ENGROSSED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2106
(By Delegates DeLong, Amores, Varner, Caputo, Stemple and Perry)
(Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary)
[February 23, 2005]
A BILL to amend and reenact §48-1-230 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; and to amend said Code by adding thereto two
new sections, designated §48-18-119a and §48-18-119b, all
relating to child support generally; providing for liens upon
child support obligors' proceeds from workers' compensation
awards, from civil settlements, judgments, or awards from
arbitration or other alternative dispute resolutions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §48-1-230 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding
thereto two new sections, designated §48-18-119a and §48-18-119b,
all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS; DEFINITIONS.
Part 2 - Definitions.
§48-1-230. Income defined.
"Income" includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(1) Commissions, earnings, salaries, wages, and other income
due or to be due in the future to an individual from his or her
employer and successor employers;
(2) Any payment due or to be due in the future to an
individual from a profit-sharing plan, a pension plan, an insurance
contract, an annuity, social security, unemployment compensation,
supplemental employment benefits, workers' compensation benefits,
judgments, settlements, awards resulting from arbitration or other
alternative dispute resolution, state lottery winnings and prizes,
and overtime pay;
(3) Any amount of money which is owing to an individual as a
debt from
an:
(A) An individual, partnership,
limited partnership,
association,
limited liability company, or public or private
corporation
,;
(B) the The United States or any federal agency, this state or
any political subdivision of this state, another state or a
political subdivision of another state
,; or
(C) any Any other
person or legal entity
which that is indebted
to the obligor.
ARTICLE 18. BUREAU FOR CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT.
§48-18-119a. Obtaining support from workers' compensation
benefits.
(a) The Workers' Compensation Commission and, upon termination
of the Workers' Compensation Commission, the Insurance Commissioner, shall determine on a periodic basis whether individuals receiving
workers' compensation benefits owe child support obligations which
are being enforced or have been requested to be enforced by the
Bureau for Child Support Enforcement. If an individual is receiving
such compensation and owes any such child support obligation which
is not being met, the Bureau for Child Support Enforcement shall
enter into an agreement with such individual to have specified
amounts withheld otherwise payable to such individual, and shall
submit a copy of such agreement to the Workers' Compensation
Commission, and, upon termination of the Workers' Compensation
Commission, to the Insurance Commissioner. The Bureau for Child
Support Enforcement shall issue an income withholding to require the
withholding of amounts from such compensation.
(b) The Bureau for Child Support Enforcement shall enter into
a written agreement with the Workers' Compensation Commission, and,
upon termination of the Workers' Compensation Commission, to the
Insurance Commissioner, for the purpose of withholding workers'
compensation from individuals with unmet support obligations being
enforced by the Bureau for Child Support Enforcement. The Bureau
for Child Support Enforcement shall agree only to a withholding
program that it expects to be cost effective, and, as to
reimbursement, shall agree only to reimburse the Workers'
Compensation Commission, and, upon termination of the Workers'
Compensation Commission, the Insurance Commissioner, for the actual,
incremental costs of providing services to the Bureau for Child
Support Enforcement.
(c) The Bureau for Child Support Enforcement shall, not less
than annually, provide a receipt to an individual who requests a
receipt for the support paid through the withholding of workers'
compensation, if receipts are not provided through other means.
(d) For the purposes of this section, "workers' compensation"
means any compensation under state workers' compensation law, as set
forth in chapter twenty-three of this code. For purposes of this
section, it does not include payments made under section three or
four, article four, chapter twenty-three of this code.
§48-18-119b. Insurance claim intercept law.
(a) The Legislature hereby authorizes the Bureau for Child
Support Enforcement to join with other states and their
administrative powers and with insurance companies in a multistate
network wherein the various states pool their delinquent child
support obligor information in the network database, which is then
electronically matched daily with claims filed with insurance
companies across the country.
(b) Upon notice from the network that there is a claim and
matching to a delinquent obligor, the Bureau for Child Support
Enforcement shall use claim information and company contacts to
follow up immediately with the insurance company to file the
appropriate administrative notice of lien or income withholding
order against any future settlement.
(c) To the extent that a lien is created as a result of a
delinquent support obligor or his or her representative having
asserted a claim for personal injuries against an insurer, the lien is applicable to the insurer. The lien is not applicable to the
delinquent obligor's representative unless the representative has
been provided with actual notice of the lien by the insurer or the
Bureau for Child Support Enforcement.