Child support bill OK’d

The House of Representatives yesterday passed a bill authorizing employers to withhold income of certain employees for child support purposes.

The passage prompted applause from women representatives present in yesterday’s House session.

House Bill 14-22, introduced by Reps. Norman Palacios and Benjamin Seman, aims “to authorize the withholding of income derived in the Commonwealth to enforce support orders, to make all missed support payments, automatic judgments, and to provide for mandatory medical support,” among others.

The chamber’s approval was based on the recommendation made by a special committee composed of Reps. Clyde Norita, Oscar M. Babauta, and Timothy Villagomez.

In its report, the committee cited that current laws provide that child support is “an obligation that takes priority over all other obligations except for mandatory wage deductions such as taxes and social security.”

Right now, it said that one in four children in the U.S.—more than 10 million children—grows up in a single-parent household, and millions of them fail to receive the financial support that they are owed.

The Commonwealth, it said, has not kept pace with child support enforcement reform measures that have been enacted by the federal government, resulting in the continued failure of non-custodial parents to provide the necessary monetary or medical support to the children.

It said the courts simply do not have the tools to compel non-custodial parents to comply with court orders.

In addition, it said that the Commonwealth has missed the opportunity to attain federal matching grants to assist with child support enforcement efforts.

The bill specifically aims to provide effective enforcement tools for tribunals and meet some of the criteria to qualify for federal matching funds.

The committee report cited that the Attorney General’s Office “did highlight the alarming fact” that although the CNMI Superior Court collected $100,000 between January 1, 2004 and May 21, 2004 from other jurisdictions for child support, only $10,000 was collected from CNMI and sent to other jurisdictions.

“The AGO stated that this difference is largely attributable to the lack of effective and efficient child support enforcement mechanisms in the CNMI,” the report said.

In a position paper, AG Pam Brown said the bill is constitutional because it provides due process protections of notice and an opportunity to be heard for the non-custodial parents.

The measure essentially provides that employers or payors shall receive a notice from the court as to the amount of money to withhold from employees’ salary.

The bill covers both the private and public employers such as the government.