2001-01-10                     House Journal                      Page 0046
HB 41                                                                                             
HOUSE BILL NO. 41 by the House Rules Committee by request of                                        
the Governor, entitled:                                                                             
                                                                                                    
     "An Act repealing the termination date of changes made by ch. 87,                              
     SLA 1997 and ch. 132, SLA 1998 regarding child support                                         
     enforcement and related programs; repealing the nonseverability                                
     provision of ch. 132, SLA 1998; repealing certain requirements                                 
     for applicants for hunting and sport fishing licenses or tags, and                             
     for certain hunting permits, to provide social security numbers for                            
     child support enforcement purposes; and providing for an                                       
     effective date."                                                                               
                                                                                                    
was read the first time and referred to the Health, Education & Social                              
Services, Judiciary, and Finance Committees.                                                        

2001-01-10                     House Journal                      Page 0047
The following fiscal note(s) apply:                                                                 
                                                                                                    
1.  Zero, Dept. of Revenue                                                                          
                                                                                                    
The Governor's transmittal letter dated January 8, 2001, appears                                    
below:                                                                                              
                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    
"Dear Speaker Porter:                                                                               
                                                                                                    
Alaska's Child Support Enforcement Division collected and distributed                               
a record $85 million in Fiscal Year 2000 and is headed toward a new                                 
record this year.  This bill I transmit today guarantees the state can                              
retain the tools that enabled this success in helping thousands of                                  
children receive the financial support they need.  It also keeps Alaska                             
in compliance with federal welfare reform laws and eligible for nearly                              
$80 million in annual federal funding to operate Alaska's family                                    
assistance and child support programs.                                                              
                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    
This bill continues the state program begun in 1997 and 1998 as part                                
of Alaska's compliance with federal welfare reform which has reduced                                
dependence on government-funded public assistance programs by                                       
increasing child support collections.  The Alaska legislature chose to                              
sunset those compliance measures on July 1, 2001.                                                   
                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    
This bill is important to the lives of the children and parents who make                            
up the nearly 48,000 child support cases in Alaska.  It will keep in                                
place those successful provisions of the 1997 and 1998 legislation                                  
which have improved child support collections, including:                                           
                                                                                                    
· Enhanced due process protections in paternity proceedings.                                        
                                                                                                    
· Requirements that all employers report newly hired employees to                                   
the child support agency.                                                                           
                                                                                                    
· Authorization to use financial institution data matches to locate                                 
assets of delinquent parents.                                                                       
                                                                                                    

2001-01-10                     House Journal                      Page 0048
· Immunity from civil liability for employers and financial                                         
institutions that comply with child support income-withholding orders.                              
                                                                                                    
· Prohibitions against disclosing identifying information of a parent                               
or child when there is evidence of domestic violence.                                               
                                                                                                    
· Requirements for Social Security numbers on certain vital                                         
statistics and court records, and on applications for some state licenses.                          
To protect an individual's privacy, the numbers are not required on the                             
actual licenses but only on the applications.                                                       
                                                                                                    
· Authorization for the child support agency to obtain orders                                       
requiring delinquent parents to seek work and orders to set aside a                                 
parent's fraudulent transfer of property if it was done to avoid a child                            
support obligation.                                                                                 
                                                                                                    
· Improved access to records of other government agencies and                                       
financial institutions to locate delinquent parents and their assets.                               
                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    
I also want to point out that this bill repeals one controversial part of                           
the earlier legislation.  Alaska recently received a waiver from the                                
federal requirement to collect Social Security numbers on applications                              
for sport fishing and hunting licenses, allowing us to remove that                                  
requirement from law.                                                                               
                                                                                                    
In the years since passage of the 1997 and 1998 legislation, the state                              
has found the provisions of those bills effective at ensuring children                              
receive the support they need from both parents.  Failure to adopt this                             
bill would jeopardize several years of progress in helping Alaska's                                 
families.                                                                                           
                                                                                                    
                                Sincerely,                                                         
                                /s/                                                                 
                                Tony Knowles                                                        
                                Governor"