Current Status Bill Number:233 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:Senate Introduced Date:19950110 Primary Sponsor:Ryberg All Sponsors:Ryberg, Courson, Rose, Lander, Wilson, Matthews, Rankin, Hayes, Elliott, Gregory Drafted Document Number:RES9512.WGR Residing Body:Senate Current Committee:Judiciary Committee 11 SJ Subject:Child support payments more than thirty days late
Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved
______ ________ _______________________________________ _______ ____________
Senate 19950110 Introduced, read first time, 11 SJ
referred to Committee
Senate 19941017 Prefiled, referred to Committee 11 SJ
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TO AMEND SUBARTICLE 3, ARTICLE 9, CHAPTER 7, TITLE 20 OF THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO CHILD SUPPORT, BY ADDING SECTIONS 20-7-940 AND 20-7-941 TO PROVIDE A PROCEDURE FOR DENYING, REVOKING, OR FAILING TO RENEW A PROFESSIONAL, HUNTING OR FISHING, OR DRIVER'S LICENSE WHEN THE APPLICANT IS MORE THAN THIRTY CALENDAR DAYS PAST DUE IN PAYING CHILD SUPPORT AND TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-420, RELATING TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE FAMILY COURT IN DOMESTIC MATTERS, SO AS TO PLACE JUDICIAL REVIEW UNDER SECTION 20-7-941 WITHIN THE EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION OF THE FAMILY COURT.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Subarticle 3, Article 9, Chapter 7, Title 20 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 20-7-940. An individual who has been issued a professional, hunting or fishing, or driver's license in accordance with Section 1-30-65 and the provisions of Titles 40, 48, 50, 56, and 59 active or inactive, failing to pay any child support after it becomes due shall be subject to Section 20-7-941.
Section 20-7-941. (A) As used in this section:
(1) `Applicant' means any person applying for issuance or renewal of a license.
(2) `Compliance with an order for support' means that, as set forth in an order for child or spousal support, the obligor is no more than thirty calendar days in arrears in making payments in full for current support, in making periodic payments on a support arrearage, or in making periodic payments on a reimbursement for public assistance.
(3) `Department' means the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.
(4) `Director' means the director of the Child Support Enforcement Division of the Department of Social Services, or his designee.
(5) `Division' means the Child Support Enforcement Division of the Department of Social Services.
(6) `License' includes membership in the State Bar and a certificate, credential, permit, registration, or any other authorization issued by the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation or a licensing board or agency that allows a person to engage in a business, occupation, or profession, or to operate a commercial motor vehicle or engage in hunting or fishing or operate a motor vehicle.
(7) `Licensee' means any person holding a license, certificate, credential, permit, registration, or other authorization issued by the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation or a licensing board to engage in a business, occupation, or profession, or a commercial driver's license or hunting or fishing licenses or driver's licenses.
(8) `Licensing agency' means the Department of Natural Resources which issues licenses authorizing hunting and fishing and the Department of Revenue and Taxation, Division of Motor Vehicles which issues licenses authorizing persons to operate motor vehicles.
(9) `Licensing board' means the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation or any other state agency, board, individual or commission that issues a license, certificate, credential, permit or registration authorizing a person to engage in a business or profession.
(10) `List' means a list provided by the Child Support Enforcement Division of the State Department of Social Services in which the director verifies that the names contained therein are support obligors found to be out of compliance with an order for support in a case being enforced under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act.
(11) `Motor vehicle licensee' means an individual issued and possessing a valid license to operate a motor vehicle or commercial motor vehicle.
(12) `Renewal' shall include the periodic payment of dues or fees by a licensee in order to maintain their license.
(13) `Revocation' means the revocation of a valid license to operate a motor vehicle or commercial motor vehicle for non-compliance with this section.
(14) `Temporary license' means a license, valid for a period of one hundred fifty days, issued to any applicant whose name is on the `list' if the applicant is otherwise eligible for a license. However, in the case of a motor vehicle licensee, issuance of a temporary license shall mean the decision of the department or the licensing board or agency to withhold revocation under this section for a period of one hundred fifty days.
(B) The division shall maintain a list of those persons, along with their social security numbers, and last known addresses, included in a case being enforced under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act for whom a child support order has been rendered by, or registered in, a court of this State, and who are not in compliance with that order. (C) The division shall provide on a monthly basis the list to the department and each licensing board and agency which is responsible for the regulation of licenses, as specified in this section.
(D) On or before January 1, 1996, or as soon thereafter as the division's automated system is operational, the department and all licensing boards and agencies subject to this section shall implement procedures to accept and process the list provided by the division in accordance with this section.
(E) Within fifteen days after receiving the list from the division, and prior to the issuance or renewal of a license, the department and each licensing board and agency shall determine whether the applicant or motor vehicle licensee is on the most recent list provided by the division. If the applicant or motor vehicle licensee is on the list, the department and licensing board and agency shall immediately serve notice on the applicant or motor vehicle licensee, as specified in subsection (F), of the department's and the licensing board's and agency's intent to withhold issuance or renewal of the license, or in the case of a motor vehicle licensee, to revoke the license. The notice shall be made personally or by mail to the applicant's or motor vehicle licensee's last known mailing address on file with the department or the licensing board or agency.
(1) The department or the licensing board or agency shall issue a temporary license valid for a period of one hundred fifty days to any applicant or motor vehicle licensee whose name is on the list if the applicant or motor vehicle licensee is otherwise eligible for a license.
(2) The temporary license shall not be extended. Only one temporary license shall be issued during a regular license term and it shall coincide with the first one hundred fifty days of that license term. In the case of a motor vehicle licensee, revocation may be withheld for only one one hundred fifty-day period. A license for the full or remainder of the license term shall be issued or renewed or, in the case of a license to operate a motor vehicle or commercial motor vehicle, revocation withheld only upon compliance with this section.
(3) In the event that a license or application is denied or revoked pursuant to this section, any funds paid by the applicant or motor vehicle licensee shall not be refunded by the department or the licensing board or agency.
(F) Notices shall be developed by the department and each licensing board and agency in accordance with guidelines provided by the State Department of Social Services and subject to approval by the State Department of Social Services. The notice shall include the address and telephone number of the director of the Child Support Enforcement Division and shall emphasize the necessity of obtaining a release from the director's office as a condition for the issuance or renewal of a license, or in the case of a license to operate a motor vehicle or commercial motor vehicle, the withholding of revocation of a license. The notice shall inform the applicant or motor vehicle licensee that the department or licensing board or agency shall issue a temporary license, as provided in subsection (E)(1) for one hundred fifty calendar days if the applicant or motor vehicle licensee is otherwise eligible and that upon expiration of that time period the license will be denied or revoked unless the department or licensing board or agency has received a release from the director. The notice shall also inform the applicant or motor vehicle licensee that if a license or application is denied or revoked pursuant to this section, any funds paid by the applicant or motor vehicle licensee shall not be refunded by the department or the licensing board or agency. The State Department of Social Services shall also develop a form that the applicant or motor vehicle licensee shall use to request a review by the director. A copy of this form shall be included with every notice sent pursuant to this subsection.
(G) The director shall establish review procedures by January 1, 1996, consistent with this section to allow an applicant or motor vehicle licensee to have the underlying arrearage and any relevant defenses investigated, and to provide an applicant or motor vehicle licensee information on the process of obtaining a modification of a support order.
(H) If the applicant or motor vehicle licensee wishes to challenge the submission of his or her name on the list, the applicant or motor vehicle licensee shall make a timely written request for review on the form specified in subsection (F) to the director. The director shall inform the applicant or motor vehicle licensee in writing of his findings upon completion of the review. The director shall immediately send a release to the department or licensing board or agency and the applicant or motor vehicle licensee if any of the following conditions are met:
(1) the applicant or motor vehicle licensee is found to be in compliance;
(2) the applicant or motor vehicle licensee has submitted a request for review, but the director will be unable to complete the review and send notice of his findings to the applicant or motor vehicle licensee in sufficient time for the applicant or motor vehicle licensee to file a timely petition for judicial review within the one hundred fifty-day period during which the applicant's or motor vehicle licensee's temporary license is valid. This paragraph applies only if the delay in completing the review process is not the result of the applicant's or motor vehicle licensee's failure to act in a reasonable, timely, and diligent manner upon receiving notice from the department or the licensing board or agency that his or her name is on the list;
(3) the applicant or motor vehicle licensee has filed and served a request for judicial review, with notice to the director, pursuant to this section, but a resolution of that review will not be made within the one hundred fifty-day period of the temporary license. This paragraph applies only if the delay in completing the judicial review process is not the result of the applicant's or motor vehicle licensee's failure to act in a reasonable, timely, and diligent manner upon receiving the director's, notice of his findings; or
(4) the applicant or motor vehicle has obtained a judicial finding of compliance as defined in this section.
(I) An applicant or motor vehicle licensee is required to act with diligence in responding to notices from the department or the licensing board or agency and the director, with the recognition that the temporary license will lapse after one hundred fifty days and that the director and, where appropriate, the court must have time to act within that period. An applicant's or motor vehicle licensee's delay in acting, without good cause, which directly results in the inability of the director to complete a review of the applicant's or motor vehicle licensee's request or the court to hear the request for judicial review within the one hundred fifty-day period shall not constitute the diligence required under this section which would justify the issuance of a release.
(J) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the director shall not issue a release if the applicant or motor vehicle licensee is not in compliance with the order for support. The director shall notify the applicant or motor vehicle licensee in writing that the applicant motor vehicle licensee may, by filing an order to show cause or notice of motion, request any or all of the following:
(1) judicial review of the director's decision not to issue a release;
(2) a judicial determination of compliance; or
(3) a modification of the support order. The notice shall also contain the name and address of the court in which the applicant or motor vehicle licensee shall file the order to show cause or notice of motion and inform the applicant or motor vehicle licensee that his or her name shall remain on the list if the applicant does not timely request judicial review. The applicant or motor vehicle licensee shall comply with all statutes and rules of court regarding orders to show cause and notices of motion. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to limit an applicant or motor vehicle licensee from filing an order to show cause or notice of motion to modify a support order or to obtain a court finding of compliance with an order for support.
(K) The request for judicial review of the director's decision shall state the grounds for which review is requested and judicial review shall be limited to those stated grounds. The court shall hold an evidentiary hearing within twenty calendar days of the filing of the request for review. Judicial review of the director's decision shall be limited to a determination of each of the following issues:
(1) whether there is a support order;
(2) whether the petitioner is the obligor covered by the support order; and
(3) whether the support obligor is or is not in compliance with order of support. The request for judicial review shall be served by the applicant or motor vehicle licensee upon the director within seven calendar days of the filing of the petition. If the judicial review results in a finding by the court that the obligor is in compliance with the order for support, the director shall immediately send a release in accordance with subsection (H) to the department or licensing board or agency and the applicant or motor vehicle licensee.
(L) When the obligor is in compliance, the director shall mail to the applicant or motor vehicle licensee and the department or the licensing board or agency a release stating that the applicant or motor vehicle licensee is in compliance. The receipt of a release shall serve to notify the applicant or motor vehicle licensee and the department or the licensing board or agency that, for the purposes of this section, the applicant or motor vehicle licensee is in compliance with the order for support, unless the director pursuant to subsection (B) certifies subsequent to the issuance of a release that the applicant or motor vehicle licensee is once again not in compliance with an order for support.
(M) The State Department of Social Services may enter into interagency agreements with the department and other state agencies that have responsibility for the administration of licensing boards and agencies necessary to implement this section, to the extent that it is cost effective to implement this section. These agreements shall provide for the receipt by the department and other state agencies and licensing boards and agencies of federal funds to cover that portion of costs allowable in federal law and regulation and incurred by the department and other state agencies and licensing boards and agencies in implementing this section. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, revenue generated by the department or a licensing board or agency or state agency shall be used to fund the nonfederal share of costs incurred pursuant to this section. These agreements shall provide that the department and the licensing boards and agencies shall reimburse the State Department of Social Services for the nonfederal share of costs incurred by the Department of Social Services in implementing this section. The department and the licensing boards and agencies shall reimburse the State Department of Social Services for the nonfederal share of costs incurred pursuant to this section from monies collected from applicants or motor vehicle licensees for licenses.
(N) The process described in subsection (H) shall constitute the sole administrative remedy for contesting the issuance to the applicant or motor vehicle licensee of a temporary license or the denial or revocation of a license under this section. The procedures specified in the Administrative Procedures Act, or any other administrative remedy provided by law, shall not apply to the denial, revocation, or failure to issue or renew a license pursuant to this section.
(O) The department or any licensing board or agency receiving an inquiry as to the licensed status of an applicant or motor vehicle licensee who has had a license denied or revoked under this section or has been granted a temporary license under this section shall respond only that the license was denied or revoked or the temporary license was issued pursuant to this section. Information collected pursuant to this section shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act.
(P) The division shall develop the forms necessary to implement this section, except as provided in subsections (F) and (N).
(Q) The release or other use of information received by the department or a licensing board or agency pursuant to this section, except as authorized by this section, is punishable as a misdemeanor."
SECTION 2. Section 20-7-420 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding an appropriately numbered item:
"( ) To review matters pursuant to Section 20-7-941."
SECTION 3. If any provision of this section or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this section which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this section are severable.
SECTION 4. This act takes effect January 1, 1996.