Bill Text: CA SB1477 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Enforcement of judgments: wage garnishment.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Passed) 2022-09-29 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 849, Statutes of 2022. [SB1477 Detail]

Download: California-2021-SB1477-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Assembly  August 25, 2022

Amended  IN  Assembly  August 18, 2022

Amended  IN  Assembly  June 08, 2022

Amended  IN  Senate  May 09, 2022

Amended  IN  Senate  April 18, 2022

Amended  IN  Senate  March 24, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 1477

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Introduced by Senator Wieckowski
(Coauthors: Senators Hertzberg and Skinner)

February 18, 2022

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An act to amend, repeal, and add Section 706.050 of the Code of Civil Procedure, relating to the enforcement of judgments.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1477, as amended, Wieckowski. Enforcement of judgments: wage garnishment.

Existing law sets forth procedures for the levy of a judgment debtor’s wages when required to enforce a money judgment. Existing law specifies that the maximum amount of a judgment debtor’s disposable earnings for any workweek that is subject to levy shall not exceed the lesser of certain specified percentages, including 50% of the amount by which the disposable earnings for the week exceed 40 times the state minimum hourly wage. Existing law specifies certain multipliers to determine the maximum amount of disposable earning subject to levy for any pay period other than a weekly pay period.

This bill would, in place of the percentage specified above, set would provide that the maximum amount of disposable earnings of a judgment debtor for any workweek that is subject to levy at 25% of the amount by which the individual’s disposable earnings for a given week must not exceed 65 the lesser of 20% of the individual’s disposable earnings for that week or 40% of the amount by which the individual’s disposable earnings for that week exceed 48 times the state minimum hourly wage. The bill would increase reduce the multipliers used to determine the maximum amount of earnings subject to levy for any pay period other than a weekly pay period. The bill would make these provisions operative on September 1, 2023.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NO   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 Section 706.050 of the Code of Civil Procedure is amended to read:

706.050.

 (a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the maximum amount of disposable earnings of an individual judgment debtor for any workweek that is subject to levy under an earnings withholding order shall not exceed the lesser of the following:

(1) Twenty-five percent of the individual’s disposable earnings for that week.

(2) Fifty percent of the amount by which the individual’s disposable earnings for that week exceed 40 times the state minimum hourly wage in effect at the time the earnings are payable. If a judgment debtor works in a location where the local minimum hourly wage is greater than the state minimum hourly wage, the local minimum hourly wage in effect at the time the earnings are payable shall be used for the calculation made pursuant to this paragraph.

(b) For any pay period other than weekly, the following multipliers shall be used to determine the maximum amount of disposable earnings subject to levy under an earnings withholding order that is proportional in effect to the calculation described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), except as specified in paragraph (1):

(1) For a daily pay period, the amounts shall be identical to the amounts described in subdivision (a).

(2) For a biweekly pay period, multiply the applicable hourly minimum wage by 80 work hours.

(3) For a semimonthly pay period, multiply the applicable hourly minimum wage by 86²/₃ work hours.

(4) For a monthly pay period, multiply the applicable hourly minimum wage by 173¹/₃ work hours.

(c) This section shall become inoperative on September 1, 2023, and, as of January 1, 2024, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2024, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.

SEC. 2.

 Section 706.050 is added to the Code of Civil Procedure, to read:

706.050.

 (a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the maximum amount of disposable earnings of an individual judgment debtor for any workweek that is subject to levy under an earnings withholding order shall not exceed the lesser of the following: 25

(1) Twenty percent of the individual’s disposable earnings for that week.

(2) Forty percent of the amount by which the individual’s disposable earnings for that week exceed 65 48 times the state minimum hourly wage in effect at the time the earnings are payable. If a judgment debtor works in a location where the local minimum hourly wage is greater than the state minimum hourly wage, the local minimum hourly wage in effect at the time the earnings are payable shall be used for the calculation made pursuant to this paragraph.

(b) For any pay period other than weekly, the following multipliers shall be used to determine the maximum amount of disposable earnings subject to levy under an earnings withholding order that is proportional in effect to the calculation described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), except as specified in paragraph (1):

(1) For a daily pay period, the amounts shall be identical to the amounts described in subdivision (a).

(2) For a biweekly pay period, multiply the applicable hourly minimum wage by 130 96 work hours.

(3) For a semimonthly pay period, multiply the applicable hourly minimum wage by 14056 104 work hours.

(4) For a monthly pay period, multiply the applicable hourly minimum wage by 28123 208 work hours.

(c) This section shall become operative on September 1, 2023.