The Senate Judiciary Committee heard HB 1406 sponsored by Sen. Bray on the Department of Child Services. The bill:
- clarifies the collection of past due annual support fees by the Child Support Bureau (Bureau) and the clerk of the circuit court;
- allows the Bureau and designated retail outlets to collect child support payments made in cash;
- allows the Bureau and the clerk of the circuit court to recoup overpayments of child support;
- clarifies duties of various licensing authorities when imposing sanctions and penalties against a licensee or permit holder with a child support delinquency who is the subject of an order issued by the Bureau;
- repeals a requirement that an individual determined to be eligible for unemployment compensation self-disclose a child support obligation;
- provides that the Department of Child Services may initiate an action to determine paternity for a child who is the subject of a child in need of services proceeding or refer the case to the local prosecuting attorney’s office to file a paternity action;
- urges the Legislative Council to assign for study to an appropriate interim study committee the task of studying topics related to the adequacy of the statewide computer system used by the Department of Child Services to monitor receipt and disbursement of child support payments and the estimated cost to update or replace the statewide computer system.
Representatives from the Child Support Bureau and the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council testified in support of the bill. The bill passed 8-0.
Read the bill at https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2018/bills/house/1406