§ 46–226.03. Authority of IV-D agency to expedite paternity and support processes.

(a) The IV-D agency may take the following actions relating to paternity establishment or the establishment, modification, or enforcement of support orders without obtaining an order from any judicial or other administrative tribunal:

(1) Order genetic testing relating to the establishment of paternity;

(2) Issue an administrative subpoena to an individual or public or private entity (including a financial institution) for financial or other information needed to establish, modify, or enforce a support order, which may include information from a public utility or cable television company, that provides the name and address of a customer or a customer’s employer as well as information in paragraph (3) of this subsection;

(3) Require a public or private entity in the District to provide promptly, in response to a request from the District’s IV-D agency or any other state’s IV-D agency, information on the employment status, number of hours worked, title, employment start date, employment termination date (if applicable), whether the employee ever quit voluntarily, location of work site, compensation, and benefits (including access to health insurance) of any employee of the entity, or of one of its contractors;

(4) Obtain prompt access, including automated access, to information in the following records maintained or possessed by the District government, subject to any applicable privacy provisions under District or federal law:

(A) Vital records maintained by the Registrar and the court;

(B) Tax and revenue records;

(D) Records of occupational, professional, recreational, and sporting licenses issued under any District law or regulation;

(E) Records concerning the ownership and control of corporations, partnerships, and other business entities;

(F) Employment security records, subject to such restrictions as the Mayor may, by regulation, prescribe pursuant to Chapter 1 of Title 51;

(G) Records concerning public assistance, as defined in § 4-201.01(6), subject to confidentiality restrictions set forth in the Chapter 2 of Title 4 or prescribed by the Mayor;

(H) Records maintained by the Department of Motor Vehicles;

(I) Records maintained by the Department of Corrections; and

(J) Social security numbers on file, if submitted in an application;

(5) Direct an obligor or other payor to substitute for the payee of a support order the appropriate governmental entity, upon notice to the obligor (or other payor) and obligee, sent by first-class mail, to their last known address, if the support is subject to:

(A) An assignment to pay the District government under Chapter 2 of Title 4, title IV, part E of the Social Security Act, approved June 17, 1980 (94 Stat. 501; 42 U.S.C. § 670et seq.), or section 1912 of the Social Security Act, approved October 25, 1977 (91 Stat. 1196; 42 U.S.C. § 1396k); or

et seq.

(B) A requirement to pay support through the Collection and Disbursement Unit;

(6) Order income withholding, including the amount of periodic support payments and any additional amount for health insurance coverage, medical support, overdue support payments, and other costs or fees required under a support order;

(7) When there is a support arrearage, secure assets to satisfy any current support obligation and the support arrearage by:

(A) Intercepting or seizing periodic or lump-sum payments from:

(i) Any District agency, including payments for unemployment compensation, worker’s compensation, and other non-means-tested public benefits; and

(ii) Judgments, settlements, and lotteries (interception or seizure of lottery prize winnings shall be made pursuant to § 46-224.01);

(B) Attaching and seizing assets owned by the support obligor and held in financial institutions, or held in a financial institution by another on behalf of the support obligor;

(D) Imposing liens pursuant to § 46-224 and, when appropriate, forcing the sale of property and distributing the proceeds;

(8) Increase the amount of periodic support payments to include amounts for arrearages, subject to section 303 of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, approved May 29, 1968 (82 Stat. 163; 15 USC § 1673), to secure overdue support; and

(9) Enter agreements with financial institutions pursuant to Chapter 5A of Title 26.

(b) The IV-D agency shall provide notice of any action taken under subsection (a) of this section to any person or entity, other than another agency of the District government, that is subject to the action, except that the IV-D agency shall provide notice of withholding to the obligor only as required pursuant to § 46-209.

(c) Any person or entity subject to any IV-D action under subsection (a) of this section, other than another agency of the District government, is entitled to an administrative proceeding before the Office of Administrative Hearings to contest the action and to judicial review based upon the administrative record. The procedures set forth in §§ 2-509 and 2-510 shall apply to the administrative proceeding and the judicial review, respectively. This subsection shall not apply to IV-D agency actions related to the withholding of earnings or other income under this subchapter.

(d) The Superior Court may issue an ex parte order to enforce any power asserted by the IV-D agency pursuant to subsection (a) of this section upon petition by the IV-D agency.

(e) A person or entity shall honor an administrative subpoena issued pursuant to subsection (a)(2) of this section to the same extent as a judicial subpoena issued by the Court. The subpoena issued pursuant to subsection (a)(2) of this section may be served by first-class mail. If any person or entity neglects or otherwise fails to comply with an administrative subpoena issued pursuant to subsection (a)(2) of this section, the IV-D agency may report the noncompliance to the Court, and the Court is empowered to compel obedience to the subpoena to the same extent that it may compel obedience to subpoenas issued by the Court.

(f) As an alternative to judicial enforcement pursuant to subsections (d) and (e) of this section, the IV-D agency may impose a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per incident for failure to comply with an administrative subpoena issued pursuant to subsection (a)(2) of this section, or a request for information made pursuant to subsection (a)(3) of this section. The IV-D agency may double the penalty if the failure to comply persists for more than 30 days after the date the subpoena or request required compliance. The Court is authorized to enter a penalty assessed by the IV-D agency pursuant to this subsection as a judgment in the Court, upon application by the IV-D agency, and that judgment shall be enforceable by the Attorney General for the District of Columbia.

(g) A District government agency shall promptly provide information in response to a request by the IV-D agency made pursuant to subsection (a)(4) of this section. If a District government agency fails to provide information requested by the IV-D agency pursuant to subsection (a)(4) of this section, the Mayor shall promptly direct the agency to comply within a period specified by the Mayor.

(h) No public or private entity providing the IV-D agency with information or access to information pursuant to this section shall be liable under any District law to any person for providing the information or access.

(i) The IV-D agency shall promulgate rules pursuant to subchapter I of Chapter 5 of Title 2 to implement this section.

(Feb. 24, 1987, D.C. Law 6-166, § 27c; as added Apr. 3, 2001, D.C. Law 13-269, § 108(z), 48 DCR 1270; Apr. 13, 2005, D.C. Law 15-354, § 71, 52 DCR 2638; May 12, 2006, D.C. Law 16-100, § 3(bb), 53 DCR 1886; Mar. 2, 2007, D.C. Law 16-191, § 48(g), 53 DCR 6794; Aug. 16, 2008, D.C. Law 17-219, § 5008, 55 DCR 7598; June 9, 2018, D.C. Law 22-112, § 3(c), 65 DCR 4600.)

Section References

This section is referenced in § 46-226 and § 46-226.04.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 15-354 substituted “Attorney General for the District of Columbia” for “Corporation Counsel”.

D.C. Law 16-100, in par. (a)(2), substituted “company,” for “company”; in subpar. (a)(4)(H), substituted “Department of Motor Vehicles;” for “Department of Public Works, Bureau of Motor Vehicle Services;”; in subsec. (b), substituted “, except that the IV-D agency shall provide notice of withholding to the obligor only as required pursuant to § 46-209.” for “a period at the end”; in subsec. (c), added “This subsection shall not apply to IV-D agency actions related to the withholding of earnings or other income under this subchapter.” to the end; in subsec. (e), deleted “Family Division of the Superior” and “Superior” preceding “Court”; in subsec. (f), deleted “Superior” preceding “Court”; and amended par. (a)(6), which had read as follows: “(6) Order income withholding, including the amount of periodic support payments and any additional amount for overdue support payments;”

D.C. Law 16-191, in subsec. (f), validated a previously made technical correction.

D.C. Law 17-219, in subsec. (c), deleted “, except that judicial review shall be in the Superior Court” following “respectively”.

Applicability

Applicability of D.C. Law 22-112: § 7147 of D.C. Law 23-16 repealed § 4 of D.C. Law 22-112. Therefore the amendment of this section by D.C. Law 22-112 has been implemented.

Applicability of D.C. Law 22-112: § 4 of D.C. Law 22-112 provided that the change made to this section by § 3(c) of D.C. Law 22-112 is subject to the inclusion of the law’s fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Therefore that amendment has not been implemented.

Emergency Legislation

For temporary addition of section, see § 7(o) of the Child Support and Welfare Reform Compliance Emergency Amendment Act of 1997 (D.C. Act 12-222, December 23, 1997, 44 DCR 114).

For temporary addition of section, see § 7(y) of the Child Support and Welfare Reform Compliance Second Emergency Amendment Act of 1998 (D.C. Act 12-309, March 20, 1998, 45 DCR 1923), § 7(y) of the Child Support and Welfare Reform Compliance Second Emergency Amendment Act of 1998 (D.C. Act 12-439, August 12, 1998, 45 DCR 6110), § 7(y) of the Child Support and Welfare Reform Compliance Legislative Review Emergency Amendment Act of 1998 (D.C. Act 12-503, October 27, 1998, 45 DCR 8495), and § 7(y) of the Child Support and Welfare Reform Compliance Second Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 1998 (D.C. Act 12-600, January 20, 1999, 46 DCR 1239).

For temporary (90-day) addition of section, see § 107(z) of the Child Support and Welfare Reform Compliance Emergency Amendment Act of 1999 (D.C. Act 13-126, August 4, 1999, 46 DCR 6606).

For temporary (90-day) addition of section, see § 107(z) of the Child Support and Welfare Reform Compliance Legislative Review Emergency Amendment Act of 1999 (D.C. Act 13-177, November 2, 1999, 46 DCR 9678).

For temporary (90-day) addition of section, see § 107(z) of the Child Support and Welfare Reform Compliance Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 1999 (D.C. Act 13-241, January 11, 2000, 47 DCR 581).

For temporary (90 day) addition of section, see § 107(z) of the Child Support and Welfare Reform Compliance Emergency Amendment Act of 2000 (D.C. Act 13-446, November 7, 2000, 47 DCR 9213).

For temporary (90 day) addition of section, see § 108(z) of Child Support and Welfare Reform Compliance Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2001 (D.C. Act 14-5, February 13, 2001, 48 DCR 2440).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 3(cc) of Income Withholding Transfer and Revision Emergency Amendment Act of 2005 (D.C. Act 16-167, July 26, 2005, 52 DCR 7648).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 3(cc) of Income Withholding Transfer and Revision Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2005 (D.C. Act 16-200, November 17, 2005, 52 DCR 10490).

Temporary Legislation

Section 3(cc) of D.C. Law 16-42, in subsec. (a)(2), inserted a comma after “company”; in subsec. (a)(4)(H), substituted “Department of Motor Vehicles;” for “Department of Public Works, Bureau of Motor Vehicle Services;”; in subsec. (b), substituted “, except that the IV-D agency shall provide notice of withholding to the obligor only as required pursuant to section 10.” for the period at the end; in subsec. (c), added “This subsection shall not apply to IV-D agency actions related to the withholding of earnings or other income under this act” to the end; in subsec. (e), deleted “Family Division of the Superior” in the first sentence, deleted “Superior” wherever it appears in the third sentence; in subsec. (f) deleted “Superior” wherever it appears; and rewrote subsec. (a)(6) to read as follows:

“(6) Order income withholding, including the amount of periodic support payments and any additional amount for health insurance coverage, medical support, overdue support payments, and other costs or fees required under a support order;”

Section 5(b) of D.C. Law 16-42 provided that the act shall expire after 225 days of its having taken effect.

For temporary (225 day) addition of section, see § 7(y) of Child Support and Welfare Reform Compliance Temporary Amendment Act of 1998 (D.C. Law 12-210, April 13, 1999, law notification 46 DCR 3832).

For temporary (225 day) addition of section, see § 107(z) of Child Support and Welfare Reform Compliance Temporary Amendment Act of 1999 (D.C. Law 13-57, March 7, 2000, law notification 47 DCR 1979).

For temporary (225 day) addition of section, see § 107(z) of Child Support and Welfare Reform Compliance Temporary Amendment Act of 2000 (D.C. Law 13-207, March 31, 2001, law notification 48 DCR 3238).

Short Title

Short title: Section 5007 of D.C. Law 17-219 provided that subtitle D of title V of the act may be cited as the “Child Support Expedited Processes Amendment Act of 2008”.