"An Act relating to the enforcement of support orders through suspension of drivers' licenses; changing the name of the child support enforcement agency to the child support services agency; amending Rules 90.3 and 90.5, Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure; and providing for an effective date."

HB 513 changes the name from "Child Support Enforcement Division" to "Child Support Services." This change will foster positive public and client attitudes about child support payments.

HB 513 also closes an expensive and time-consuming loophole in CSED's licensing program. When an obligor signs a payment agreement, the agency must release the obligor's driver's license. If the obligor fails to comply with the payment agreement, the agency can revoke that release. However, before the obligor's license can be suspended, the agency must go through the entire notice and review process again. This legislative proposal would allow the agency to suspend an obligor's driver's license after revoking a release of the license because the obligor failed to comply with the payment agreement, without going through the entire review process again. Instead, the obligor would have 30 days to request a judicial review of the decision revoking the release. Law must hold the judicial review held within 20 days after the review is requested. This would simplify the process by which a release can be revoked while at the same time ensuring an obligor receives due process before the license is actually revoked. CSED's ability to use this option to suspend for noncompliance would be limited to five years. In other words, if the obligor has been complying with a payment plan for five years, but then becomes noncompliant, CSED would not be able to automatically suspend, and must restart the more lengthy suspension process.

This legislation will show that CSED is a service-oriented agency dedicated to serve the public in a positive and informative manner, while at the same time, closes a loophole that has allowed individuals to use the system to the determent of their children. I respectfully request the committee's favorable consideration of HB 513.

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