SB 696 (Wright) Child support: compromise of arrears.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 696, as amended, Wright. South Coast Air Quality Management District: CEQA: permits. Child support: compromise of arrears. Existing law establishes a statewide compromise of arrears program pursuant to which the Department of Child Support Services may accept offers in compromise of child support arrears and interest accrued thereon owed to the state for reimbursement of aid paid pursuant to the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids Act. An offer in compromise must be rescinded and any compromised liability reestablished unless there is a finding of good cause or a determination by the director that it is in the best interest of the state to do otherwise. Existing law provides that the acceptance of an offer in compromise is deemed to be in the best interest of the state with regard to arrears that accrued as a result of a decrease in income when an obligor was a reservist or member of the National Guard activated to United States military service, and failed to modify the support order to reflect the reduction in income. This bill would provide that acceptance of an offer in compromise is deemed to be in the best interest of the state with regard to arrears that accrued as a result of a decrease in income when the obligor failed to modify the support order to reflect the reduction in income when an obligor was a reservist or member of the National Guard activated to United States military service, when the obligor was incarcerated for more than 90 days and does not have other sources of income, when the obligor's sole income was based on specified forms of public assistance, or when the obligor was receiving inpatient services in a medical facility for more than 90 days and does not have other sources of income. (1) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report (EIR) on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA exempts certain specified projects from its requirements. Under existing law, every air pollution control district or air quality management district in a federal nonattainment area for any national ambient air quality standard is required to establish by regulation, a system by which all reductions in emissions of air contaminants that are to be used to offset certain future increases in the emission of air contaminants are banked prior to use. The South Coast Air Quality Management District (district) promulgated various rules establishing offset exemptions, providing Priority Reserve offset credits, and creating or tracking credits used for offset exemption or Priority Reserve projects. In Natural Resources Defense Council v. South Coast Air Quality Management District (Super. Ct. Los Angeles County, 2007, No. BS 110792), the superior court found the promulgation of certain of these district rules to be in violation of CEQA. This bill would authorize the district to issue permits under specified circumstances, notwithstanding this court decision. The provisions of the bill would be repealed on May 1, 2012. (2) This bill would state the findings and declarations of the Legislature concerning the need for special legislation. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Comments/questions on SB 696 (Wright): Child support: compromise of arrears.