Bill Amendment: FL S0300 | 2023 | Regular Session
NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List
Bill Title: Pregnancy and Parenting Support
Status: 2023-04-14 - Chapter No. 2023-21 [S0300 Detail]
Download: Florida-2023-S0300-Senate_Floor_Amendment_424832.html
Bill Title: Pregnancy and Parenting Support
Status: 2023-04-14 - Chapter No. 2023-21 [S0300 Detail]
Download: Florida-2023-S0300-Senate_Floor_Amendment_424832.html
Florida Senate - 2023 SENATOR AMENDMENT Bill No. SB 300 Ì424832$Î424832 LEGISLATIVE ACTION Senate . House . . . . . ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Senator Polsky moved the following: 1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment) 2 3 Before line 46 4 insert: 5 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 61.13, Florida 6 Statutes, is amended to read: 7 61.13 Support of children; parenting and time-sharing; 8 powers of court.— 9 (1)(a) In a proceeding under this chapter, the court may at 10 any time order either or both parents who owe a duty of support 11 to a child to pay support to the other parent or, in the case of 12 both parents, to a third party who has custody in accordance 13 with the child support guidelines schedule in s. 61.30. Child 14 support payments may be ordered under this section for an unborn 15 child beginning at conception. If the paternity of the obligor 16 is disputed, the court must await the outcome of the paternity 17 proceeding before ordering child support payments and must award 18 child support retroactive to the date of conception. 19 1. All child support orders and income deduction orders 20 entered on or after October 1, 2010, must provide: 21 a. For child support to terminate on a child’s 18th 22 birthday unless the court finds or previously found that s. 23 743.07(2) applies, or is otherwise agreed to by the parties; 24 b. A schedule, based on the record existing at the time of 25 the order, stating the amount of the monthly child support 26 obligation for all the minor children at the time of the order 27 and the amount of child support that will be owed for any 28 remaining children after one or more of the children are no 29 longer entitled to receive child support; and 30 c. The month, day, and year that the reduction or 31 termination of child support becomes effective. 32 2. The court initially entering an order requiring one or 33 both parents to make child support payments has continuing 34 jurisdiction after the entry of the initial order to modify the 35 amount and terms and conditions of the child support payments if 36 the modification is found by the court to be in the best 37 interests of the child; when the child reaches majority; if 38 there is a substantial change in the circumstances of the 39 parties; if s. 743.07(2) applies; or when a child is 40 emancipated, marries, joins the armed services, or dies. For 41 child support orders involving unborn children, the court shall 42 review and shall, if appropriate, modify the amount and terms 43 and conditions of child support payments when the child is born. 44 The court initially entering a child support order has 45 continuing jurisdiction to require the obligee to report to the 46 court on terms prescribed by the court regarding the disposition 47 of the child support payments. 48 (b) Each order for support must provideshall contain a49provisionfor health insurance for the minor child when health 50 insurance is reasonable in cost and accessible to the child. For 51 child support orders involving unborn children, the order must 52 provide for health insurance coverage for the pregnant woman for 53 at least the duration of the pregnancy and for any related 54 postpartum care needed immediately after the child is born. 55 Health insurance is presumed to be reasonable in cost if the 56 incremental cost of adding health insurance for the child or 57 children does not exceed 5 percent of the gross income, as 58 defined in s. 61.30, of the parent responsible for providing 59 health insurance. Health insurance is accessible to the child if 60 the health insurance is available to be used in the county of 61 the child’s primary residence or in another county if the parent 62 who has the most time under the time-sharing plan agrees. If the 63 time-sharing plan provides for equal time-sharing, health 64 insurance is accessible to the child if the health insurance is 65 available to be used in either county where the child resides or 66 in another county if both parents agree. The court may require 67 the obligor to provide health insurance or to reimburse the 68 obligee for the cost of health insurance for the minor child 69 when insurance is provided by the obligee. The presumption of 70 reasonable cost may be rebutted by evidence of any of the 71 factors in s. 61.30(11)(a). The court may deviate from what is 72 presumed reasonable in cost only upon a written finding 73 explaining its determination why ordering or not ordering the 74 provision of health insurance or the reimbursement of the 75 obligee’s cost for providing health insurance for the minor 76 child would be unjust or inappropriate. In any event, the court 77 shall apportion the cost of health insurance, and any noncovered 78 medical, dental, and prescription medication expenses of the 79 child, to both parties by adding the cost to the basic 80 obligation determined pursuant to s. 61.30(6). The court may 81 order that payment of noncovered medical, dental, and 82 prescription medication expenses of the minor child be made 83 directly to the obligee on a percentage basis. In a proceeding 84 for medical support only, each parent’s share of the child’s 85 noncovered medical expenses shall equal the parent’s percentage 86 share of the combined net income of the parents. The percentage 87 share shall be calculated by dividing each parent’s net monthly 88 income by the combined monthly net income of both parents. Net 89 income is calculated as specified by s. 61.30(3) and (4). 90 1. In a non-Title IV-D case, a copy of the court order for 91 health insurance shall be served on the obligor’s union or 92 employer by the obligee when the following conditions are met: 93 a. The obligor fails to provide written proof to the 94 obligee within 30 days after receiving effective notice of the 95 court order that the health insurance has been obtained or that 96 application for health insurance has been made; 97 b. The obligee serves written notice of intent to enforce 98 an order for health insurance on the obligor by mail at the 99 obligor’s last known address; and 100 c. The obligor fails within 15 days after the mailing of 101 the notice to provide written proof to the obligee that the 102 health insurance existed as of the date of mailing. 103 2.a. A support order enforced under Title IV-D of the 104 Social Security Act which requires that the obligor provide 105 health insurance is enforceable by the department through the 106 use of the national medical support notice, and an amendment to 107 the support order is not required. The department shall transfer 108 the national medical support notice to the obligor’s union or 109 employer. The department shall notify the obligor in writing 110 that the notice has been sent to the obligor’s union or 111 employer, and the written notification must include the 112 obligor’s rights and duties under the national medical support 113 notice. The obligor may contest the withholding required by the 114 national medical support notice based on a mistake of fact. To 115 contest the withholding, the obligor must file a written notice 116 of contest with the department within 15 business days after the 117 date the obligor receives written notification of the national 118 medical support notice from the department. Filing with the 119 department is complete when the notice is received by the person 120 designated by the department in the written notification. The 121 notice of contest must be in the form prescribed by the 122 department. Upon the timely filing of a notice of contest, the 123 department shall, within 5 business days, schedule an informal 124 conference with the obligor to discuss the obligor’s factual 125 dispute. If the informal conference resolves the dispute to the 126 obligor’s satisfaction or if the obligor fails to attend the 127 informal conference, the notice of contest is deemed withdrawn. 128 If the informal conference does not resolve the dispute, the 129 obligor may request an administrative hearing under chapter 120 130 within 5 business days after the termination of the informal 131 conference, in a form and manner prescribed by the department. 132 However, the filing of a notice of contest by the obligor does 133 not delay the withholding of premium payments by the union, 134 employer, or health plan administrator. The union, employer, or 135 health plan administrator must implement the withholding as 136 directed by the national medical support notice unless notified 137 by the department that the national medical support notice is 138 terminated. 139 b. In a Title IV-D case, the department shall notify an 140 obligor’s union or employer if the obligation to provide health 141 insurance through that union or employer is terminated. 142 3. In a non-Title IV-D case, upon receipt of the order 143 pursuant to subparagraph 1., or upon application of the obligor 144 pursuant to the order, the union or employer shall enroll the 145 minor child as a beneficiary in the group health plan regardless 146 of any restrictions on the enrollment period and withhold any 147 required premium from the obligor’s income. If more than one 148 plan is offered by the union or employer, the child shall be 149 enrolled in the group health plan in which the obligor is 150 enrolled. 151 4.a. Upon receipt of the national medical support notice 152 under subparagraph 2. in a Title IV-D case, the union or 153 employer shall transfer the notice to the appropriate group 154 health plan administrator within 20 business days after the date 155 on the notice. The plan administrator must enroll the child as a 156 beneficiary in the group health plan regardless of any 157 restrictions on the enrollment period, and the union or employer 158 must withhold any required premium from the obligor’s income 159 upon notification by the plan administrator that the child is 160 enrolled. The child shall be enrolled in the group health plan 161 in which the obligor is enrolled. If the group health plan in 162 which the obligor is enrolled is not available where the child 163 resides or if the obligor is not enrolled in group coverage, the 164 child shall be enrolled in the lowest cost group health plan 165 that is accessible to the child. 166 b. If health insurance or the obligor’s employment is 167 terminated in a Title IV-D case, the union or employer that is 168 withholding premiums for health insurance under a national 169 medical support notice must notify the department within 20 days 170 after the termination and provide the obligor’s last known 171 address and the name and address of the obligor’s new employer, 172 if known. 173 5.a. The amount withheld by a union or employer in 174 compliance with a support order may not exceed the amount 175 allowed under s. 303(b) of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, 176 15 U.S.C. s. 1673(b), as amended. The union or employer shall 177 withhold the maximum allowed by the Consumer Credit Protection 178 Act in the following order: 179 (I) Current support, as ordered. 180 (II) Premium payments for health insurance, as ordered. 181 (III) Past due support, as ordered. 182 (IV) Other medical support or insurance, as ordered. 183 b. If the combined amount to be withheld for current 184 support plus the premium payment for health insurance exceed the 185 amount allowed under the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and the 186 health insurance cannot be obtained unless the full amount of 187 the premium is paid, the union or employer may not withhold the 188 premium payment. However, the union or employer shall withhold 189 the maximum allowed in the following order: 190 (I) Current support, as ordered. 191 (II) Past due support, as ordered. 192 (III) Other medical support or insurance, as ordered. 193 6. An employer, union, or plan administrator who does not 194 comply with the requirements in sub-subparagraph 4.a. is subject 195 to a civil penalty not to exceed $250 for the first violation 196 and $500 for subsequent violations, plus attorney’s fees and 197 costs. The department may file a petition in circuit court to 198 enforce the requirements of this subparagraph. 199 7. The department may adopt rules to administer the child 200 support enforcement provisions of this section that affect Title 201 IV-D cases. 202 (c) To the extent necessary to protect an award of child 203 support, the court may order the obligor to purchase or maintain 204 a life insurance policy or a bond, or to otherwise secure the 205 child support award with any other assets which may be suitable 206 for that purpose. 207 (d)1. All child support orders mustshallprovide the full 208 name and date of birth of each minor child who is the subject of 209 the child support order. For child support orders involving 210 unborn children, the order must specify that the order is for 211 the benefit of an unborn child and include the name of the 212 pregnant woman carrying the unborn child. 213 2. If both parties request and the court finds that it is 214 in the best interest of the child, support payments need not be 215 subject to immediate income deduction. Support orders that are 216 not subject to immediate income deduction may be directed 217 through the depository under s. 61.181 or made payable directly 218 to the obligee. Payments made by immediate income deduction 219 shall be made to the State Disbursement Unit. The court shall 220 provide a copy of the order to the depository. 221 3. For support orders payable directly to the obligee, any 222 party may subsequently file an affidavit with the depository 223 alleging a default in payment of child support and stating that 224 the party wishes to require that payments be made through the 225 depository. The party shall provide copies of the affidavit to 226 the court and to each other party. Fifteen days after receipt of 227 the affidavit, the depository shall notify all parties that 228 future payments shall be paid through the depository, except 229 that payments in Title IV-D cases and income deduction payments 230 shall be made to the State Disbursement Unit. In Title IV-D 231 cases, an affidavit of default or a default in payments is not 232 required to receive depository services. Upon notice by the 233 department that it is providing Title IV-D services in a case 234 with an existing support order, the depository shall transmit 235 case data through, and set up appropriate payment accounts in, 236 regardless of whether there is a delinquency, the Clerk of the 237 Court Child Support Enforcement Collection System as required 238 under s. 61.181(2)(b). 239 240 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================ 241 And the title is amended as follows: 242 Between lines 2 and 3 243 insert: 244 amending s. 61.13, F.S.; providing that a court may 245 order child support payments for unborn children 246 beginning at conception; requiring the court to await 247 the outcome of paternity proceedings in disputed 248 paternity cases before ordering child support 249 payments; providing for retroactive child support 250 payments under certain circumstances; requiring the 251 court to review and, if appropriate, modify child 252 support orders involving unborn children when the 253 child is born; requiring that child support orders 254 involving unborn children include health insurance 255 coverage for the pregnant woman for a specified time; 256 requiring that child support orders involving unborn 257 children include specified information;