HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.R. NO.76            
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE  RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING THE CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AGENCY TO CONDUCT A
    COST-ANALYSIS STUDY ON THE COLLECTION OF COURT-ORDERED
    CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS THROUGH THE SUSPENSION AND DENIAL
    OF LICENSES.



 1        WHEREAS, while the ordering of child support is a routine
 2   matter, the collection of child support can be time-consuming
 3   and difficult.  Recalcitrant noncustodial parents who fail to
 4   pay court-ordered support penalize their children and the State
 5   to the extent that these children may be forced into the public
 6   welfare system if support payments are not made; and
 7   
 8        WHEREAS, one method of collecting child support is to
 9   penalize those persons who are delinquent in making these
10   payments by depriving them of governmental licenses, such as
11   professional and drivers' licenses.  Act 293, Session Laws of
12   Hawaii 1997, implemented this method by providing for the
13   suspension or denial of licenses based on these arrearages; and
14   
15        WHEREAS, section 576D-13, Hawaii Revised Statutes (child
16   support enforcement; suspension or denial of licenses),
17   requires the Child Support Enforcement Agency to direct the
18   appropriate licensing authority to deny or suspend a license,
19   or to deny an application for renewal, reinstatement, or
20   restoration of a license, upon a determination that:
21   
22        (1)  An obligor is not in compliance with an order of
23             (child) support as defined in section 576D-1, Hawaii
24             Revised Statutes; or
25   
26        (2)  An individual failed to comply with a subpoena or
27             warrant relating to a paternity or child support
28             proceeding; and
29   
30        (3)  The obligor or individual is the holder of or an
31             applicant for a license issued by a licensing
32             authority in this State;
33   
34   and
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                                  H.R. NO.76            
                                                        
                                                        


 1        WHEREAS, Act 293 was enacted in the belief that the most
 2   expedient means of having noncustodial parents meet their child
 3   support obligations was to subject their drivers, professional,
 4   and vocational licenses to suspension since the suspension of
 5   these licenses would ultimately interfere with the obligor's
 6   ability to make the court-ordered child support payments; and
 7   
 8        WHEREAS, with the enactment of the Welfare Reform Act, the
 9   federal safety net providing financial assistance to support
10   children has been removed, and the burden of ensuring adequate
11   support for these children has been placed squarely upon the
12   states, which are working to strengthen their child support
13   laws through measures such as Act 293; now, therefore,
14   
15        BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
16   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
17   of 1999, that the Child Support Enforcement Agency is requested
18   to conduct a cost-benefit analysis and, if possible, a cost-
19   effectiveness analysis on the collection of court-ordered child
20   support payments through the suspension and denial of licenses;
21   and
22   
23        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Child Support Enforcement
24   Agency is requested to submit its report to the Legislature,
25   along with any recommendations for improving the collection of
26   court-ordered child support payments through the suspension and
27   denial of licenses, not less than twenty days prior to the
28   convening of the Regular Session of 2000; and
29   
30        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
31   Resolution be transmitted to the Attorney General and the
32   Administrator of the Child Support Enforcement Agency.
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36                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________