CB501B7CB24433EA87258282006150C1 Hearing Summary

Senator Crowder, bill sponsor, presented House Bill 18-1363.  The bill codifies various recommendations from the Child Support Commission.  These recommendations include:

• clarifying terms such as administrative process action (APA), APA-respondent, and APA-petitioner;
• allowing a county delegate child support enforcement unit (CSEU) to withdraw as a party from a case when the case is closed without leave of the court;
• allowing the CSEU to serve a subpoena for a genetic test sample and to file a motion to compel compliance;
• clarifying what should be included in a notice of financial responsibility to an APA-respondent;
• allowing the APA-respondent to waive the fourteen-day notice period;
• clarifying the process for a negotiation conference and the consequence for missing the conference;
• laying out what the courts must confirm to approve a default order and clarifying who should review such an order before it is filed;
• allowing any party to an administrative process action to request relief from a judgment or order;
• establishing the process for genetic testing and where the results must be filed;
• requiring parties to give written notice to the CSEU if they retain legal counsel;
• establishing the rights of each party in an administrative process action case; and
• setting forth procedures for a stipulated, temporary or default order of modification.

Finally, the bill also requires insurance companies to participate in the Child Support Lien Network and gives the Department of Human Services (DHS) the authority to recover fees attached to liens on insurance claims, payments, awards, and settlements and spend this revenue on costs related to participating in the Child Support Lien Network.  Recovered costs are credited to the Child Support Insurance Lien Fund created in the bill.

Jeff Ball, Colorado Child Support Commission, testified in support of the bill.

Kil Powell, DHS, testified in support of the bill.

Tracy Rumans, DHS, testified in support of the bill.

Senator Crowder made closing comments.