HB 321: "An Act establishing child support for unborn children; relating to the duties of the child support services agency; and amending Rule 90.3, Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 321 01 "An Act establishing child support for unborn children; relating to the duties of the 02 child support services agency; and amending Rule 90.3, Alaska Rules of Civil 03 Procedure." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 25.25.207(e) is amended to read: 06 (e) A tribunal of this state that determines, by order, which is the controlling 07 child support order under (b)(1) or (2) or (c) of this section, or that issues a new 08 controlling child support order under (b)(3) of this section, shall include in that order 09 (1) the basis upon which the tribunal made its determination; 10 (2) the amount of prospective and retroactive support, if any; and 11 (3) the total amount of consolidated arrears and accrued interest, if 12 any, under all of the orders after all payments made are credited as provided by 13 AS 25.25.209. 14 * Sec. 2. AS 25.27.040(a) is amended to read:
01 (a) The agency may appear on behalf of a minor child [CHILDREN] or the 02 minor child's [THEIR] mother or legal custodian or the state and initiate efforts to 03 have the paternity of the minor child [CHILDREN] born or conceived out of 04 wedlock determined by the court. When the agency is a party to a court action in 05 which paternity is contested, it shall request and pay for genetic testing and procedures 06 under AS 25.20.050(e) and may recover the costs of the testing as provided in 07 AS 25.20.050(f). 08 * Sec. 3. AS 25.27.060 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 09 (e) The court or agency, as applicable, may order child support be applied 10 retroactively to the first day of the month in which a child was conceived, as 11 determined by a physician. 12 * Sec. 4. AS 25.27.140(a) is amended to read: 13 (a) If a support order has not been entered, the agency may establish paternity 14 and a duty of support, which may include periodic payments of support, a medical 15 support order, or both, and may be applied retroactively to the first day of the 16 month in which a child was conceived as determined by a physician, utilizing the 17 procedures prescribed in AS 25.27.160 - 25.27.220 and may enforce a duty of support 18 utilizing the procedure prescribed in AS 25.27.230 - 25.27.270. Action under this 19 subsection may be undertaken upon application of an obligee, or at the agency's own 20 discretion if the obligor is liable to the state under AS 25.27.120(a) or (b). 21 * Sec. 5. AS 25.27.165(a) is amended to read: 22 (a) Upon application from a mother, custodian, putative father, or legal 23 custodian of a child, or from a state, the agency may institute administrative 24 proceedings to determine the paternity of a child born or conceived out of wedlock. 25 * Sec. 6. AS 25.27.165 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 26 (l) The agency may not use a method to establish paternity of an unborn child 27 that would pose a risk of harm to the unborn child. 28 * Sec. 7. AS 25.27.900 is amended by adding new paragraphs to read: 29 (14) "child" or "minor child" includes an unborn child; 30 (15) "unborn child" means a member of the species Homo sapiens, at 31 any stage of development, who is carried in the womb.
01 * Sec. 8. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 02 read: 03 DIRECT COURT RULE AMENDMENT. Rule 90.3(a), Alaska Rules of Civil 04 Procedure, is amended to read: 05 (a) Guidelines—Primary Physical Custody. A child support award in a case 06 relating to an unborn child or in which one parent is awarded primary physical 07 custody as defined by paragraph (f) will be calculated as an amount equal to the 08 adjusted income of the non-custodial parent multiplied by a percentage specified in 09 subparagraph (a)(2). 10 * Sec. 9. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 11 read: 12 TWO-THIRDS VOTE NOT REQUIRED. Section 8 of this Act takes effect without 13 needing to meet the two-thirds vote requirement normally applicable to changing court rules 14 under art. IV, sec. 15, Constitution of the State of Alaska because 15 (1) the provisions of Rule 90.3, Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, that are 16 affected by the provisions of this Act were adopted under the Alaska Supreme Court's 17 interpretive authority exercised under art. IV, sec. 1, Constitution of the State of Alaska; 18 (2) AS 25.27.060(e), enacted by sec. 3 of this Act, AS 25.27.140(a), as 19 amended by sec. 4 of this Act, and AS 25.27.900(14) and (15), enacted by sec. 7 of this Act, 20 establish substantive rights, and the change made in sec. 8 of this Act is a technical change 21 necessary to give effect to the substantive rights established in AS 25.27.060(e), enacted by 22 sec. 3 of this Act, AS 25.27.140(a), as amended by sec. 4 of this Act, and AS 25.27.900(14) 23 and (15), enacted by sec. 7 of this Act.