00 SENATE BILL NO. 116 01 "An Act relating to administrative establishment of paternity and establishing 02 paternity by affidavit; relating to child support enforcement; and providing for 03 an effective date." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 18.50.160(d) is repealed and reenacted to read: 06  (d) If the mother was married at conception, during the pregnancy, or at birth, 07 the name of the husband shall be entered on the certificate as the father of the child 08 unless 09  (1) paternity has been lawfully determined otherwise by a tribunal, in 10 which case the name of the father, if determined by a tribunal, shall be entered; or 11  (2) both the mother and the mother's husband execute affidavits 12 attesting that the husband is not the father and that another man is the father, and the 13 mother and the other man execute affidavits attesting that the other man is the father, 14 so long as the affidavits meet the requirements of (g) of this section. 01 * Sec. 2. AS 18.50.160(e) is repealed and reenacted to read: 02  (e) If the mother was not married at conception, during the pregnancy, or at 03 birth, the name of the father may not be entered on the certificate of birth, unless 04  (1) paternity has been lawfully determined by a tribunal, in which case 05 the name of the father, if determined by the tribunal, shall be entered; 06  (2) both the mother and the man to be named as the father have 07 executed affidavits attesting that that man is the father, so long as the affidavits meet 08 the requirements of (g) of this section; or 09  (3) as otherwise specified by statute. 10 * Sec. 3. AS 18.50.160 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 11  (g) An affidavit under (d) or (e) of this section must meet the following 12 requirements: 13  (1) the affidavit must be executed by all required individuals; an 14 affidavit may be executed jointly, individually, or in combination of jointly and 15 individually; and 16  (2) if an affidavit is executed by more than one individual, the 17 signature of each individual must be individually notarized. 18  (h) In this section, unless the context requires otherwise, "tribunal" means a 19 court, administrative agency, or quasi-judicial entity authorized by law to determine 20 parentage. 21 * Sec. 4. AS 25.27.020(a) is amended to read: 22  (a) The agency shall 23  (1) seek enforcement of child support orders [OF THE SUPERIOR 24 COURTS] of the state in other jurisdictions and shall obtain, enforce, and administer 25 the orders in this state; 26  (2) adopt regulations to carry out the purposes of this chapter, including 27 regulations that establish 28  (A) schedules for determining the amount an obligor is liable 29 to contribute toward the support of an obligee under this chapter and under 30 42 U.S.C. 651 - 669 (Title IV-D, Social Security Act); 31  (B) procedures for hearings conducted under AS 25.27.170; 01 [AND] 02  (C) subject to AS 25.27.025 and to federal law, a uniform rate 03 of interest on arrearages of support that shall be charged the obligor upon 04 notice if child support payments are 10 or more days overdue or if payment is 05 made by a check backed by insufficient funds; however, an obligor may not be 06 charged interest on late payment of a child support obligation, other than a 07 payment on arrearages, if the obligor is 08  (i) employed and income is being withheld from the 09 obligor's wages under an income withholding order; 10  (ii) receiving unemployment compensation and child 11 support obligations are being withheld from the obligor's unemployment 12 payments under AS 23.20.401; or 13  (iii) receiving compensation for disabilities under 14 AS 23.30 and child support obligations are being withheld from the 15 obligor's compensation payments; and 16  (D) procedures for establishing paternity, including 17 procedures for hearings; 18  (3) administer and enforce AS 25.25 (Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement 19 of Support Act); 20  (4) establish, enforce, and administer child support obligations 21 administratively under this chapter; 22  (5) administer the state plan required under 42 U.S.C. 651 - 669 (Title 23 IV-D, Social Security Act) as amended; 24  (6) disburse support payments collected by the agency to the obligee, 25 together with interest charged under (2)(C) of this subsection; 26  (7) establish and enforce administratively under this chapter, or through 27 the superior courts of the state, child support orders from other jurisdictions pertaining 28 to obligors within the state; 29  (8) enforce and administer spousal support orders if a spousal support 30 obligation has been established with respect to the spouse and if the support obligation 31 established with respect to the child of that spouse is also being administered; and 01  (9) obtain a medical support order as part of a child support order if 02 health care coverage is available to the obligor at a reasonable cost; the agency shall 03 consider whether adequate health care is available to the child through the Indian 04 Health Service or other insurance coverage before it orders an obligor to provide health 05 care coverage through insurance or other means; the medical support order must meet 06 the requirements of AS 25.27.063; [AND] 07  (10) act on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Services in 08 the enforcement of AS 47.07.025(b); 09  (11) establish, administratively or through court action, the 10 paternity of a child; 11  (12) promptly provide to the Bureau of Vital Statistics, in a format 12 approved by the bureau, any final agency decision administratively establishing 13 the paternity of a child born in this state; and 14   (13) act as the central registry for all child support orders. 15 * Sec. 5. AS 25.27.022 is amended to read: 16  Sec. 25.27.022.  ESTABLISHMENT AND ENFORCEMENT REQUESTS 17 FROM OTHER STATES. (a) The agency may act, under the laws of this state, upon 18 requests from similar state agencies in other states that operate child support 19 enforcement programs under 42 U.S.C. 651 - 669 (Title IV-D Social Security Act) to 20 establish paternity and to establish and enforce against obligors within this state 21 support obligations determined in other states. 22  (b) Requests from child support enforcement agencies in other states shall be 23 made by application containing the information that this state's agency requires and 24 including written authorization from the requesting state agency and the obligee for 25 this state's agency to initiate necessary action [NECESSARY TO ESTABLISH, 26 ENFORCE, AND COLLECT THE SUPPORT OBLIGATION ON THEIR BEHALF]. 27 * Sec. 6. AS 25.27.040(a) is amended to read: 28  (a) The agency may [SHALL] appear on behalf of minor children or their 29 mother or legal custodian or the state and initiate efforts to have the paternity of 30 children born out of wedlock determined by the court. When the agency is a party to 31 a court [IN AN] action in which paternity is contested, it shall request and pay for 01 genetic testing [TESTS] and procedures under AS 25.20.050(f). The agency may 02 recover the costs of the tests as a cost of the court action, except that costs may not 03 be recovered from a person who is a recipient of aid under AS 47.25.310 - 47.25.420 04 (Aid to Families with Dependent Children). 05 * Sec.7. AS 25.27.040(c) is amended to read: 06  (c) When the agency is a party in a court [AN] action in which paternity is 07 contested, the agency shall move for a default judgment in a case that meets the 08 conditions specified in AS 25.20.050(g). 09 * Sec. 8. AS 25.27.075(f) is amended to read: 10  (f) The agency shall retain the information received under (a), (d), and (e) of 11 this section for a particular employee only if the agency is responsible for establishing, 12 enforcing, or collecting a support obligation of the employee or if the employee is 13 a party to an administrative or judicial proceeding to determine the paternity of 14 a child. If the employee does not owe a support obligation or is not a party to a 15 paternity proceeding, the agency may not create a record regarding the employee, and 16 the information contained in the notice shall be promptly destroyed. 17 * Sec. 9. AS 25.27.085 is amended to read: 18  Sec. 25.27.085. SUBPOENAS. The agency, with the concurrence of the 19 commissioner of revenue, may subpoena persons, books, records, and documents 20   (1) to determine the extent and location of assets of any obligor who 21 is more than 45 days in arrears in a child support obligation established either by court 22 or administrative order; or 23  (2) to determine the paternity of a child under AS 25.27.165. 24 * Sec. 10. AS 25.27.140(a) is amended to read: 25  (a) If no support order has been entered, the agency may establish paternity 26 and a duty of support utilizing the procedures prescribed in AS 25.27.160 - 25.27.220 27 and may enforce a duty of support utilizing the procedure prescribed in AS 25.27.230 - 28 25.27.270. Action under this subsection may be undertaken upon application of an 29 obligee, or at the agency's own discretion if the obligor is liable to the state under 30 AS 25.27.120(a) or (b). 31 * Sec. 11. AS 25.27 is amended by adding a new section to read: 01  Sec. 25.27.165. DETERMINATION OF PATERNITY IN AN 02 ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING. (a) Upon application from a mother, custodian, 03 or legal custodian of a child, or from a state, the agency may institute administrative 04 proceedings to determine the paternity of a child born out of wedlock. 05  (b) In order to initiate a paternity proceeding administratively, the agency shall 06 serve a mother and putative father, as appropriate, with a notice of paternity and 07 financial responsibility. The notice shall be served personally as set out in Alaska 08 Rule of Civil Procedure 4(d) or by registered, certified, or insured mail, return receipt 09 requested, for restricted delivery only to the person to whom the notice is directed or 10 to the person authorized under federal law to receive that person's restricted delivery 11 mail. The notice must be accompanied by 12  (1) an administrative order requiring that the mother, child, and putative 13 father submit to genetic testing to be arranged by the agency; 14  (2) an administrative order requiring the putative father to provide 15 financial information, as defined by the agency in regulation, within 20 days after 16 service of the notice; all financial information provided to the agency under an order 17 under this paragraph shall be held confidential by the agency, according to any 18 applicable regulations; and 19  (3) a notice of right to informal conference, to be held within 20 days 20 after receipt of an admission of paternity or service upon the parties of genetic test 21 results. 22  (c) A person served with a notice of paternity and financial responsibility shall 23 file a response, admitting or denying paternity and providing the required financial 24 information, within 20 days after the date of service of the notice of paternity and 25 financial responsibility. If the putative father admits paternity, the agency shall issue, 26 within 20 days after the admission of paternity, a decision establishing paternity. If 27 the putative father denies paternity, the putative father shall submit to genetic testing, 28 as provided in (b) of this section, within 30 days after the date of service of the notice 29 of paternity and financial responsibility. 30  (d) Upon receipt of genetic test results, the agency shall serve on the putative 31 father notice of the test results and of the date for the informal conference. Service 01 of the notice shall be made by first class mail. If the genetic test results are negative 02 under the standard set in AS 25.20.050(d), the agency shall issue a finding of 03 nonpaternity within 20 days after the agency's receipt of the test results. If the genetic 04 test results are positive under the standard set in AS 25.20.050(d), the agency shall 05 issue an informal conference decision within 20 days after the agency's receipt of the 06 test results. 07  (e) If the agency issues a decision establishing paternity under (d) of this 08 section, the putative father is entitled to a formal hearing if a written request for 09 hearing is served on the agency by certified mail, return receipt requested, within 30 10 days after the date of service of the agency's decision. 11  (f) If a request for a formal hearing is made under (e) of this section, an 12 execution under AS 25.27.062 and 25.27.230 - 25.27.270 may not be stayed unless the 13 putative father posts security or a bond in the amount of child support that would have 14 been due under the informal conference decision pending the decision on the formal 15 hearing. If no request for a formal hearing is made under (e) of this section, the 16 informal conference decision establishing paternity is final. 17  (g) If a request for a formal hearing is made under (e) of this section, the 18 hearing officer shall consider the evidence applying the standards set in 19 AS 25.20.050(d). 20  (h) If a putative father who requests a formal hearing under (e) of this section 21 fails to appear at the formal hearing, the hearing officer shall enter a final decision 22 establishing paternity. 23  (i) The agency may recover any costs it pays for genetic tests required by this 24 section, except that costs may not be recovered from a person who is a recipient of aid 25 under AS 47.25.310 - 47.25.420 (Aid to Families with Dependent Children). 26  (j) After a child's paternity has been established under the law, the agency 27 may not issue a decision or finding under this section that changes the child's 28 paternity. 29 * Sec. 12. AS 25.27.180(a) is amended to read: 30  (a) Within 20 days after [OF] the date of the hearing, the hearing officer shall 31 adopt findings and a decision determining whether paternity is established and 01 whether a duty of support exists and, if a duty of support is found, the amount of 02 periodic payments or sum for which the alleged obligor is found to be responsible. 03 * Sec. 13. AS 25.27.180(c) is amended to read: 04  (c) A decision regarding support rendered under (a) of this section is 05 modified to the extent that a subsequent order, judgment, or decree of a superior court 06 is inconsistent with the decision entered under (a) of this section. 07 * Sec. 14. AS 25.27.210(a) is amended to read: 08  (a) Judicial review by the superior court of a final administrative [AN 09 AGENCY] decision establishing paternity and establishing or modifying a duty of 10 support or amounts of support due may be obtained by filing a notice of appeal in 11 accordance with the applicable rules of court governing appeals in civil matters. A 12 notice of appeal shall be filed within 30 days after [OF] of the decision. 13 * Sec. 15. AS 25.27.210(c) is amended to read: 14  (c) The complete record includes 15  (1) the notice and finding of financial responsibility or the notice of 16 paternity and financial responsibility; 17  (2) the request for a hearing; 18  (3) the decision of the hearing officer; 19  (4) the exhibits admitted or rejected; 20  (5) the written evidence; 21  (6) all other documents in the case, including decisions of the agency. 22 * Sec. 16. AS 25.27.230(a) is amended to read: 23  (a) At the expiration of 30 days after [FROM EITHER] (1) the date of 24 distribution of an income withholding order under as 25.27.062, [OR] (2) the date of 25 service of a notice and finding of financial responsibility under AS 25.27.160, or (3) 26 the date of service of a decision establishing paternity under AS 25.27.165(c) or 27 (d), the agency may assert a lien upon the real or personal property of the obligor, in 28 the amount of the obligor's liability. 29 * Sec. 17. AS 25.27.250(a) is amended to read: 30  (a) At the expiration of [EITHER] (1) 15 days after [FROM] the date of 31 service of an income withholding order under AS 25.27.062 or notice under 01 AS 25.27.150, or (2) 30 days after [FROM] the date of service of a notice and finding 02 of financial responsibility under AS 25.27.160, or (3) 30 days after service of a 03 decision establishing paternity under AS 25.27.165(c) or (d), the agency may issue 04 to any person, political subdivision, or department of the state an order to withhold and 05 deliver property. 06 * Sec. 18. TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. The Department of Revenue, child support 07 enforcement agency, may immediately proceed to adopt regulations to implement the changes 08 made by this Act. The regulations take effect under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act), 09 but not before January 1, 1996. 10 * Sec. 19. Section 18 of this Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c). 11 * Sec. 20. Except as provided in sec. 19 of this Act, this Act takes effect January 1, 1996.