
(vi) Spouse's name.
(D) The California Parent Locator Service and Central Registry and
the California Child Support Enforcement System shall ensure that
each public utility, cable television corporation, provider of
electronic digital pager communication services, and provider of
mobile telephony services has at all times a current list of the
names of persons authorized to request customer service information.
(E) The California Child Support Enforcement System and the
California Parent Locator Service and Central Registry shall ensure
that customer service information supplied by a public utility, cable
television corporation, provider of electronic digital pager
communication, or provider of mobile telephony services is applicable
to the person who is being sought before releasing the information
pursuant to subdivision (d).
(4) During the development of the California Child Support
Enforcement System, the department shall determine the necessity of
additional locate sources, including those specified in this section,
based upon the cost-effectiveness of those sources.
(5) The public utility, cable television corporation, electronic
digital pager communication provider, or mobile telephony service
provider may charge a fee to the California Parent Locator Service
and Central Registry or the California Child Support Enforcement
System for each search performed pursuant to this subdivision to
cover the actual costs to the public utility, cable television
corporation, electronic digital pager communication provider, or
mobile telephony service provider for providing this information.
(6) No public utility, cable television corporation, electronic
digital pager communication provider, or mobile telephony service
provider or official or employee thereof, shall be subject to
criminal or civil liability for the release of customer service
information as authorized by this subdivision.
(e) Notwithstanding Section 14203 of the Penal Code, any records
established pursuant to this section shall be disseminated only to
the Department of Child Support Services, the California Child
Support Enforcement System, the California Parent Locator Service and
Central Registry, the parent locator services and central registries
of other states as defined by federal statutes and regulations, a
local child support agency of any county in this state, and the
federal Parent Locator Service. The California Child Support
Enforcement System shall be allowed access to criminal offender
record information only to the extent that access is allowed by law.
(f) (1) At no time shall any information received by the
California Parent Locator Service and Central Registry or by the
California Child Support Enforcement System be disclosed to any
person, agency, or other entity, other than those persons, agencies,
and entities specified pursuant to Section 17505, this section, or
any other provision.
(2) This subdivision shall not otherwise affect discovery between
parties in any action to establish, modify, or enforce child, family,
or spousal support, that relates to custody or visitation.
(g) (1) The Department of Justice, in consultation with the
Department of Child Support Services, shall promulgate rules and
regulations to facilitate maximum and efficient use of the California
Parent Locator Service and Central Registry. Upon implementation of
the California Child Support Enforcement System, the Department of
Child Support Services shall assume all responsibility for
promulgating rules and regulations for use of the California Parent
Locator Service and Central Registry.
(2) The Department of Child Support Services, the Public Utilities
Commission, the cable television corporations, providers of
electronic digital pager communication, and the providers of mobile
telephony services shall develop procedures for obtaining the
information described in subdivision (c) from public utilities, cable
television corporations, providers of electronic digital pager
communication, and providers of mobile telephony services and for
compensating the public utilities, cable television corporations,
providers of electronic digital pager communication, and providers of
mobile telephony services for providing that information.
(h) The California Parent Locator Service and Central Registry may
charge a fee not to exceed eighteen dollars ($18) for any service it
provides pursuant to this section that is not performed or funded
pursuant to Section 651 and following of Title 42 of the United
States Code.
(i) This section shall be construed in a manner consistent with
the other provisions of this article.
SEC. 21. Section 17508 of the Family Code is amended to read:
17508. (a) The Employment Development Department shall, when
requested by the Department of Child Support Services local child
support agency, the federal Parent Locator Service, or the California
Parent Locator Service, provide access to information collected
pursuant to Division 1 (commencing with Section 100) of the
Unemployment Insurance Code to the requesting department or agency
for purposes of administering the child support enforcement program,
and for purposes of verifying employment of applicants and recipients
of aid under this chapter or CalFresh under Chapter 10 (commencing
with Section 18900) of Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code.
(b) (1) To the extent possible, the Employment Development
Department shall share information collected under Sections 1088.5
and 1088.8 of the Unemployment Insurance Code immediately upon
receipt. This sharing of information may include electronic means.
(2) This subdivision shall not authorize the Employment
Development Department to share confidential information with any
individuals not otherwise permitted by law to receive the information
or preclude batch runs or comparisons of data.
SEC. 22. Section 17522.5 of the Family Code is amended to read:
17522.5. (a) Notwithstanding Section 8112 of the Commercial Code
and Section 700.130 of the Code of Civil Procedure, when a local
child support agency pursuant to Section 17522, or the department
pursuant to Section 17454 or 17500, issues a levy upon, or requires
by notice any employer, person, political officer or entity, or
depository institution to withhold the amount of, as applicable, a
financial asset for the purpose of collecting a delinquent child
support obligation, the person, financial institution, or securities
intermediary (as defined in Section 8102 of the Commercial Code) in
possession or control of the financial asset shall liquidate the
financial asset in a commercially reasonable manner within 20 days of
the issuance of the levy or the notice to withhold. Within five days
of liquidation, the person, financial institution, or securities
intermediary shall transfer to the State Disbursement Unit,
established under Section 17309, the proceeds of the liquidation,
less any reasonable commissions or fees, or both, which are charged
in the normal course of business.
(b) If the value of the financial assets exceed the total amount
of support due, the obligor may, within 10 days after the service of
the levy or notice to withhold upon the person, financial
institution, or securities intermediary, instruct the person,
financial institution, or securities intermediary who possesses or
controls the financial assets as to which financial assets are to be
sold to satisfy the obligation for delinquent support. If the obligor
does not provide instructions for liquidation, the person, financial
institution, or securities intermediary who possesses or controls
the financial assets shall liquidate the financial assets in a
commercially reasonable manner and in an amount sufficient to cover
the obligation for delinquent child support, and any reasonable
commissions or fees, or both, which are charged in the normal course
of business, beginning with the financial assets purchased most
recently.
(c) For the purposes of this section, a financial asset shall
include, but not be limited to, an uncertificated security,
certificated security, or security entitlement (as defined in Section
8102 of the Commercial Code), security (as defined in Section 8103
of the Commercial Code), or a securities account (as defined in
Section 8501 of the Commercial Code).
SEC. 23. Section 17523.5 of the Family Code is amended to read:
17523.5. (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, in connection
with the duty of the department and the local child support agency to
promptly and effectively collect and enforce child support
obligations under Title IV-D, the transmission, filing, and recording
of a lien record by departmental and local child support agency
staff that arises pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 4506 of this
code or Section 697.320 of the Code of Civil Procedure against the
real property of a support obligor in the form of a digital or a
digitized electronic record shall be permitted and governed only by
this section.
(2) A facsimile signature that complies with the requirements of
paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 27201 of the Government
Code shall be accepted on any document relating to a lien that is
filed or recorded pursuant to this section.
(3) The department and the local child support agency may use the
California Child Support Enforcement System to transmit, file, and
record a lien record under this section.
(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a county
recorder to establish an electronic recording delivery system or to
enter into a contract with an entity to implement this section.
(c) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "Digital electronic record" means a record containing
information that is created, generated, sent, communicated, received,
or stored by electronic means, but not created in original paper
form.
(2) "Digitized electronic record" means a scanned image of the
original paper document.
SEC. 24. Section 17525 of the Family Code is amended to read:
17525. (a) Whenever a state or local governmental agency issues a
notice of support delinquency, the notice shall state the date upon
which the amount of the delinquency was calculated, and shall notify
the obligor that the amount calculated may, or may not, include
accrued interest. This requirement shall not be imposed until the
local child support agency has instituted the California Child
Support Enforcement System implemented and maintained by the
Department of Child Support Services pursuant to Section 17308. The
notice shall further notify the obligor of his or her right to an
administrative determination of arrears by requesting that the local
child support agency review the arrears, but that payments on arrears
continue to be due and payable unless and until the local child
support agency notifies the obligor otherwise. A state agency shall
not be required to suspend enforcement of any arrearages as a result
of the obligor's request for an administrative determination of
arrears, unless the agency receives notification of a suspension
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 17526.
(b) For purposes of this section, "notice of support delinquency"
means a notice issued to a support obligor that includes a specific
statement of the amount of delinquent support due and payable.
(c) This section shall not require a state or local entity to
calculate the amount of a support delinquency, except as otherwise
required by law.
SEC. 25. Section 17528 of the Family Code is amended to read:
17528. (a) As authorized by subdivision (c) of Section 704.110 of
the Code of Civil Procedure, the following actions shall be taken in
order to enforce support obligations that are not being met:
(1) Within 18 months of implementation of the California Child
Support Enforcement System (CSE), or its replacement as prescribed by
former Section 10815 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and
certification of CSE or its replacement by the United States
Department of Health and Human Services, the department shall compile
a file of all support judgments and orders that are being enforced
by local child support agencies pursuant to Section 17400 that have
sums overdue by at least 60 days or by an amount equal to 60 days of
support.
(2) The file shall contain the name and social security number of
the person who owes overdue support, the amount of overdue support as
of the date the file is created, the name of the county in which the
support obligation is being enforced by the local child support
agency, and any other information that is deemed necessary by the
department and the Public Employees' Retirement System.
(3) The department shall provide the certified file to the Public
Employees' Retirement System for the purpose of matching the names in
the file with members and beneficiaries of the Public Employees'
Retirement System that are entitled to receive Public Employees'
Retirement System benefits. The department and the Public Employees'
Retirement System shall work cooperatively to develop an interface in
order to match the names in their respective electronic data
processing systems. The interface required to intercept benefits that
are payable periodically shall be done as soon as it is technically
feasible.
(4) The department shall update the certified file no less than on
a monthly basis to add new cases within the local child support
agencies or existing cases that become delinquent and to delete
persons who are no longer delinquent. The department shall provide
the updated file no less than on a monthly basis to the Public
Employees' Retirement System.
(5) Information contained in the certified file provided to the
Public Employees' Retirement System by the department and the local
child support agencies and information provided by the Public
Employees' Retirement System to the department shall be used
exclusively for child support enforcement purposes and may not be
used for any other purpose.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, the Public Employees'
Retirement System shall withhold the amount certified from the
benefits and refunds to be distributed to members with overdue
support obligations or from benefits to be distributed to
beneficiaries with overdue support obligations. If the benefits are
payable periodically, the amount withheld pursuant to this section
shall not exceed the amount permitted to be withheld for an earnings
withholding order for support under Section 706.052 of the Code of
Civil Procedure.
(c) The Public Employees' Retirement System shall forward the
amounts withheld pursuant to subdivision (b) within 10 days of
withholding to the department for distribution to the appropriate
county.
(d) On an annual basis, the department shall notify individuals
with overdue support obligations that PERS benefits or PERS
contribution refunds may be intercepted for the purpose of enforcing
family support obligations.
(e) No later than the time of the first withholding, the Public
Employees' Retirement System shall send those persons subject to
withholding the following:
(1) Notice that his or her benefits or
retirement contribution refund have been reduced by payment on a
support judgment pursuant to this section.
(2) A form developed by the department that the applicant shall
use to request either a review by the local child support agency or a
court hearing, as appropriate.
(f) The notice shall include the address and telephone number of
the local child support agency that is enforcing the support
obligation pursuant to Section 17400, and shall specify that the form
requesting either a review by the local child support agency or a
court hearing must be received by the local child support agency
within 20 days of the date of the notice.
(g) The form shall include instructions that are designed to
enable the member or beneficiary to obtain a review or a court
hearing as appropriate on his or her own behalf. The form shall
specify that if the member or beneficiary disputes the amount of
support arrearages certified by the local child support agency
pursuant to this section, he or she may request a review by the local
child support agency.
(h) The department shall develop procedures that are consistent
with this section to be used by each local child support agency in
conducting the requested review. The local child support agency shall
complete the review in accordance with the procedures developed by
the department and shall notify the member or beneficiary of the
result of the review within 20 days of receiving the request for
review. The notification of review results shall include a request
for hearing form and shall inform the member or beneficiary that if
he or she returns the completed request for hearing form within 20
days of the date of the notice of review results, the local child
support agency shall calendar the matter for court review. If the
local child support agency cannot complete the review within 20 days,
the local child support agency shall calendar the matter for hearing
as specified in subdivision (k).
(i) The form specified in subdivision (g) shall also notify the
member or beneficiary that he or she may request a court hearing to
claim an exemption of any benefit not payable periodically by
returning the completed form to the local child support agency within
20 days. If the local child support agency receives a timely request
for a hearing for a claim of exemption, the local child support
agency shall calendar a court hearing. The amount of the exemption,
if any, shall be determined by the court in accordance with the
procedures set forth in Section 703.070 of the Code of Civil
Procedure.
(j) If the local child support agency receives the form requesting
either a review by the local child support agency or a court hearing
within the 20 days specified in subdivision (f), the local child
support agency shall not distribute the amount intercepted until the
review by the local child support agency or the court hearing is
completed. If the local child support agency determines that all or a
portion of the member's or beneficiary's benefits were intercepted
in error, or if the court determines that any amount of the benefits
are exempt, the local child support agency shall refund any amount
determined to be exempt or intercepted in excess of the correct
amount to the member or beneficiary within 10 days of determination
that a refund is due.
(k) Any hearing properly requested pursuant to this section shall
be calendared by the local child support agency. The hearing shall be
held within 20 days from the date that the local child support
agency receives the request for hearing. The local child support
agency shall provide notice of the time and place for hearing by
first-class mail no later than five days prior to the hearing.
( l ) Nothing in this section shall limit any existing
rights of the member or beneficiary, including, but not limited to,
the right to seek a determination of arrearages or other appropriate
relief directly from the court. However, if the procedures of this
section are not utilized by the member or beneficiary, the court may
not require the local child support agency to refund any money that
was distributed to the child support obligee prior to the local child
support agency receiving notice of a court determination that a
refund is due to the member or beneficiary.
(m) The Department of Child Support Services and the Public
Employees' Retirement System shall enter into any agreement necessary
to implement this section which shall include provisions for the
department to provide funding to the Public Employees' Retirement
System to develop, implement, and maintain the intercept process
described in this section.
(n) The Public Employees' Retirement System shall not assess
service charges on members or beneficiaries in order to recover any
administrative costs resulting from complying with this section.
SEC. 26. Section 17710 of the Family Code is amended to read:
17710. (a) Each county shall be responsible for any
administrative expenditures for administering the child support
program not covered by federal and state funds.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), effective July 1, 1991, to
June 30, 1992, inclusive, counties shall pay the nonfederal share of
the administrative costs of conducting the reviews required under
former Section 15200.8 of the Welfare and Institutions Code from the
savings counties will obtain as a result of the reduction in the
maximum aid payments specified in Section 11450. Effective July 1,
1992, to June 30, 1993, inclusive, the state shall pay the nonfederal
share of administrative costs of conducting the reviews required
under former Section 15200.8 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
Funding for county costs after June 30, 1993, shall be subject to the
availability of funds in the annual Budget Act.
SEC. 27. Section 17801 of the Family Code is amended to read:
17801. (a) A custodial or noncustodial parent who is dissatisfied
with the local child support agency's resolution of a complaint
shall be accorded an opportunity for a state hearing when any one or
more of the following actions or failures to take action by the
department or the local child support agency is claimed by the
parent:
(1) An application for child support services has been denied or
has not been acted upon within the required timeframe.
(2) The child support services case has been acted upon in
violation of state or federal law or regulation or department letter
ruling, or has not yet been acted upon within the required timeframe,
including services for the establishment, modification, and
enforcement of child support orders and child support accountings.
(3) Child support collections have not been distributed or have
been distributed or disbursed incorrectly, or the amount of child
support arrears, as calculated by the department or the local child
support agency is inaccurate. The amount of the court order for
support, including current support and arrears, is not subject to a
state hearing under this section.
(4) The child support agency's decision to close a child support
case.
(b) Prior to requesting a hearing pursuant to subdivision (a), the
custodial or noncustodial parent shall exhaust the complaint
resolution process required in Section 17800, unless the local child
support agency has not, within the 30-day period required by that
section, submitted a written resolution of the complaint. If the
custodial or noncustodial parent does not receive that timely written
resolution he or she may request a hearing pursuant to subdivision
(a).
(c) A hearing shall be provided under subdivision (a) when the
request for a hearing is made within 90 days after receiving the
written notice of resolution required in Section 17800 or, if no
written notice of resolution is provided within 30 days from the date
the complaint was made, within 90 days after making the complaint.
(d) (1) A hearing under subdivision (a) shall be set to commence
within 45 days after the request is received by the state hearing
office, and at least 10 days prior to the hearing, all parties shall
be given written notice of the time and place of the hearing. Unless
the time period is waived by the complainant, the proposed hearing
decision shall be rendered by the state hearing office within 75 days
after the request for a state hearing is received by the state
hearing office. The department shall have 15 days from the date the
proposed decision is rendered to act upon the decision. When a
hearing is postponed, continued, or reopened with the consent of the
complainant, the time for issuance of the decision, and action on the
decision by the department, shall be extended for a period of time
consistent with the postponement, continuance, or reopening.
(2) For purposes of this subdivision, the "state hearing office"
refers to the division of the office or agency designated by the
department to carry out state hearings, that conducts those state
hearings.
(e) To the extent not inconsistent with this section, hearings
under subdivision (a) shall be provided in the same manner in which
hearings are provided in Sections 10950 to 10967 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code and the State Department of Social Services'
regulations implementing and interpreting those sections.
(f) Pendency of a state hearing shall not affect the obligation to
comply with an existing child support order.
(g) Any child support determination that is subject to the
jurisdiction of the superior court and that is required by law to be
addressed by motion, order to show cause, or appeal under this code
shall not be subject to a state hearing under this section. The
director shall, by regulation, specify and exclude from the subject
matter jurisdiction of state hearings provided under subdivision (a),
grievances arising from a child support case in the superior court
which must, by law, be addressed by motion, order to show cause, or
appeal under this code.
(h) The local child support agency shall comply with, and execute,
every decision of the director rendered pursuant to this section.
(i) The director shall contract with the State Department of
Social Services or the Office of Administrative Hearings for the
provision of state hearings in accordance with this section.
(j) This section shall be implemented only to the extent that
there is federal financial participation available at the child
support funding rate set forth in Section 655(a)(2) of Title 42 of
the United States Code.
SEC. 28. Section 17802 of the Family Code is repealed.
SEC. 29. Section 69619.5 is added to the Government Code, to read:
69619.5. (a) The Legislature hereby ratifies the authority of the
Judicial Council to convert 10 subordinate judicial officer
positions to judgeships in the 2016-17 fiscal year when the
conversion will result in a judge being assigned to a family law or
juvenile law assignment previously presided over by a subordinate
judicial officer, pursuant to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of
subdivision (c) of Section 69615.
(b) The action described in subdivision (a) shall be in addition
to any action that may be taken pursuant to the authority described
in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section
69615 to convert up to 16 subordinate judicial officer positions to
judgeships.
SEC. 30. Section 361 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
361. (a) (1) In all cases in which a minor is adjudged a
dependent child of the court on the ground that the minor is a person
described by Section 300, the court may limit the control to be
exercised over the dependent child by any parent or guardian and
shall by its order clearly and specifically set forth all those
limitations. Any limitation on the right of the parent or guardian to
make educational or developmental services decisions for the child
shall be specifically addressed in the court order. The limitations
may not exceed those necessary to protect the child. If the court
specifically limits the right of the parent or guardian to make
educational or developmental services decisions for the child, or,
for the nonminor dependent, if the court finds the appointment of a
developmental services decisionmaker to be in the best interests of
the nonminor dependent, the court shall at the same time appoint a
responsible adult to make educational or developmental services
decisions for the child or nonminor dependent until one of the
following occurs:
(A) The minor reaches 18 years of age, unless the child or
nonminor dependent chooses not to make educational or developmental
services decisions for himself or herself, or is deemed by the court
to be incompetent.
(B) Another responsible adult is appointed to make educational or
developmental services decisions for the minor pursuant to this
section.
(C) The right of the parent or guardian to make educational or
developmental services decisions for the minor is fully restored.
(D) A successor guardian or conservator is appointed.
(E) The child is placed into a planned permanent living
arrangement pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (g) of Section
366.21, Section 366.22, Section 366.26, or subdivision (i) of Section
366.3, at which time, for educational decisionmaking, the foster
parent, relative caretaker, or nonrelative extended family member as
defined in Section 362.7, has the right to represent the child in
educational matters pursuant to Section 56055 of the Education Code,
and for decisions relating to developmental services, unless the
court specifies otherwise, the foster parent, relative caregiver, or
nonrelative extended family member of the planned permanent living
arrangement has the right to represent the child or nonminor
dependent in matters related to developmental services.
(2) An individual who would have a conflict of interest in
representing the child or nonminor dependent shall not be appointed
to make educational or developmental services decisions. For purposes
of this section, "an individual who would have a conflict of
interest" means a person having any interests that might restrict or
bias his or her ability to make educational or developmental services
decisions, including, but not limited to, those conflicts of
interest prohibited by Section 1126 of the Government Code, and the
receipt of compensation or attorney's fees for the provision of
services pursuant to this section. A foster parent shall not be
deemed to have a conflict of interest solely because he or she
receives compensation for the provision of services pursuant to this
section.
(3) If the court limits the parent's educational rights pursuant
to this subdivision, the court shall determine whether there is a
responsible adult who is a relative, nonrelative extended family
member, or other adult known to the child who is available and
willing to serve as the child's educational representative before
appointing an educational representative or surrogate who is not
known to the child.
If the court cannot identify a responsible adult who is known to
the child and available to make educational decisions for the child,
subparagraphs (A) to (E), inclusive, of paragraph (1) do not apply,
and the child has either been referred to the local educational
agency for special education and related services, or has a valid
individualized education program, the court shall refer the child to
the local educational agency for appointment of a surrogate parent
pursuant to Section 7579.5 of the Government Code.
If the court cannot identify a responsible adult to make
educational decisions for the child, the appointment of a surrogate
parent as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 56050 of the
Education Code is not warranted, and there is no foster parent to
exercise the authority granted by Section 56055 of the Education
Code, the court may, with the input of any interested person, make
educational decisions for the child.
(4) If the court appoints a developmental services decisionmaker
pursuant to this section, he or she shall have the authority to
access the child's or nonminor dependent's information and records
pursuant to subdivision (u) of Section 4514 and subdivision (y) of
Section 5328, and to act on the child's or nonminor dependent's
behalf for the purposes of the individual program plan process
pursuant to Sections 4646, 4646.5, and 4648 and the fair hearing
process pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 4700) of
Division 4.5, and as set forth in the court order.
If the court cannot identify a responsible adult to make
developmental services decisions for the child or nonminor dependent,
the court may, with the input of any interested person, make
developmental services decisions for the child or nonminor dependent.
If the child is receiving services from a regional center, the
provision of any developmental services related to the court's
decision must be consistent with the child's or nonminor dependent's
individual program plan and pursuant to the provisions of the
Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act (Division 4.5
(commencing with Section 4500)).
(5) All educational and school placement decisions shall seek to
ensure that the child is in the least restrictive educational
programs and has access to the academic resources, services, and
extracurricular and enrichment activities that are available to all
pupils. In all instances, educational and school placement decisions
shall be based on the best interests of the child. If an educational
representative or surrogate is appointed for the child, the
representative or surrogate shall meet with the child, shall
investigate the child's educational needs and whether those needs are
being met, and shall, prior to each review hearing held under this
article, provide information and recommendations concerning the child'
s educational needs to the child's social worker, make written
recommendations to the court, or attend the hearing and participate
in those portions of the hearing that concern the child's education.
(6) Nothing in this section in any way removes the obligation to
appoint surrogate parents for students with disabilities who are
without parental representation in special education procedures as
required by state and federal law, including Section 1415(b)(2) of
Title 20 of the United States Code, Section 56050 of the Education
Code, Section 7579.5 of the Government Code, and Rule 5.650 of the
California Rules of Court.
(b) (1) Subdivision (a) does not limit the ability of a parent to
voluntarily relinquish his or her child to the State Department of
Social Services, to a county adoption agency, or to a licensed
private adoption agency at any time while the child is the subject of
a petition to declare him or her, or is, a dependent child of the
juvenile court, if the department, county adoption agency, or
licensed private adoption agency is willing to accept the
relinquishment.
(2) When accepting the relinquishment of a child described in
paragraph (1), the department or a county adoption agency shall
comply with Section 8700 of the Family Code and, within five court
days of accepting the relinquishment, shall file written notice of
that fact with the court and all parties to the case and their
counsel.
(3) When accepting the relinquishment of a child described in
paragraph (1), a licensed private adoption agency shall comply with
Section 8700 of the Family Code and, within 10 court days of
accepting the relinquishment, shall file or allow another party or
that party's counsel to file with the court one original and five
copies of a request to approve the relinquishment. The clerk of the
court shall file the request under seal, subject to examination only
by the parties and their counsel or by others upon court approval. If
the request is accompanied by the written agreement of all parties,
the court may issue an ex parte order approving the relinquishment.
Unless approved pursuant to that agreement, the court shall set the
matter for hearing no later than 10 court days after filing, and
shall provide notice of the hearing to all parties and their counsel,
and to the licensed private adoption agency and its counsel. The
licensed private adoption agency and any prospective adoptive parent
or parents named in the relinquishment shall be permitted to attend
the hearing and participate as parties regarding the strictly limited
issue of whether the court should approve the relinquishment. The
court shall issue an order approving or denying the relinquishment
within 10 court days after the hearing.
(c) A dependent child shall not be taken from the physical custody
of his or her parents or guardian or guardians with whom the child
resides at the time the petition was initiated, unless the juvenile
court finds clear and convincing evidence of any of the following
circumstances listed in paragraphs (1) to (5), inclusive, and, in an
Indian child custody proceeding, paragraph (6):
(1) There is or would be a substantial danger to the physical
health, safety, protection, or physical or emotional well-being of
the minor if the minor were returned home, and there are no
reasonable means by which the minor's physical health can be
protected without removing the minor from the minor's parent's or
guardian's physical custody. The fact that a minor has been
adjudicated a dependent child of the court pursuant to subdivision
(e) of Section 300 shall constitute prima facie evidence that the
minor cannot be safely left in the physical custody of the parent or
guardian with whom the minor resided at the time of injury. The court
shall consider, as a reasonable means to protect the minor, each of
the following:
(A) The option of removing an offending parent or guardian from
the home.
(B) Allowing a nonoffending parent or guardian to retain physical
custody as long as that parent or guardian presents a plan acceptable
to the court demonstrating that he or she will be able to protect
the child from future harm.
(2) The parent or guardian of the minor is unwilling to have
physical custody of the minor, and the parent or guardian has been
notified that if the minor remains out of their physical custody for
the period specified in Section 366.26, the minor may be declared
permanently free from their custody and control.
(3) The minor is suffering severe emotional damage, as indicated
by extreme anxiety, depression, withdrawal, or untoward aggressive
behavior toward himself or herself or others, and there are no
reasonable means by which the minor's emotional health may be
protected without removing the minor from the physical custody of his
or her parent or guardian.
(4) The minor or a sibling of the minor has been sexually abused,
or is deemed to be at substantial risk of being sexually abused, by a
parent, guardian, or member of his or her household, or other person
known to his or her parent, and there are no reasonable means by
which the minor can be protected from further sexual abuse or a
substantial risk of sexual abuse without removing the minor from his
or her parent or guardian, or the minor does not wish to return to
his or her parent or guardian.
(5) The minor has been left without any provision for his or her
support, or a parent who has been incarcerated or institutionalized
cannot arrange for the care of the minor, or a relative or other
adult custodian with whom the child has been left by the parent is
unwilling or unable to provide care or support for the child and the
whereabouts of the parent is unknown and reasonable efforts to locate
him or her have been unsuccessful.
(6) In an Indian child custody proceeding, continued custody of
the child by the parent or Indian custodian is likely to result in
serious emotional or physical damage to the child, and that finding
is supported by testimony of a "qualified expert witness" as
described in Section 224.6.
(A) Stipulation by the parent, Indian custodian, or the Indian
child's tribe, or failure to object, may waive the requirement of
producing evidence of the likelihood of serious damage only if the
court is satisfied that the party has been fully advised of the
requirements of the federal Indian Child Welfare Act (25 U.S.C. Sec.
1901 et seq.), and has knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily
waived them.
(B) Failure to meet non-Indian family and child-rearing community
standards, or the existence of other behavior or conditions that meet
the removal standards of this section, will not support an order for
placement in the absence of the finding in this paragraph.
(d) The court shall make a determination as to whether reasonable
efforts were made to prevent or to eliminate the need for removal of
the minor from his or her home or, if the minor is removed for one of
the reasons stated in paragraph (5) of subdivision (c), whether it
was reasonable under the circumstances not to make any of those
efforts, or, in the case of an Indian child custody proceeding,
whether active efforts as required in Section 361.7 were made and
that these efforts have proved unsuccessful. The court shall state
the facts on which the decision to remove the minor is based.
(e) The court shall make all of the findings required by
subdivision (a) of Section 366 in either of the following
circumstances:
(1) The minor has been taken from the custody of his or her parent
or guardian and has been living in an out-of-home placement pursuant
to Section 319.
(2) The minor has been living in a voluntary out-of-home placement
pursuant to Section 16507.4.
SEC. 31. Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 10080) of Part 1 of
Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is repealed.
SEC. 32. Section 11475.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 33. Section 11475.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 34. Section 11476.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
repealed.
SEC. 35. Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 16575) of Part 4 of
Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is repealed.
