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An Act To Make Technical Changes to the Laws Governing Child Support
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 19-A MRSA §1653, sub-§13, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 and affected by Pt. E, §2, is repealed.
Sec. 2. 19-A MRSA §2001, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 and affected by Pt. E, §2, is amended to read:
 
1. Basic support entitlement.   "Basic support entitlement" means the sum derived from the child support table appropriate to the age offor each child and the parties' gross income.
Sec. 3. 19-A MRSA §2001, sub-§11, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 and affected by Pt. E, §2, is repealed.
Sec. 4. 19-A MRSA §2006, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 and affected by Pt. E, §2, is amended to read:
 
1. Determination of basic support entitlement.   After the court or hearing officer determines the annual gross income of both parties, the 2 incomes must be added together to provide a combined annual gross income and applied to the child support table to determine the basic support entitlement for each child.
 
When there is a child within each age category, theThe court or hearing officer shall refer to the table and locate the figure in the left-hand column that is closest to the parents' combined annual gross income. In each age category theThe court or hearing officer shall determine the dollar figure for the total number of children for whom support is being determined,and multiply the dollar figure in each age category by the number of children in that category and add the 2 products. The resulting dollar amount represents the basic support entitlement.
Sec. 5. 19-A MRSA §2006, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 and affected by Pt. E, §2, is repealed.
Sec. 6. 19-A MRSA §2006, sub-§7, ¶C, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 and affected by Pt. E, §2, is amended to read:
 
C. The amount of the basic weekly support entitlement attributable to each child under 12 years of age, as indicated per child per week on the child support table;
Sec. 7. 19-A MRSA §2006, sub-§7, ¶D, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 and affected by Pt. E, §2, is repealed.
Sec. 8. 19-A MRSA §2006, sub-§8, ¶D, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 and affected by Pt. E, §2, is repealed.
Sec. 9. 19-A MRSA §2006, sub-§8, ¶E, as amended by PL 2005, c. 352, §4, is further amended to read:
 
E. If each child for whom a parental support obligation is being established for more than one child and a child has attained 1215 years of age, a specific sum to be paid depending on the number of minor children remaining with the primary care provider. Because the support guidelines are based on the actual costs of raising a given number of children in a household, the order must provide a specific dollar amount for every combination of minor children. Except as provided in paragraph G, the court or hearing officer may not apportion support between the parents by determining the parental support obligation amount and dividing by the total number of children;
Sec. 10.  19-A MRSA §2006, sub-§11  is enacted to read:
 
11.  Child between 18 and 19 years of age attending secondary school.     The child support table and the support guidelines include a child between 18 and 19 years of age who is attending a secondary school for whom an obligation of support is established or deemed to remain in force pursuant to section 1653, subsection 8, paragraph B; section 1653, subsection 12, paragraph A; or section 2306, subsection 4, paragraph D.
 
SUMMARY
This bill amends the laws governing child support guidelines to conform to changes made by the Department of Health and Human Services by rule that eliminate the age categories in the child support table.