GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1997

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 363

Short Title:  Amend UIFSA.	(Public)

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Sponsors: Representatives Gardner; Buchanan, Morris, Sexton, Starnes, and Watson.

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Referred to:  Welfare Reform.

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March 3, 1997

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO AMEND THE UNIFORM INTERSTATE FAMILY SUPPORT ACT AS APPROVED BY THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF COMMISSIONERS OF UNIFORM STATE LAWS AND AS REQUIRED BY THE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND WORK OPPORTUNITY  RECONCILIATION ACT OF 1996.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 52C-1-101 reads as rewritten:
"§ 52C-1-101.  Definitions.
As used in this Article, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the term:
(1)	‘Child' means an individual, whether over or under the age of majority, who is or is alleged to be owed a duty of support by the individual's parent or who is or is alleged to be the beneficiary of a support order directed to the parent.
(2)	‘Child support order' means a support order for a child, including a child who has attained the age of majority under the law of the issuing state.
(3)	‘Duty of support' means an obligation imposed or imposable by law to provide support for a child, spouse, or former spouse, including an unsatisfied obligation to provide support.
(4)	‘Home state' means the state in which a child lived with a parent or a person acting as parent for at least six consecutive months immediately preceding the time of filing of a petition or comparable pleading for support and, if a child is less than six-months old, the state in which the child lived from birth with any of them. A period of temporary absence of any of them is counted as part of the six-month or other period.
(5)	‘Income' includes earnings or other periodic entitlements to money from any source and any other property subject to withholding for support under the law of this State.
(6)	‘Income-withholding order' means an order or other legal process directed to a payer of income to withhold support from the income of the obligor.
(7)	‘Initiating state' means a state from which a proceeding is forwarded or in which a proceeding is filed for forwarding to a responding state under this Act or a law or procedure substantially similar to this Act, the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, or the Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act.
(8)	‘Initiating tribunal' means the authorized tribunal in an initiating state.
(9)	‘Issuing state' means the state in which a tribunal issues a support order or renders a judgment determining parentage.
(10)	‘Issuing tribunal' means the tribunal that issues a support order or renders a judgment determining parentage.
(11)	‘Law' includes decisional and statutory law and rules and regulations having the force of law.
(12)	‘Obligee' means:
a.	An individual to whom a duty of support is or is alleged to be owed or in whose favor a support order has been issued or a judgment determining parentage has been rendered;
b.	A state or political subdivision to which the rights under a duty of support or support order have been assigned or which has independent claims based on financial assistance provided to an individual obligee; or
c.	An individual seeking a judgment determining parentage of the individual's child.
(13)	‘Obligor' means an individual, or the estate of a decedent:
a.	Who owes or is alleged to owe a duty of support;
b.	Who is alleged but has not been adjudicated to be a parent of a child; or
c.	Who is liable under a support order.
(14)	‘Register' means to file a support order or judgment determining paternity in the appropriate location for the recording or filing of foreign judgments generally or foreign support orders specifically.
(15)	‘Registering tribunal' means a tribunal in which a support order is registered.
(16)	‘Responding state' means a state in which a proceeding is filed or to which a proceeding is forwarded for filing from an initiating state under this Act or a law or procedure substantially similar to this Act, the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, or the Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act.
(17)	‘Responding tribunal' means the authorized tribunal in a responding state.
(18)	‘Spousal-support order' means a support order for a spouse or former spouse of the obligor.
(19)	‘State' means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. The term includes:
a.	An Indian tribe; and 
b.	A foreign jurisdiction that has enacted a law or established procedures for issuance and enforcement of support orders which are substantially similar to the procedures under this Act, the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, or the Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act.
(20)	‘Support enforcement agency' means a public official or agency authorized to seek:
a.	Enforcement of support orders or duties of support;
b.	Establishment or modification of child support;
c.	Determination of parentage; or
d.	To locate obligors or their assets.
(21)	‘Support order' means a judgment, decree, or order, whether temporary, final, or subject to modification, for the benefit of a child, a spouse, or a former spouse, which provides for monetary support, health care, arrears, or reimbursement, and may include related costs and fees, interest, income withholding, attorneys' fees, and other relief.
(22)	‘Tribunal' means a court, administrative agency, or quasi-judicial entity authorized to establish, enforce, or modify support orders or to determine paternity, except that, for matters heard in this State, tribunal means the General Court of Justice, District Court Division."
Section 2.  G.S. 52C-2-203 reads as rewritten:
"§ 52C-2-203.  Initiating and responding tribunal of state.
Under this Chapter, a tribunal of this State may serve as an initiating tribunal to forward proceedings to another state and as a responding tribunal for proceedings initiated in another state."
Section 3.  G.S. 52C-2-205 reads as rewritten:
"§ 52C-2-205.  Continuing, exclusive jurisdiction.
(a)	A tribunal of this State issuing a support order consistent with the law of this State has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over a child support order:
(1)	As long as this State remains the residence of the obligor, the individual obligee, or the child for whose benefit the support order is issued; or
(2)	Until all of the parties who are individuals have filed written consents with the tribunal of this State for a tribunal of another state to modify the order and assume continuing, exclusive jurisdiction.
(b)	A tribunal of this State issuing a child support order consistent with the law of this State may not exercise its continuing jurisdiction to modify the order if the order has been modified by a tribunal of another state pursuant to a law substantially similar to this Chapter.
(c)	If a child support order of this State is modified by a tribunal of another state pursuant to a law substantially similar to this Chapter, a tribunal of this State loses its continuing, exclusive jurisdiction with regard to prospective enforcement of the order issued in this State, and may only:
(1)	Enforce the order that was modified as to amounts accruing before the modification;
(2)	Enforce nonmodifiable aspects of that order; and
(3)	Provide other appropriate relief for violations of that order which occurred before the effective date of the modification.
(d)	A tribunal of this State shall recognize the continuing, exclusive jurisdiction of a tribunal of another state which has issued a child support order pursuant to a law substantially similar to this Chapter.
(e)	A temporary support order issued ex parte or pending resolution of a jurisdictional conflict does not create continuing, exclusive jurisdiction in the issuing tribunal.
(f)	A tribunal of this State issuing a support order consistent with the law of this State has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over a spousal support order throughout the existence of the support obligation. A tribunal of this State may not modify a spousal support order issued by a tribunal of another state having continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over that order under the law of that state."
Section 4.  (a) The title of Part 3 of Article 2 of Chapter 52C of the General Statutes reads as rewritten:  
"Part 3.  Reconciliation of Multiple Orders.
(b) G.S. 52C-2-207 reads as rewritten:
"§ 52C-2-207.  Recognition of controlling child support order.
						(a)	If a proceeding is brought under this Chapter and only one tribunal has issued a child support order, the order of that tribunal controls and must be so recognized.
(b)	If a proceeding is brought under this Chapter, and two or more child support orders have been issued by tribunals of this State or another state with regard to the same obligor and child, a tribunal of this State shall apply the following rules in determining which order to recognize for purposes of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction:
(1)	If only one of the tribunals would have continuing, exclusive jurisdiction under this Chapter, the order of that tribunal controls and must be so recognized.
(2)	If more than one of the tribunals would have continuing, exclusive jurisdiction under this Chapter, an order issued by a tribunal in the current home state of the child controls and must be so recognized, but if an order has not been issued in the current home state of the child, the order most recently issued controls and must be so recognized.
(3)	If none of the tribunals would have continuing, exclusive jurisdiction under this Chapter, the tribunal of this State having jurisdiction over the parties shall issue a child support order, which controls and must be so recognized.
(c)	If two or more child support orders have been issued for the same obligor and child and if the obligor or the individual obligee resides in this State, a party may request a tribunal of this State to determine which order controls and must be so recognized under subsection (b) of this section.  The request must be accompanied by a certified copy of every support order in effect.  The requesting party shall give notice of the request to each party whose rights may be affected by a certified copy of every support order in the effect.  The requesting party shall give notice of the request to each party whose rights may be affected by the determination.
(d)	The tribunal that issued the controlling order under subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section is the tribunal that has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction under G.S. 52C-2-205.
(e)	A tribunal of this State which determines by order the identity of the controlling order under subdivision (b)(1) or (2) of this section or which issues a new controlling order under subsdivision (b)(3) of this section shall state in that order the basis upon which the tribunal made its determination.
(f)	Within 30 days after issuance of an order determining the identity of the controlling order, the party obtaining the order shall file a certified copy of it with each tribunal that issued or registered an earlier order of child support.  A party who obtains the order and fails to file a certified copy is subject to appropriate sanctions by a tribunal in which the issue of failure to file arises.  The failure to file does not affect the validity or enforceability of the controlling order."
Section 5.  G.S. 52C-3-304 reads as rewritten:
"§ 52C-3-304.  Duties of initiating tribunal.
(a)	Upon the filing of a petition authorized by this Chapter, an initiating tribunal of this State shall forward three copies of the petition and its accompanying documents:
(1)	To the responding tribunal or appropriate support enforcement agency in the responding state; or
(2)	If the identity of the responding tribunal is unknown, to the state information agency of the responding state with a request that they be forwarded to the appropriate tribunal and that receipt be acknowledged.
(b)	If a responding state has not enacted this Act or a law or procedure substantially similar to this Act, a tribunal of this State may issue a certificate or other document and make findings required by the law of the responding state.  If the responding State is a foreign jurisdiction, the tribunal may specify the amount of support sought and provide other documents necessary to satisfy the requirements of the responding state."
Section 6.  G.S. 52C-3-305 reads as rewritten:
"§ 52C-3-305.  Duties and powers of responding tribunal.
(a)	When a responding tribunal of this State receives a petition or comparable pleading from an initiating tribunal or directly pursuant to G.S. 52C-3-301(c) it shall cause the petition or pleading to be filed and notify the petitioner where and when it was filed.
(b)	A responding tribunal of this State, to the extent otherwise authorized by law, may do one or more of the following:
(1)	Issue or enforce a support order, modify a child support order, or render a judgment to determine parentage;
(2)	Order an obligor to comply with a support order, specifying the amount and the manner of compliance;
(3)	Order income withholding;
(4)	Determine the amount of any arrears, and specify a method of payment;
(5)	Enforce orders by civil or criminal contempt, or both;
(6)	Set aside property for satisfaction of the support order;
(7)	Place liens and order execution on the obligor's property;
(8)	Order an obligor to keep the tribunal informed of the obligor's current residential address, telephone number, employer, address of employment, and telephone number at the place of employment;
(9)	Issue an order for arrest for an obligor who has failed after proper notice to appear at a hearing ordered by the tribunal and enter the order for arrest in any local and State computer systems for criminal warrants;
(10)	Order the obligor to seek appropriate employment by specified methods;
(11)	Award reasonable attorneys' fees and other fees and costs; and
(12)	Grant any other available remedy.
(c)	A responding tribunal of this State shall include in a support order issued under this Chapter, or in the documents accompanying the order, the calculations on which the support order is based.
(d)	A responding tribunal of this State may not condition the payment of a support order issued under this Chapter upon compliance by a party with provisions for visitation.
(e)	If a responding tribunal of this State issues an order under this Chapter, the tribunal shall send a copy of the order to the petitioner and the respondent and to the initiating tribunal, if any."
Section 7.  G.S. 52C-3-306 reads as rewritten:
"§ 52C-3-306.  Inappropriate tribunal.
If a petition or comparable pleading is received by an inappropriate tribunal of this State, it shall forward the pleading and accompanying documents to an appropriate tribunal in this State or another state and notify the petitioner where and when the pleading was sent."
Section 8.  G.S. 52C-3-307 reads as rewritten:
"§ 52C-3-307.  Duties of support enforcement agency.
(a)	A support enforcement agency of this State, upon request, shall provide services to a petitioner in a proceeding under this Chapter.
(b)	A support enforcement agency that is providing services to the petitioner as appropriate shall:
(1)	Take all steps necessary to enable an appropriate tribunal in this State or another state to obtain jurisdiction over the respondent;
(2)	Request an appropriate tribunal to set a date, time, and place for a hearing;
(3)	Make a reasonable effort to obtain all relevant information, including information as to income and property of the parties;
(4)	Within two days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, after receipt of a written notice from an initiating, responding, or registering tribunal, send a copy of the notice to the petitioner;
(5)	Within two days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, after receipt of a written communication from the respondent or the respondent's attorney, send a copy of the communication to the petitioner; and
(6)	Notify the petitioner if jurisdiction over the respondent cannot be obtained.
(c)	This Chapter does not create or negate a relationship of attorney and client or other fiduciary relationship between a support enforcement agency or the attorney for the agency and the individual being assisted by the agency."
Section 9.  Article 5 of Chapter 52C of the General Statutes reads as rewritten:
"ARTICLE 5.
" Enforcement of Order of Another State Without Registration.
"§ 52C-5-501.  Employer's receipt of income-withholding order of another state.
	An income-withholding order issued in another state may be sent to the person or entity defined or identified as the obligor's employer under the income-withholding provisions of Chapter 50 or Chapter 110 of the General Statutes, as applicable, without first filing a petition or comparable pleading or registering the order with a tribunal of this State. Upon receipt of the order, the employer shall:
(1)	Treat an income-withholding order issued in another state which appears regular on its face as if it had been issued by a tribunal of this State;
(2)	Immediately provide a copy of the order to the obligor; and
(3)	Distribute the funds as directed in the withholding order.
			"§ 52C-5-502.  
		Employer's compliance with income-withholding order of another state.
(a)	Upon receipt of an income-withholding order, the obligor's employer shall immediately provide a copy of the order to the obligor.
(b)	The employer shall treat an income-withholding order issued in another state which appears regular on its face as if it had been issued by a tribunal of this State.
(c)	Except as otherwise provided in subsection (d) of this section and G.S. 52C-5-503, the employer shall withhold and distribute the funds as directed in the income-withholding order by complying with terms of the order which specify:
(1)	The duration and amount of periodic payments of current child support, stated as a sum certain;
(2)	The person or agency designated to receive payments and the address to which the payments are to be forwarded;
(3)	Medical support, whether in the form of periodic cash payment, stated as a sum certain, or ordering the obligor to provide health insurance coverage for the child under a policy available through the obligor's employment;
(4)	The amount of periodic payments of fees and costs for a support enforcement agency, the issuing tribunal, and the obligee's attorney, stated as sums certain; and
(5)	The amount of periodic payments of arrearages and interest on arrearages, stated as sums certain.
(d)	An employer shall comply with the law of the state of the obligor's principal place of employment for withholding from income with respect to:
(1)	The employer's fee for processing an income-withholding order;
(2)	The maximum amount permitted to be withheld from the obligor's income; and
(3)	The times within which the employer must implement the income-withholding order and forward the child support payment.
"§ 52C-5-503.  Compliance with multiple income-withholding orders.
If an obligor's employer receives multiple income-withholding orders with respect to the earnings of the same obligor, the employer satisfies the terms of the multiple orders if the employer complies with the law of the state of the obligor's principal place of employment to establish the priorities for withholding and allocating income withheld for multiple child support obligees.
"§ 52C-5-504.  Immunity from civil liability.
An employer who complies with an income-withholding order issued in another state in accordance with this Article is not subject to civil liability to an individual or agency with regard to the employer's withholding of child support from the obligor's income.
"§ 52C-5-505.  Penalties for noncompliance.
An employer who willfully fails to comply with an income-withholding order issued by another state and received for enforcement is subject to the same penalties that may be imposed for noncompliance with an order issued by a tribunal of this State.
"§ 52C-5-506.  Contest by obligor.
(a)	An obligor may contest the validity or enforcement of an income-withholding order issued in another state and received directly by an employer in this State in the same manner as if the order had been issued by a tribunal of this State.  G.S. 52C-6-604 applies to the contest.
(b)	The obligor shall give notice of the contest to:
(1)	A support enforcement agency providing services to the obligee;
(2)	Each employer that has directly received an income-withholding order; and
(3)	The person or agency designated to receive payments in the income-withholding order if no person or agency is designated, to the obligee.
"§ 52C-5-507.  Administrative enforcement of orders.
(a)	A party seeking to enforce a support order or an income-withholding order, or both, issued by a tribunal of another state may send the documents required for registering the order to a support enforcement agency of this State.
(b)	Upon receipt of the documents, the support enforcement agency, without initially seeking to register the order, shall consider and, if appropriate, use any administrative procedure authorized by the law of this State to enforce a support order or an income-withholding order, or both.  If the obligor does not contest administrative enforcement, the order need not be registered.  If the obligor contests the validity or administrative enforcement of the order, the support enforcement agency shall register the order pursuant to this Chapter."
Section 10. G.S. 52C-6-601 reads as rewritten:
"§ 52C-6-601.  Registration of order for enforcement.
A support order or an income-withholding order issued by a tribunal of another state may be registered in this State for enforcement."
Section 11.  G.S. 52C-6-605 reads as rewritten:
"§ 52C-6-605.  Notice of registration of order.
(a)	When a support order or income-withholding order issued in another state is registered, the registering tribunal shall notify the nonregistering party. The notice must be accompanied by a copy of the registered order and the documents and relevant information accompanying the order.
(b)	The notice must inform the nonregistering party:
(1)	That a registered order is enforceable as of the date of registration in the same manner as an order issued by a tribunal of this State;
(2)	That a hearing to contest the validity or enforcement of the registered order must be requested within 20 days after notice;
(3)	That failure to contest the validity or enforcement of the registered order in a timely manner will result in confirmation of the order and enforcement of the order and the alleged arrears and precludes further contest of that order with respect to any matter that could have been asserted; and
(4)	Of the amount of any alleged arrears.
(c)	Upon registration of an income-withholding order for enforcement, the registering tribunal shall notify the obligor's employer pursuant to the income-withholding provisions of Chapter 50 or Chapter 110 of the General Statutes, as applicable."
Section 12. G.S. 52C-6-606 reads as rewritten:
"§ 52C-6-606.  Procedure to contest validity or enforcement of registered order.
(a)	A nonregistering party seeking to contest the validity or enforcement of a registered order in this State shall request a hearing within 20 days after notice of the registration. The nonregistering party may seek to vacate the registration, to assert any defense to an allegation of noncompliance with the registered order, or to contest the remedies being sought or the amount of any alleged arrears pursuant to G.S. 52C-6-607.
(b)	If the nonregistering party fails to contest the validity or enforcement of the registered order in a timely manner, the order is confirmed by operation of law.
(c)	If a nonregistering party requests a hearing to contest the validity or enforcement of the registered order, the registering tribunal shall schedule the matter for hearing and give notice to the parties of the date, time, and place of the hearing."
Section 13. G.S. 52C-6-611 reads as rewritten:
"§ 52C-6-611.  Modification of child support order of another state.
(a)	After a child support order issued in another state has been registered in this State, the responding tribunal of this State may modify that order only if G.S. 52C-6-613 does not apply and after notice and hearing it finds that:
(1)	The following requirements are met:
a.	The child, the individual obligee, and the obligor do not reside in the issuing state;
b.	A petitioner who is a nonresident of this State seeks modification; and
c.	The respondent is subject to the personal jurisdiction of the tribunal of this State; or
(2)	The child, or a party who is an individual, is subject to the personal jurisdiction of the tribunal of this State and all of the parties who are individuals have filed a written consent in the issuing tribunal for a tribunal of this State to modify the support order and assume continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over the order.  However, if the issuing state is a foreign jurisdiction that has not enacted a law or established procedures substantially similar to the procedures under this Act, the consent otherwise required of an individual residing in this State is not required for the tribunal to assume jurisdiction to modify the child support order.
(b)	Modification of a registered child support order is subject to the same requirements, procedures, and defenses that apply to the modification of an order issued by a tribunal of this State, and the order may be enforced and satisfied in the same manner.
(c)	A tribunal of this State may not modify any aspect of a child support order that may not be modified under the law of the issuing state.  If two or more tribunals have issued child support orders for the same obligor and child, the order that controls and must be so recognized under G.S. 52C-2-207 establishes the aspects of the support order which are nonmodifiable.
(d)	On issuance of an order modifying a child support order issued in another state, a tribunal of this State becomes the tribunal of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction.
	."
Section 14. Article 6 of Chapter 52C of the General Statutes is amended by adding the following new sections to read:
"§ 52C-6-613.  Jurisdiction to modify child support order of another state when individual parties reside in this State.
(a)	If all of the parties who are individuals reside in this State and the child does not reside in the issuing state, a tribunal of this State has jurisdiction to enforce and to modify the issuing state's child support order in a proceeding to register that order.
(b)	A tribunal of this State exercising jurisdiction under this section shall apply the provisions of Articles 1 and 2 of this Chapter, this Article, and the procedural and substantive law of this State to the proceeding for enforcement or modification.  Articles 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8 of this Chapter do not apply.
"§ 52C-6-614.  Notice to issuing tribunal of modification.
Within 30 days after issuance of a modified child support order, the party obtaining the modification shall file a certified copy of the order with the issuing tribunal that had continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over the earlier order, and in each tribunal in which the party knows the earlier order has been registered.  A party who obtains the order and fails to file a certified copy is subject to appropriate sanctions by a tribunal in which the issue of failure to file arises.  The failure to file does not affect the validity or enforceability of the modified order of the new tribunal having continuing, exclusive jurisdiction."
Section 15. The Reviser of Statutes shall cause to be printed separate from this act all relevant portions of the official comments to the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, as amended, as the Reviser deems appropriate.
Section 16.  This act is effective when it becomes law.