Bill Text: MI HB4304 | 2019-2020 | 100th Legislature | Engrossed
Bill Title: Family law: marriage and divorce; health care coverage for a child in a judgment for divorce; clarify. Amends secs. 2, 5a & 26 of 1982 PA 295 (MCL 552.602 et seq.). TIE BAR WITH: HB 4305'19
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2019-06-26 - Assigned Pa 26'19 With Immediate Effect [HB4304 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2019-HB4304-Engrossed.html
HB-4304, As Passed House, May 7, 2019
SUBSTITUTE FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 4304
A bill to amend 1982 PA 295, entitled
"Support and parenting time enforcement act,"
by amending sections 2, 5a, and 26 (MCL 552.602, 552.605a, and
552.626), section 2 as amended by 2015 PA 256 and sections 5a and
26 as amended by 2002 PA 572.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 2. As used in this act:
(a) "Account" means any of the following:
(i) A demand deposit account.
(ii) A draft account.
(iii) A checking account.
(iv) A negotiable order of withdrawal account.
(v) A share account.
(vi) A savings account.
(vii) A time savings account.
(viii) A mutual fund account.
(ix) A securities brokerage account.
(x) A money market account.
(xi) A retail investment account.
(b) "Account" does not mean any of the following:
(i) A trust.
(ii) An annuity.
(iii) A qualified individual retirement account.
(iv) An account covered by the employee retirement income
security act of 1974, Public Law 93-406.
(v) A pension or retirement plan.
(vi) An insurance policy.
(c) "Alternative contempt track" means the alternative
contempt track docket established under section 35a.
(d) "Cash" means money or the equivalent of money, such as a
money order, cashier's check, or negotiable check or a payment by
debit or credit card, which equivalent is accepted as cash by the
agency accepting the payment.
(e) "Custody or parenting time order violation" means an
individual's act or failure to act that interferes with a parent's
right to interact with his or her child in the time, place, and
manner established in the order that governs custody or parenting
time between the parent and the child and to which the individual
accused of interfering is subject.
(f) "Department" means the department of health and human
services.
(g) "Domestic relations matter" means a circuit court
proceeding as to child custody, parenting time, child support, or
spousal support, that arises out of litigation under a statute of
this state, including, but not limited to, the following:
(i) 1846 RS 84, MCL 552.1 to 552.45.
(ii) The family support act, 1966 PA 138, MCL 552.451 to
552.459.
(iii) The child custody act of 1970, 1970 PA 91, MCL 722.21 to
722.31.
(iv) 1968 PA 293, MCL 722.1 to 722.6.
(v) The paternity act, 1956 PA 205, MCL 722.711 to 722.730.
(vi) The revised uniform reciprocal enforcement of support
act, 1952 PA 8, MCL 780.151 to 780.183.
(vii) The uniform interstate family support act, (2015).2015
PA 255, MCL 552.2101 to 552.2905.
(h) "Driver's license" means license as that term is defined
in section 25 of the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL
257.25.
(i) "Employer" means an individual, sole proprietorship,
partnership, association, or private or public corporation, the
United States or a federal agency, this state or a political
subdivision of this state, another state or a political subdivision
of another state, or another legal entity that hires and pays an
individual for his or her services.
(j) "Financial asset" means a deposit, account, money market
fund, stock, bond, or similar instrument.
(k) "Financial institution" means any of the following:
(i) A state or national bank.
(ii) A state or federally chartered savings and loan
association.
(iii) A state or federally chartered savings bank.
(iv) A state or federally chartered credit union.
(v) An insurance company.
(vi) An entity that offers any of the following to a resident
of this state:
(A) A mutual fund account.
(B) A securities brokerage account.
(C) A money market account.
(D) A retail investment account.
(vii) An entity regulated by the securities and
exchange
commission
Securities and Exchange
Commission that collects funds
from the public.
(viii) An entity that is a member of the national association
of securities dealers and that collects funds from the public.
(ix) Another entity that collects funds from the public.
(l) "Friend of the court act" means the friend of the court
act, 1982 PA 294, MCL 552.501 to 552.535.
(m) "Friend of the court case" means that term as defined in
section 2 of the friend of the court act, MCL 552.502.
(n) "Health care coverage" means a fee for service, health
maintenance organization, preferred provider organization, or other
type of private health care coverage or public health care
coverage.
(o) (n)
"Income" means any of the
following:
(i) Commissions, earnings, salaries, wages, and other income
due or to be due in the future to an individual from his or her
employer or a successor employer.
(ii) A payment due or to be due in the future to an individual
from a profit-sharing plan, a pension plan, an insurance contract,
an
annuity, social security, Social
Security, unemployment
compensation, supplemental unemployment benefits, or worker's
compensation.
(iii) An amount of money that is due to an individual as a
debt of another individual, partnership, association, or private or
public corporation, the United States or a federal agency, this
state or a political subdivision of this state, another state or a
political subdivision of another state, or another legal entity
that is indebted to the individual.
(p) (o)
"Insurer" means an
insurer, health maintenance
organization, health care corporation, or other group, plan, or
entity that provides health care coverage in accordance with any of
the following acts:
(i) The public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.1101 to
333.25211.
(ii) The insurance code of 1956, 1956 PA 218, MCL 500.100 to
500.8302.
(iii) The nonprofit health care corporation reform act, 1980
PA 350, MCL 550.1101 to 550.1704.
(q) (p)
"Medical assistance"
means medical assistance as
established under title XIX of the social security act, 42 USC 1396
to 1396w-5.
(r) (q)
"Most recent semiannual
obligation" means the total
amount of current child support owed by a parent during the
preceding January 1 to June 30 or July 1 to December 31.
(s) (r)
"Occupational license"
means a certificate,
registration, or license issued by a state department, bureau, or
agency that has regulatory authority over an individual that allows
an individual to legally engage in a regulated occupation or that
allows the individual to use a specific title in the practice of an
occupation, profession, or vocation.
(t) (s)
"Office of child support"
means the office of child
support established in section 2 of the office of child support
act, 1971 PA 174, MCL 400.232.
(u) (t)
"Office of the friend of the
court" means an agency
created in section 3 of the friend of the court act, MCL 552.503.
(v) (u)
"Order of income
withholding" means an order entered
by the circuit court providing for the withholding of a payer's
income to enforce a support order under this act.
(w) (v)
"Payer" means an
individual who is ordered by the
circuit court to pay support.
(x) (w)
"Person" means an
individual, partnership,
corporation, association, governmental entity, or other legal
entity.
(y) (x)
"Plan administrator"
means that term as used in
relation to a group health plan under section 609 of title I of the
employee retirement income security act of 1974, 29 USC 1169, if
the health care coverage plan of the individual who is responsible
for providing a child with health care coverage is subject to that
act.
(z) (y)
"Political subdivision"
means a county, city, village,
township, educational institution, school district, or special
district or authority of this state or of a local unit of
government.
(aa) "Private health care coverage" means health care coverage
obtained through an employer or purchased by an individual from an
insurer.
(bb) "Public health care coverage" means health care coverage
that is established or maintained by a local, state, or federal
government such as Medicaid established under title XIX of the
social security act, 42 USC 1396 to 1396w-5 or the state children's
health insurance program established under title XXI of the social
security act, 42 USC 1397aa to 1397mm.
(cc) (z)
"Recipient of support"
means the following:
(i) The spouse, if the support order orders spousal support.
(ii) The custodial parent or guardian, if the support order
orders support for a minor child or a child who is 18 years of age
or older.
(iii) The department, if support has been assigned to that
department.
(iv) The county, if the minor child is in county-funded foster
care.
(dd) (aa)
"Recreational or sporting
license" means a hunting,
fishing, or fur harvester's license issued under the natural
resources and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL
324.101 to 324.90106, but does not include a commercial fishing
license or permit issued under part 473 of the natural resources
and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.47301 to
324.47362.
(ee) (bb)
"Referee" means a person
who is designated as a
referee under the friend of the court act.
(ff) (cc)
"Source of income" means
an employer or successor
employer, a labor organization, or another individual or entity
that owes or will owe income to the payer.
(gg) (dd)
"State disbursement unit"
or "SDU" means the entity
established in section 6 of the office of child support act, 1971
PA 174, MCL 400.236.
(hh) (ee)
"State friend of the court
bureau" means that bureau
as created in the state court administrative office under section
19 of the friend of the court act, MCL 552.519.
(ii) (ff)
"Support" means all of
the following:
(i) The payment of money for a child or a spouse ordered by
the circuit court, whether the order is embodied in an interim,
temporary, permanent, or modified order or judgment. Support may
include payment of the expenses of medical, dental, and other
health care, child care expenses, and educational expenses.
(ii) The payment of money ordered by the circuit court under
the paternity act, 1956 PA 205, MCL 722.711 to 722.730, for the
necessary expenses connected to the mother's pregnancy or the birth
of the child, or for the repayment of genetic testing expenses.
(iii) A surcharge under section 3a.
(jj) (gg)
"Support order" means an
order entered by the
circuit court for the payment of support, whether or not a sum
certain.
(kk) (hh)
"Title IV-D" means part D
of title IV of the social
security act, 42 USC 651 to 669b.
(ll) (ii)
"Title IV-D agency" means
the agency in this state
performing the functions under title IV-D and includes a person
performing those functions under contract, including an office of
the friend of the court or a prosecuting attorney.
(mm) (jj)
"Work activity" means any
of the following:
(i) Unsubsidized employment.
(ii) Subsidized private sector employment.
(iii) Subsidized public sector employment.
(iv) Work experience, including work associated with the
refurbishing of publicly assisted housing, if sufficient private
sector employment is not available.
(v) On-the-job training.
(vi) Referral to and participation in the work first
PATH:
partnership. accountability. training. hope. work partnership
program or successor program prescribed in the social welfare act,
1939 PA 280, MCL 400.1 to 400.119b, or other job search and job
readiness assistance.
(vii) A community service program.
(viii) Vocational educational training, not to exceed 12
months with respect to an individual.
(ix) Job skills training directly related to employment.
(x) Education directly related to employment, in the case of
an individual who has not received a high school diploma or a
certificate of high school equivalency.
(xi) Satisfactory attendance at secondary school or in a
course of study leading to a certificate of general equivalence, in
the case of an individual who has not completed secondary school or
received such a certificate.
(xii) The provision of child care services to an individual
who is participating in a community service program.
Sec. 5a. (1) For a friend of the court case, a child support
order entered or modified by the court shall provide that each
party shall keep the office of the friend of the court informed of
both of the following:
(a) The name and address of his or her current source of
income.
(b)
Health care coverage that is available to him or her as a
benefit
of employment or that is maintained
by him or her; the name
of the insurance company, nonprofit health care corporation, or
health maintenance organization; the policy, certificate, or
contract number; and the names and birth dates of the persons for
whose benefit he or she maintains health care coverage under the
policy, certificate, or contract.
(2) If a child support order is entered, the court shall
require that 1 or both parents obtain or maintain health care
coverage
that is accessible to the child
and is available to them
the
parent at a reasonable cost, as a
benefit of employment, for
the benefit of the minor children of the parties and, subject to
section 5b, for the benefit of the parties' children who are not
minor
children. If a parent is self-employed and maintains health
care
coverage, the court shall require the parent to obtain or
maintain
dependent coverage for the benefit of the minor children
of
the parties and, subject to section 5b, for the benefit of the
parties'
children who are not minor children, if available at a
reasonable
cost.The court shall utilize
guidelines as provided for
in the child support formula developed by the bureau under section
19 of the friend of the court act, MCL 552.519, to determine health
care coverage that is accessible to the child and available at a
reasonable cost. The court shall not require both parents to
provide health care coverage under this subsection unless the
parents already provide coverage or both parents agree to provide
coverage. This subsection does not prevent the court from
exercising its discretion to order health care coverage based on
the child's needs and the parents' resources.
(3) A court may require either parent to file a bond with 1 or
more sufficient sureties, in a sum to be fixed by the court,
guaranteeing payment of child support.
Sec. 26. (1) For a friend of the court case, if a parent is
ordered to pay support or obtain or maintain health care coverage
through an employer, or both, the office will, when appropriate and
within 2 business days after a new hire report is entered into the
state directory of new hires, as created under section 453A of
title
IV-D, 42 U.S.C. USC 653a, or a payer's or parent's employer
is
otherwise identified, the office shall, when appropriate,
provide the new employer with a notice of income withholding or a
notice of the order for dependent health care coverage, or both, on
behalf
of a payer the parent who is subject to income withholding
or a parent or payer who is required to provide dependent health
care coverage.
(2) If the order for dependent health care coverage does not
specify whether the health care coverage must be private health
care coverage or public health care coverage, the office shall,
when appropriate, provide an employer with the notice specified in
subsection (1) unless 1 of the following applies:
(a) The parent or payer who is required to obtain health care
coverage provides proof that health care coverage available through
the employer is not accessible to the child or not available at a
reasonable cost. Health care coverage is presumed to be accessible
to the child and available at a reasonable cost if it meets the
guidelines provided in the child support formula developed by the
bureau under section 19 of the friend of the court act, MCL
552.519.
(b) The parent or payer who is required to provide health care
coverage has obtained and maintained health care coverage that is
accessible to the child and available to the parent at a reasonable
cost.
(3) (2)
If an order for dependent health
care coverage was
entered before September 30, 2001, the office shall, at the time
notice of the order is sent to the employer under subsection (1),
provide the payer or parent with instructions on how to request a
review or hearing to contest the availability of dependent health
care coverage at a reasonable cost.
(4) (3)
Notwithstanding subsection (2), (3), if
a parent fails
to obtain or maintain health care coverage for the parent's child
as ordered by the court, the office of the friend of the court
shall, as applicable, do either of the following:
(a) Petition the court for an order to show cause why the
parent should not be held in contempt for failure to obtain or
maintain dependent health care coverage that is available at a
reasonable cost.
(b) Send notice of noncompliance to the parent. The notice
shall contain all of the following information:
(i) That the office will notify the parent's employer to
deduct premiums for, and to notify the insurer or plan
administrator to enroll the child in, dependent health care
coverage unless the parent does either of the following within 21
days after mailing of the notice:
(A) Submits written proof to the friend of the court of the
child's enrollment in a health care coverage plan.
(B) Requests a hearing to determine the availability or
reasonable cost of the health care coverage.
(ii) That the order for dependent health care coverage will be
applied to current and subsequent employers and periods of
employment.
(iii) If the order for dependent health care coverage does not
specify whether that coverage must be private health care coverage
or public health care coverage, that the parent can obtain or
maintain private health care coverage or public health care
coverage. To the extent possible, the notice must provide contact
information available to the public for local, state, or federal
agencies that administer public health care coverage.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect
unless House Bill No. 4305 of the 100th Legislature is enacted into
law.
