HB-4654, As Passed Senate, December 9, 2004                                 

    SENATE SUBSTITUTE FOR

    HOUSE BILL NO. 4654

(As amended, December 8, 2004)                                              

                                                                             A bill to amend 1971 PA 174, entitled                                             

"Office of child support act,"                                              

(MCL 400.231 to 400.240) by adding section 3b.                              

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

1   Sec. 3b.  (1) The director of the department shall direct                   

2   the office to designate a period of not less than 90 days that              

3   ends not more than 7 months after the effective date of this                

4   section as a child support arrearage amnesty period.  <<Under the terms  

5   and conditions set forth in subsection (2), the director, or the  

6   director's designee, shall grant a payer amnesty, waiving all

7   criminal and civil penalties provided by law for the payer's

8   failure or refusal to pay past due child support. Amnesty granted

9   under this section waives criminal and civil penalties for failure

10  or refusal to pay child support only in regard to the child support

11  arrearage that the payer pays in total to qualify for amnesty.

House Bill No. 4654 as amended December 8, 2004                             

1  

2                                >>                                             

3       (2) To qualify for amnesty under this section, a payer shall                

4   pay his or her child support arrearage amount either in total               

5   with the submission of the written amnesty request or by paying             

6   not less than 50% of the total amount with the submission of the            

7   written amnesty request and the balance before the amnesty period           

8   ends. <<A payer's amnesty is effective on the date the director, or the director's designee, receives the payer's written amnesty request with the payment of not less than 50% of the total child support arrearage amount.  If a payer pays less than 100% of the total child support arrearage amount with the amnesty request, the payer's amnesty terminates at the end of the amnesty period unless the balance is paid before the amnesty period ends.>>

9       (3) A payer is not eligible to qualify for amnesty under this               

10  section if, before the payer submits the written request for                

11  amnesty and a payment as required by subsection (2), 1 or more of           

12  the following occur:                                                        

13      (a) Prosecution is initiated against the payer under section                

14  161, 165, or 167(1)(a) or (2) of the Michigan penal code, 1931 PA           

15  328, MCL 750.161, 750.165, and 750.167.                                     

16      (b) The payer is arrested on a criminal warrant or bench                    

17  warrant related to the payer's failure or refusal to pay past due           

18  child support.                                                              

19      (4) The office shall administer the amnesty program                         

20  established by this section.  As part of its administrative                 

21  duties, at least 60 days before the start of the amnesty period,            

22  the office shall notify payers who may be eligible for amnesty              

23  under this section because they owe a child support arrearage.  A           

24  description of the amnesty program included in scheduled notices            

25  and posted on the department's website is sufficient compliance             

26  with this notification requirement.

27      Enacting section 1.  This amendatory act does not take                      

1   effect unless all of the following bills of the 92nd Legislature            

2   are enacted into law:                                                       

3       (a) House Bill No. 5259.                                                    

4       (b) House Bill No. 5262.                                                    

5       Enacting section 2.  This amendatory act takes effect June                  

6   1, 2005.