THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY HARPER, MAHER, WATSON, BAKER, BARRAR, BEYER, CAUSER, CREIGHTON, J. EVANS, FAIRCHILD, HARKINS, KAUFFMAN, KILLION, KOTIK, MENSCH, MILLER, PETRI, QUIGLEY, REED, ROAE, ROCK, SAYLOR, SCAVELLO, SONNEY, SWANGER, TURZAI, VULAKOVICH, HUTCHINSON, GEIST, BELFANTI, EVERETT, METCALFE, RAPP, HICKERNELL, CUTLER, CLYMER, HORNAMAN, M. KELLER, STERN, ROSS, FLECK AND MURT, JANUARY 26, 2009

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, JANUARY 26, 2009  

AN ACT

Amending Title 23 (Domestic Relations) of the Pennsylvania

Consolidated Statutes, in support matters generally, further

providing for costs and fees and for State disbursement unit.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Sections 4351(a.1) and 4374(c)(3) and (d) of

Title 23 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, amended or

added May 13, 2008 (P.L.144, No.16), are amended to read:

§ 4351.  Costs and fees.

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(a.1)  Annual fee.--The Commonwealth shall impose a fee of

$25 in each case in which an individual has never received

assistance under Title IV-A of the Social Security Act (49 Stat.

620, 42 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.) and for whom the Commonwealth has

collected at least $500 of support in a Federal fiscal year. The

Commonwealth shall pay the annual $25 fee [for those cases in

which the annual collection is between $500 and $1,999.99. The

$25 fee shall be collected from the custodial parent in cases

where annual collections equal $2,000 or more.] in all cases in

which a fee is imposed under this subsection.

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§ 4374.  State disbursement unit.

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(c)  Allocation of collections.--Subject to subsections (d),

(e), (f) and (f.1), support collected on behalf of a family

shall be distributed as follows:

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(3)  In the case of a family that never received cash

assistance from the Commonwealth, all support collections

shall be paid to the family. [with the exception of the

federally mandated $25 annual fee collected from the

custodial parent as required under section 4351(a.1)

(relating to costs and fees).]

(d)  Retention by Commonwealth.--

[(1)]  Arrearages collected through use of the Internal

Revenue Service Tax Refund Offset Program for a family

receiving cash assistance shall be retained by the

Commonwealth to the extent past due support has been assigned

to the department as a condition of receiving assistance.

Arrearages collected through use of the Internal Revenue

Service Tax Refund Offset Program for a family that formerly

received cash assistance shall first be applied to the

monthly support obligation, and the balance shall be applied

to arrears owed the family, including assignments of

arrearages that accrued before the family received assistance

from the Commonwealth and that were executed between October

1, 1997, and September 30, 2009. Any remaining arrearages

shall be paid to the department. The department shall pay to

the Federal Government the Federal share of the amounts so

retained. In no event shall the total of amounts paid to the

Federal Government and retained by the department exceed the

total of the amount of cash assistance paid to the family by

the Commonwealth. To the extent that the amounts collected

exceed the amount retained, the department shall pay the

excess to the family.

[(2)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the

federally mandated $25 annual fee collected from the

custodial parent as required under section 4351(a.1) shall be

retained by the department.]

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Section 2.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.