Senate approves revised child-support guidelines after technical amendment

The Utah Senate passed the second substitute to Senate Bill 23, a revision to the state's child-support guidelines, after the sponsor offered a narrowly focused technical amendment to preserve existing judicial flexibility.

Sponsor Senator Greg Bell told colleagues the amendment fixes a drafting problem discovered by attorneys during an overnight review that could have unintentionally prohibited courts from deviating from the guidelines in appropriate cases. He said the change simply "reestablishes what the current state of the law is" and preserves the courts' ability to enter orders that deviate from the presumptive guidelines when equities justify it.

During floor questions, Senator Davis asked whether the Office of Recovery Services (ORS) would have authority to modify orders without court involvement. Bell and other senators clarified ORS cannot independently change orders; changes must be ordered by a court, except that ORS may propose modifications to certain administrative orders with notice to the other party. Bell also noted the Federal Deficit Reduction Act will require state agencies to analyze some cases beginning in October, a federal requirement that could prompt ORS reviews in a limited set of TANF-related cases.

Senator Bell thanked members for engaging in a "free-flowing" debate and said he intended to continue a working group to address remaining technical and policy questions such as visitation and economic assumptions underlying the guidelines. After summation, the Senate took a roll call and the clerk announced the bill passed the Senate and will be transmitted to the House for further action. The transcript records the final announced tally as 26 yes, 3 nay, 0 absent.

Next steps: SB23 is referred to the Utah House of Representatives for consideration.