SENATE BILL No. 553

 

 

May 25, 2007, Introduced by Senators PAPPAGEORGE, HARDIMAN and GARCIA and referred to the Committee on Families and Human Services.

 

 

 

     A bill to amend 1971 PA 174, entitled

 

"Office of child support act,"

 

by amending section 6 (MCL 400.236), as amended by 2004 PA 548.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 6. (1) The state disbursement unit is established as the

 

direct responsibility of the office. The SDU shall use automated

 

procedures, electronic processes, and computer-driven technology to

 

the maximum extent feasible, efficient, and economical to receive

 

and disburse support and fees.

 

     (2) The SDU is the single location to which a payer or source

 

of income subject to this section shall send a support or fee

 

payment. The SDU shall disburse a support payment to the recipient

 

of support within 2 business days after the SDU receives the

 

support payment. Not less than twice each calendar month, the SDU

 


shall disburse fees that it receives to the appropriate county

 

treasurer or office of the friend of the court.

 

     (3) If a payer or source of income attempts to make a support

 

or fee payment to the SDU and the payment transaction fails due to

 

nonsufficient funds, the SDU may take actions to collect from the

 

payer or source of income the support or fee payment amount, plus

 

an amount for the expense of those actions.

 

     (4) By not later than 1 year after the effective date of the

 

amendatory act that added this subsection, the SDU shall disburse

 

support electronically, in not fewer than 3 counties in this state,

 

to either the recipient of support's account in a financial

 

institution or to a special account that may be accessed by the

 

recipient of support by an electronic access card. By not later

 

than 2 years after the effective date of the amendatory act that

 

added this subsection, the The SDU shall disburse support

 

electronically either to the recipient of support's account in a

 

financial institution or to a special account that may be accessed

 

by the recipient of support by an electronic access card. This

 

subsection does not apply under if any of the following

 

circumstances exist:

 

     (a) If electronic Electronic transfer is not feasible to meet

 

federal requirements on the disbursement of child support payments.

 

     (b) If the The support payment is from a source that is

 

nonrecurring or that is not expected to continue in a 12-month

 

period.

 

     (c) The recipient of support is a person with a mental or

 

physical disability that imposes a hardship in accessing an

 


electronically transferred payment.

 

     (d) The recipient of support is a person with a language or

 

literacy barrier that imposes a hardship in accessing an

 

electronically transferred payment.

 

     (e) The recipient of support's home and work addresses are

 

more than 30 miles from an automated teller machine and more than

 

30 miles from a financial institution where funds in the

 

recipient's account may be accessed.

 

     (5) The SDU shall operate a secure system by which a payer in

 

a friend of the court case in which an order of income withholding

 

is not in effect may pay support over the internet with a credit or

 

debit card or electronically from an account. The system shall

 

allow a payer to access an online record of payments made using the

 

system.