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Senate panel advances bill allowing one-time retirement-asset payments to clear child-support arrearages
Summary
Senate Bill 237, amended to remove references to criminal conduct, would let a one-time lump-sum payment from retirement assets be applied to past-due child-support arrearages when the child turns 18; the amendment was adopted on the floor and the committee report was adopted favorably for passage.
Senate Bill 237, a measure addressing child-support arrearages, was amended on the floor to remove language referencing criminal conduct and was reported favorably for passage.
Senator Warren, explaining the bill in Committee of the Whole, said the measure provides a tool for paying accumulated child-support arrearages by allowing a one-time lump-sum payment from retirement assets per court order when a child turns 18. “What this bill does is it provides a tool to pay those arrearages, not your current obligation,” Warren said.
Early versions of the bill included language that would have barred modification of support orders where income was reduced by criminal conduct; the Department for Children and Families (DCF) warned that such language could jeopardize federal funding for enforcement. Floor amendment number 1742, offered by Senator Warren, struck references to criminal conduct throughout the bill. The Senate adopted the amendment by voice vote and the committee report was adopted; the measure was reported favorably for passage as amended.
Senator Warren said the change to a single lump-sum payment in the bill was made to avoid KPERS (Kansas Public Employees Retirement System) complications and to limit the proposal to arrearages, not current monthly obligations. The committee motion that the bill be reported favorably as amended carried on the floor.
The measure was among bills the Senate advanced to final action later in the day.
