THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

88

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

  

STATE OF HAWAII

  
   

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

requesting the auditor to conduct a program audit on the efficacy of license suspensions for the nonpayment of child support.

 

WHEREAS, child support payments are crucial for many single parent families in providing, supporting, and caring for their children; and

WHEREAS, children who receive child support are more likely to have contact with their fathers, better grade point averages, significantly better test scores, fewer behavior problems, and remain in school longer; and

WHEREAS, the receipt of child support is associated with significantly higher expenditures on children than from any other single source of income; and

WHEREAS, the federal government reports that nationally in 2003, $96,000,000,000 was owed in back child support; and

WHEREAS, in 2003 it was estimated that $568,000,000 was not paid in child support in Hawaii, representing a twenty-nine per cent collection rate for the State; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature, in attempting to deal with the problem of nonpayment of child support, enacted section 576D-13, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to provide for the denial or suspension of certain licenses issued by the State; and

WHEREAS, section 576D-13(a), Hawaii Revised Statutes, states:

Upon a determination that an obligor is not in compliance with an order of support as defined in section 576D-1 or that an individual failed to comply with a subpoena or warrant relating to a paternity or child support proceeding, and that the obligor or individual is the holder of or an applicant for a license issued by a licensing authority in this State, the agency shall serve notice upon the obligor or individual of the agency's intent to certify the obligor or individual as noncompliant with an order of support or a subpoena or warrant relating to a paternity or child support proceeding, which shall direct the appropriate licensing authority to deny or suspend the license, or to deny the application for renewal, reinstatement, or restoration of such license,

and

WHEREAS, despite the Legislature's attempt to address the problem of nonpayment of child support through section 576D-13, Hawaii Revised Statutes, much remains unknown about the efficacy of license suspension for the nonpayment of child support; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Auditor is requested to conduct a program audit on the efficacy of license suspension for the nonpayment of child support, pursuant to section 576D-13, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Child Support Enforcement Agency, Judiciary, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs are requested to provide any assistance requested of them by the Auditor; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to transmit, not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2006 Regular Session, any findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature on the efficacy of license suspension for the nonpayment of child support; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Administrator of the Child Support Enforcement Agency, the Attorney General, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Administrative Director of the Courts, the Director of Human Services, the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, and the State Auditor.

 

 
 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Program audit on license suspension for nonpayment of child support.