Divorced parents who fail to make child-support payments could be risking their drivers' licenses under a bill that is near its last step to becoming law.

HB15 passed out of the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee by a 3-2 vote Thursday.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Julie Fisher, R-Fruit Heights, said the measure would be a valuable tool to help encourage reluctant non-custodial parents to pay — if they had the resources.

"We're really looking for those who have the ability to pay," Fisher said.

Brasher said that out of 15,000 delinquent child-support accounts, only 2,000 of them would be candidates for driver's license suspensions.

Fisher told the committee that people would have to be behind on child-support payments by 60 days before they would become a candidate to lose their license. She also said that the Office of Recovery Services, which oversees the collection of child-support payments, would try to work out payment plans with those behind on payments.

Fisher explained that anyone who had their license suspended could apply for a conditional driver's license that would allow them to go to work, church and to visit their children.

"It's simply a goal to have a threat," said ORS director Mark Brasher. "If we have to do it we will."

The bill met opposition from Sen. Jon Greiner, R-Ogden, who complained that the bill amounts to an unfunded mandate that would burden law enforcement agencies spending time a resources chasing after non-custodial parents who had their licenses suspended.

"More often than not they're not going to get the conditional driver's license. They're just going to get in the car and drive," Greiner said.

Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Lehi, said he wanted to see more punishments for those who interfered with the visitation rights of non-custodial parents before he could support another measure for collecting child-support payments.

"I'd like to see some parity," Madsen said. "There is already a disproportionate amount of methods (for punishing those who don't pay their child support)."

Some custodial parents showed up to back the bill.

Lori Russell told the committee that her ex-husband is behind on his child-support payments by over a year.

"These guys are criminal," Russell said. "We need to do whatever we can."

"They are stealing from their children."

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