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Committee moves to ITL bill that would limit overtime from gross income for child support
Summary
The committee voted to ITL a bill that sought to exclude overtime, secondary employment and other nonprimary income from gross-income calculations for child support and alimony; family-law members said existing statutes and guidelines already allow judicial discretion.
Chair moved to ITL a bill that would prohibit courts from using overtime, secondary employment and other nonprimary income when calculating gross income for child support and alimony. Representative Markell, a practicing family-law attorney, said the existing child-support guidelines and RSA provisions already provide courts the discretion to disregard sporadic overtime and seasonal or nonrecurring earnings: "Courts are free to disregard that," he said.
Supporters argued guidelines can be uneven and clearer statute may reduce disputes, while opponents said locking courts into a strict definition would remove judicial discretion necessary for unique cases, including salaried employees or seasonal workers. Representative Levesque raised concerns about treatment of salaried workers and argued the current statute allows appropriate judicial consideration.
The clerk called the roll on the motion to ITL, and the committee recorded votes and moved the bill to consent as appropriate.
The committee closed the hearing and moved forward with the committee recommendation.
