Contentious child-support measures advance

Both the House and Senate passed contentious child support measures Tuesday, though not without some vocal opposition and criticism of the child-support system as a whole.

In the House, Rep. Ron Bigelow, R-West Valley, said he was "halfheartedly" voting against a bill that would allow the state Office of Recovery Services to administratively suspend the drivers' licenses of Utahns who are more than 60 days behind on their child support.

"This is a difficult bill," he said. "For every story that I hear about the custodial parent not receiving funds, I also hear a story about a noncustodial parent who has been abused by the system.

"My real concern is that we're going to pass this bill and think that we've done something to solve the problem," Bigelow said.

The entire system, he said, "is flawed and doesn't function well."

The sponsor of HB15, Rep. Julie Fisher, R-Fruit Heights, offers a "credible threat" in cases where noncustodial parents can afford to, but don't, pay their monthly child support obligations.

Fisher carried an identical bill last year, which passed the House 45-16 but failed by one vote in the Senate. On Tuesday, HB15 passed the House with a much smaller margin, receiving a vote of 43-25.

At the same time the House was debating HB15, the Senate took up for the second day in a row a measure that would overhaul the state's current child support guidelines. The impact of the changes is across-the-board increases in monthly obligations for noncustodial parents, particularly those with only one child.

Sponsored by Sen. Greg Bell, R-Farmington, SB23 is another child-support measure that failed to receive legislative approval last year.

The Senate on Tuesday approved SB23 with a vote of 23-6. Last year, a similar measure passed the Senate on a 26-2 vote, but was never voted on in the House.

Utah's child-support tables have not been updated since 1994, though committees that are statutorily required to review the guidelines every four years have repeatedly recommended alterations similar to those contained in SB23.

Sen. Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, expressed concern Tuesday about the impact of the changes on noncustodial parents.