MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2003 Regular Session
To: Judiciary A
By: Representative Watson
AN ACT TO UPDATE THE UNIFORM INTERSTATE FAMILY SUPPORT ACT; TO AMEND SECTIONS 93-25-3, 93-25-7, 93-25-9, 93-25-11, 93-25-17, 93-25-19, 93-25-21, 93-25-25, 93-25-27, 93-25-31, 93-25-33, 93-25-35, 93-25-39, 93-25-41, 93-25-47, 93-25-49, 93-25-53, 93-25-57, 93-25-59, 93-25-63, 93-25-65, 93-25-67, 93-25-77, 93-25-83, 93-25-87, 93-25-89, 93-25-93, 93-25-101, 93-25-103, 93-25-109 AND 93-25-113, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972; TO CODIFY SECTIONS 93-25-26, 93-25-26.1 AND 93-25-108, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 93-25-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-3. For purposes of Sections 93-25-1 through 93-25-117, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed herein, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(a) "Child" means an individual, whether over or under the age of majority, who is or is alleged to be owed a duty of support by the individual's parent or who is or is alleged to be the beneficiary of a support order directed to the parent.
(b) "Child support order" means a support order for a child, including a child who has attained the age of majority under the law of the issuing state.
(c) "Duty of support" means an obligation imposed or imposable by law to provide support for a child, spouse or former spouse, including an unsatisfied obligation to provide support.
(d) "Home state" means the state in which a child lived with a parent or a person acting as parent for at least six (6) consecutive months immediately preceding the time of filing of a petition or comparable pleading for support and, if a child is less than six (6) months old, the state in which the child lived from birth with any of them. A period of temporary absence of any of them is counted as part of the six-month or other period.
(e) "Income" includes earnings or any periodic payment due to an individual regardless of source including wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, workers' compensation, disability or payments pursuant to a pension or retirement program.
(f) "Income-withholding order" means an order or other legal process directed to an obligor's employer or other debtor, as defined by Sections 93-11-101 through 93-11-119, Mississippi Code of 1972, to withhold support from the income of the obligor.
(g) "Initiating state" means a state from which a proceeding is forwarded or in which a proceeding is filed for forwarding to a responding state under this chapter or a law or procedure substantially similar to this chapter * * *.
(h) "Initiating tribunal" means the authorized tribunal in an initiating state.
(i) "Issuing state" means the state in which a tribunal issues a support order or renders a judgment determining parentage.
(j) "Issuing tribunal" means the tribunal that issues a support order or renders a judgment determining parentage.
(k) "Law" includes decisional and statutory law and rules and regulations having the force of law.
(l) "Obligee" means:
(i) An individual to whom a duty of support is or is alleged to be owed or in whose favor a support order has been issued or a judgment determining parentage has been rendered;
(ii) A state or political subdivision to which the rights under a duty of support or support order have been assigned or which has independent claims based on financial assistance provided to an individual obligee; or
(iii) An individual seeking a judgment determining parentage of the individual's child.
(m) "Obligor" means an individual or the estate of a decedent:
(i) Who owes or is alleged to owe a duty of support;
(ii) Who is alleged but has not been adjudicated to be a parent of a child; or
(iii) Who is liable under a support order.
(n) "Register" means to record a support order or judgment determining parentage in a court of this state having jurisdiction.
(o) "Registering tribunal" means a tribunal in which a support order is registered.
(p) "Responding state" means a state in which a proceeding is filed or to which a proceeding is forwarded for filing from an initiating state under this chapter or a law or procedure substantially similar to this chapter * * *.
(q) "Responding tribunal" means the authorized tribunal in a responding state.
(r) "Spousal-support order" means a support order for a spouse or former spouse of the obligor.
(s) "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. The term "state" includes:
(i) An Indian tribe; and
(ii) A foreign jurisdiction that: has been declared to be a foreign reciprocating country under federal law; has established a child-support reciprocity arrangement with this state; has enacted a law or established procedures for issuance and enforcement of support orders which are substantially similar to the procedures under this chapter * * *.
(t) "Support enforcement agency" means a public official or agency authorized to seek:
(i) Enforcement of support orders or laws relating to the duty of support;
(ii) Establishment or modification of child support;
(iii) Determination of parentage; * * *
(iv) To locate obligors or their assets;
(v) Determination of the controlling child support order.
(u) "Support order" means a judgment, decree, order, or directive, whether temporary, final or subject to modification, issued by a tribunal for the benefit of a child, a spouse or a former spouse, which provides for monetary support, health care, arrearages or reimbursement and may include related costs and fees, interest, income withholding, attorney's fees and other relief.
(v) "Tribunal" means a court, administrative agency or quasi-judicial entity authorized to establish, enforce or modify support orders or to determine parentage.
(w) "Record" means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.
SECTION 2. Section 93-25-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-7. (1) Remedies provided by this chapter are cumulative and do not affect the availability of remedies under other law, including the recognition of a foreign support order on the basis of comity.
(2) This chapter does not:
(a) Provide the exclusive method of establishing or enforcing a support order under the law of this state; or
(b) Grant a tribunal of this state jurisdiction to render judgment or issue an order relating to child custody and visitation in a proceeding under this chapter.
SECTION 3. Section 93-25-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-9. In a proceeding to establish or enforce * * * a support order or to determine parentage, a tribunal of this state may exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident individual or the individual's guardian or conservator if:
(a) The individual is personally served with process within this state;
(b) The individual submits to the jurisdiction of this state by consent, by entering a general appearance or by filing a responsive document having the effect of waiving any contest to personal jurisdiction;
(c) The individual resided with the child in this state;
(d) The individual resided in this state and provided prenatal expenses or support for the child;
(e) The child resides in this state as a result of the acts or directives of the individual;
(f) The individual engaged in sexual intercourse in this state and the child may have been conceived by that act of intercourse;
(g) The individual asserted parentage as provided by law; or
(h) There is any other basis consistent with the Constitutions of this state and the United States for the exercise of personal jurisdiction.
Unless Section 93-25-101 or 93-25-107 applies, the bases of personal jurisdiction set forth in this section may not be used to acquire jurisdiction for a tribunal of this state to modify a child support order issued by a tribunal of another state.
SECTION 4. Section 93-25-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-11. A tribunal of this state exercising personal jurisdiction over a nonresident under Section 95-25-9, or recognizing a foreign support order on the basis of comity, may apply Section 95-25-57 * * * to receive evidence from another state or foreign jurisdiction, to communicate with a tribunal of another state or foreign jurisdiction, and Section 93-25-61 * * * to obtain discovery through a tribunal of another state. In all other respects, Sections 93-25-27 through 93-25-95 do not apply and the tribunal shall apply the procedural and substantive law of this state * * *.
SECTION 5. Section 93-25-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-17. (1) A tribunal of this state that has issued a support order consistent with the law of this state has and shall exercise continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify its child support order if the order is the controlling order and:
(a) At the time of the filing of a request for modification this state is the residence of the obligor, the individual obligee, or the child for whose benefit the support order is issued; or
(b) Even if this state is not the residence of the obligor, the individual obligee, or the child for whose benefit the support order is issued, the parties consent in a record or in open court that the tribunal of this state may continue to exercise its jurisdiction to modify its order.
(2) A tribunal of this state that has issued a child support order consistent with the law of this state may not exercise * * * continuing exclusive jurisdiction to modify the order if:
(a) All of the parties who are individuals file consent in a record with the tribunal of this state that a tribunal of another state with jurisdiction over at least one (1) of the individual parties or the child may modify the order and assume continuing, exclusive jurisdiction; or
(b) Its order is not the controlling order.
* * *
(3) If a tribunal of another state * * * has issued a child support order pursuant to this chapter or to a law substantially similar to this chapter which modifies a child support order of a tribunal of the state, tribunals of this state shall recognize the continuing, exclusive jurisdiction of the tribunal of the other state.
(4) A tribunal of this state which lacks continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify a child support order may serve as an initiating tribunal to request a tribunal of another state to modify a support order issued in that state.
(5) A temporary support order issued ex parte or pending resolution of a jurisdictional conflict does not create continuing, exclusive jurisdiction in the issuing tribunal.
* * *
SECTION 6. Section 93-25-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-19. (1) A tribunal of this state that has issued a child support order consistent with the law of this state may serve as an initiating tribunal to request a tribunal of another state to enforce:
(a) The order if the order is the controlling order and has not been modified by a tribunal of another state which assumed jurisdiction pursuant to this act; or
(b) A money judgment for support arrears and interest on the order accumulated prior to a determination that an order of another state is the controlling order.
(2) A tribunal of this state having continuing * * * jurisdiction over a support order may act as a responding tribunal to enforce * * * the order. * * *
* * *
SECTION 7. Section 93-25-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-21. (1) If a proceeding is brought under this chapter, and one (1) tribunal has issued a child support order, the order of that tribunal is controlling and must be so recognized.
(2) If a proceeding is brought under this chapter, and two (2) or more child support orders have been issued by a tribunal of this state or another state with regard to the same obligor and the same child, a tribunal of this state having personal jurisdiction over both the obligor and individual obligee shall apply the following rules and by order shall determine which order to recognize for purposes of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction:
(a) If only one (1) of the tribunals would have continuing, exclusive jurisdiction under this chapter, the order of that tribunal controls and must be so recognized.
(b) If more than one (1) of the tribunals would have continuing, exclusive jurisdiction under this chapter, an order issued by a tribunal in the current home state of the child controls and must be so recognized, but if an order has not been issued in the current home state of the child, the order most recently issued controls and must be so recognized.
(c) If none of the tribunals would have continuing, exclusive jurisdiction under this chapter, the tribunal of this state having jurisdiction over the parties shall issue a child support order, which controls and must be so recognized.
(3) If two (2) or more child support orders have been issued for the same obligor and the same child * * * a party may request a tribunal of this state having personal jurisdiction over both the obligor and individual obligee to determine which order controls and must be recognized under subsection (2). The request may be filed with a registration for enforcement or registration for modification, or may be filed as a separate proceeding.
(4) The tribunal that issued the controlling order under subsection (1), (2) or (3) may exercise continuing * * * jurisdiction to the extent provided in Section 93-25-17 or 93-25-19.
(5) A tribunal of this state which determines by order the identity of the controlling order under subsection (2)(a), (2)(b) or subsection (3), or which issues a new controlling child support order under subsection (2)(c), shall include in that order the basis upon which the tribunal made its determination. In addition, the tribunal shall state:
(a) The amount of prospective support, if any; and
(b) The total amount of consolidated arrears and accrued interest, if any, that exist under all of the orders after all payments made are credited.
(6) A request for determination of which is the controlling order must be accompanied by a copy of every child support order in effect and the applicable record of payments. The requesting party shall give notice of the request to each party whose rights may be affected by the determination.
(7) Within thirty (30) days after issuance of an order determining which is the controlling order, the party obtaining the order shall file a certified copy of it with each tribunal that issued or registered an earlier order of child support. A party who obtains the order and fails to file a certified copy is subject to appropriate sanctions by a tribunal in which the issue of failure to file arises. Failure to file has no effect on the validity or enforceability of the controlling order.
(8) An order that has been determined to be the controlling order, or a judgment for consolidated support arrears and interest, if any, made pursuant to this section must be so recognized in proceedings under this chapter.
SECTION 8. Section 93-25-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-25. A tribunal of this state shall credit amounts collected * * * for a particular period pursuant to any child support order issued by a tribunal of this or another state * * *.
SECTION 9. The following shall be codified as Section 93-25-26, Mississippi Code of 1972:
93-25-26. If a party subject to the continuing, exclusive jurisdiction of a tribunal of this state no longer resides in the issuing state, in subsequent proceedings the tribunal may apply Section 93-25-57 to receive evidence from another state, Section 93-25-59 to communicate with a tribunal of another state, and Section 93-25-61 to obtain discovery through a tribunal of another state. In all other respects, Sections 93-25-27 through 93-25-109 do not apply and the tribunal shall apply the procedural and substantive law of this state.
SECTION 10. The following shall be codified as Section 93-25-26.1, Mississippi Code of 1972:
93-25-26.1. (1) A tribunal of this state issuing a spousal support order consistent with the law of this state has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify the spousal support order throughout the existence of the support obligation.
(2) A tribunal of this state may not modify a spousal support order issued by a tribunal of another state having continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over that order under the law of that state.
(3) A tribunal of this state that has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over a spousal support order may serve as:
(a) An initiating tribunal to request a tribunal of another state to enforce the spousal support order issued in this state; or
(b) A responding tribunal to enforce or modify its own spousal support order.
SECTION 11. Section 93-25-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-27. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, Sections 93-25-27 through 93-25-63 apply to all proceedings under this chapter.
(2) This chapter provides for the following proceedings:
(a) Establishment of an order for spousal support or child support pursuant to Section 93-25-65;
(b) Enforcement of a support order and income-withholding order of another state without registration pursuant to Sections 93-25-67 through 93-25-79;
(c) Registration of an order for spousal support or child support of another state for enforcement pursuant to Sections 93-25-81 through 93-25-87;
(d) Modification of an order for child support or spousal support issued by a tribunal of this state pursuant to Sections 93-25-13 through 93-25-19 and Sections 93-25-89 through 93-25-113;
(e) Registration of an order for child support of another state for modification pursuant to Sections 93-25-81 through 93-25-87;
(f) Determination of parentage pursuant to Section 93-25-109; * * *
(g) Assertion of jurisdiction over nonresidents pursuant to Sections 93-25-9 and 93-25-11; and
(h) Determination of the controlling order pursuant to Section 93-25-9 through 93-25-25.
(3) An individual or a support enforcement agency may commence a proceeding authorized under this chapter by filing a petition in an initiating tribunal for forwarding to a responding tribunal or by filing a petition or a comparable pleading directly in a tribunal of another state which has or can obtain personal jurisdiction over the respondent.
SECTION 12. Section 93-25-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-31. Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, a responding tribunal of this state:
(a) Shall apply the procedural and substantive law * * * generally applicable to similar proceedings originating in this state and may exercise all powers and provide all remedies available in those proceedings; and
(b) Shall determine the duty of support and the amount payable in accordance with the law and support guidelines of this state.
SECTION 13. Section 93-25-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-33. (1) Upon the filing of a petition authorized by this chapter, an initiating tribunal of this state shall forward * * * the petition and its accompanying documents:
(a) To the responding tribunal or appropriate support enforcement agency in the responding state; or
(b) If the identity of the responding tribunal is unknown, to the state information agency of the responding state with a request that they be forwarded to the appropriate tribunal and that receipt be acknowledged.
(2) If requested by the responding tribunal, a tribunal of this state shall issue a certificate or other document and make findings required by the law of the responding state. If the responding state is a foreign jurisdiction, upon request the tribunal shall specify the amount of support sought provide the equivalent amount in the foreign currency under applicable official exchange rates as publicly reported, or provide other documents necessary to satisfy the requirements of the responding state.
SECTION 14. Section 93-25-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-35. (1) When a responding tribunal of this state receives a petition or comparable pleading from an initiating tribunal or directly pursuant to Section 93-25-27 * * *, it shall cause the petition or pleading to be filed and shall notify the petitioner where and when it was filed.
(2) A responding tribunal of this state, to the extent otherwise authorized by law, may do one or more of the following:
(a) Issue or enforce a support order, modify a child support order, determine the controlling child support order, or render a judgment to determine parentage;
(b) Order an obligor to comply with a support order, specifying the amount and the manner of compliance;
(c) Order income withholding;
(d) Determine the amount of any arrearage and specify a method of payment;
(e) Enforce orders by civil or criminal contempt, or both;
(f) Set aside property for satisfaction of the support order;
(g) Place liens and order execution on the obligor's property;
(h) Order an obligor to keep the tribunal informed of the obligor's current residential address, telephone number, employer, address of employment and telephone number at the place of employment;
(i) Issue a bench warrant, capias, for an obligor who has failed after proper notice to appear at a hearing ordered by the tribunal and enter the bench warrant, capias, in any local and state computer systems for criminal warrants;
(j) Order the obligor to seek appropriate employment by specified methods;
(k) Award reasonable attorney's fees and other fees and costs; and
(l) Grant any other available remedy.
(3) A responding tribunal of this state shall include in a support order issued under this chapter, or in the documents accompanying the order, the calculations on which the support order is based.
(4) A responding tribunal of this state may not condition the payment of a support order issued under this chapter upon compliance by a party with provisions for visitation.
(5) If a responding tribunal of this state issues an order under this chapter, the tribunal shall send a copy of the order to the petitioner and the respondent and to the initiating tribunal, if any.
(6) If requested to enforce or modify a support order, arrears or judgment stated in a foreign currency, a responding tribunal of this state shall convert the amount stated in the foreign currency to the equivalent amount in dollars under applicable official exchange rates as publicly reported.
SECTION 15. Section 93-25-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-39. (1) A support enforcement agency of this state, upon request, shall provide services to a petitioner in a proceeding under this chapter.
(2) A support enforcement agency that is providing services to the petitioner as appropriate shall:
(a) Take all steps necessary to enable an appropriate tribunal in this state or another state to obtain jurisdiction over the respondent;
(b) Request an appropriate tribunal to set a date, time and place for a hearing;
(c) Make a reasonable effort to obtain all relevant information, including information as to income and property of the parties;
(d) Within two (2) days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, after receipt of a written notice from initiating, responding or registering tribunal, send a copy of the notice to the petitioner;
(e) Within two (2) days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, after receipt of a written communication from the respondent or the respondent's attorney, send a copy of the communication to the petitioner; and
(f) Notify the petitioner if jurisdiction over the respondent cannot be obtained.
(3) A support enforcement agency of this state that is requesting registration of a child support order for enforcement or for modification in this state shall make reasonable efforts:
(a) To ensure that the order to be registered is the controlling order; or
(b) To ensure that, if two (2) or more child support orders exist and the identity of the controlling order has not been determined, a request for such a determination is made in a tribunal with jurisdiction to do so.
(4) A support enforcement agency of this state that is requesting registration and enforcement of a support order, arrears or judgment stated in a foreign currency shall convert the amounts stated in the foreign currency into the equivalent amounts in dollars under applicable official exchange rates as publicly reported.
(5) A support enforcement agency of this state shall request a tribunal of this state to issue a child support order and an income-withholding order that redirect payment of current support, arrears and interest if requested to do so by a support enforcement agency of another state pursuant to Section 93-25-63.
(6) This chapter does not create or negate a relationship of attorney and client or other fiduciary relationship between a support enforcement agency or the attorney for the agency and the individual being assisted by the agency.
SECTION 16. Section 93-25-41, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-41. (1) If the appropriate state official or agency determines that the support enforcement agency is neglecting or refusing to provide services to an individual, the official or agency may order the agency to perform its duties under this chapter or may provide those services directly to the individual.
(2) The appropriate state official or agency may determine that a foreign jurisdiction has established a child support reciprocity arrangement with this state and take appropriate action for notification of the determination.
SECTION 17. Section 93-25-47, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-47. (1) In a proceeding under this chapter, a petitioner seeking to establish * * * a support order, to determine parentage, or to register and modify a support order of another state, must file a petition. Unless otherwise ordered under Section 93-25-49 * * *, the petition or accompanying documents must provide, so far as known, the name, residential address and social security numbers of the obligor and the obligee, and the name, sex, residential address, social security number and date of birth of each child for whose benefit support is sought. Unless filed at the time of registration, the petition must be accompanied by a * * * copy of any support order known to have been issued by another tribunal. The petition may include any other information that may assist in locating or identifying the respondent.
(2) The petition must specify the relief sought. The petition and accompanying documents must conform substantially with the requirements imposed by the forms mandated by federal law for use in cases filed by a support enforcement agency.
SECTION 18. Section 93-25-49, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-49. If a party alleges in an affidavit or a pleading under oath that the health, safety or liberty of a party or child would be jeopardized by disclosure of specific identifying information, that information must be sealed and may not be disclosed to the other party or the public. After a hearing in which a tribunal takes into consideration the health, safety or liberty of the party or child, the tribunal may order disclosure of that information that the tribunal determines to be in the interest of justice.
SECTION 19. Section 93-25-53, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-53. (1) Participation by a petitioner in a proceeding under this chapter before a responding tribunal, whether in person, by private attorney or through services provided by the support enforcement agency, does not confer personal jurisdiction over the petitioner in another proceeding.
(2) A petitioner is not amenable to service of civil process while physically present in this state to participate in a proceeding under this chapter.
(3) The immunity granted by this section does not extend to civil litigation based on acts unrelated to a proceeding under this chapter committed by a party while present in this state to participate in the proceeding.
SECTION 20. Section 93-25-57, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-57. (1) The physical presence of an individual, nonresident party in a * * * tribunal of this state is not required for the establishment, enforcement or modification of a support order or the rendition of a judgment determining parentage.
(2) An affidavit, document substantially complying with federally mandated forms, or document incorporated by reference in any of them, not excluded under the hearsay rule if given in person, is admissible in evidence if given under penalty of perjury by a party or witness residing in another state.
(3) A copy of the record of child support payments certified as a true copy of the original by the custodian of the record may be forwarded to a responding tribunal. The copy is evidence of facts asserted in it, and is admissible to show whether payments were made.
(4) Copies of bills for testing for parentage, and for prenatal and postnatal health care of the mother and child, furnished to the adverse party at least ten (10) days before trial, are admissible in evidence to prove the amount of the charges billed and the charges were reasonable, necessary and customary.
(5) Documentary evidence transmitted from another state to a tribunal of this state by telephone, telecopier or other means that do not provide an original record may not be excluded from evidence on an objection based on the means of transmission.
(6) In a proceeding under this chapter, a tribunal of this state shall permit a party or witness residing in another state to be deposed or to testify by telephone, audiovisual means or other electronic means at a designated tribunal or other location in that state. A tribunal of this state shall cooperate with tribunals of other states in designating an appropriate location for the deposition or testimony.
(7) If a party called to testify at a civil hearing refuses to answer on the ground that the testimony may be self-incriminating, the trier of fact may draw an adverse inference from the refusal.
(8) A privilege against disclosure of communications between spouses does not apply in a proceeding under this chapter.
(9) The defense of immunity based on the relationship of husband and wife or parent and child does not apply in a proceeding under this chapter.
(10) A voluntary acknowledgement of paternity, certified as a true copy, is admissible to establish parentage of the child.
SECTION 21. Section 93-25-59, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-59. A tribunal of this state may communicate with a tribunal of another state or foreign jurisdiction in writing, or by telephone or other means, to obtain information concerning the laws * * *, the legal effect of a judgment, decree or order of that tribunal, and the status of a proceeding in the other state or foreign jurisdiction. A tribunal of this state may furnish similar information by similar means to a tribunal of another state or foreign jurisdiction.
SECTION 22. Section 93-25-63, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-63. (1) A support enforcement agency or tribunal of this state shall disburse promptly any amounts received pursuant to a support order, as directed by the order. The agency or tribunal shall furnish to a requesting party or tribunal of another state a certified statement by the custodian of the record of the amounts and date of all payments received.
(2) If the obligor, individual obligee and the child do not reside in this state, upon request from the support enforcement agency of this state or another state, the support enforcement agency of this state or a tribunal of this state shall:
(a) Direct that the support payment be made to the support enforcement agency in the state in which the obligee is receiving services; and
(b) Issue a conforming income-withholding order or an administrative notice of change of payee, reflecting the redirected payments.
(3) The support enforcement agency of this state receiving redirected payments pursuant to subsection (2) shall furnish to a requesting party or tribunal of another state a certified statement by a custodian of the record of the amount and dates of all payments received.
SECTION 23. Section 93-25-65, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-65. (1) If a support order entitled to recognition under this chapter has not been issued, a responding tribunal of this state may issue a support order if:
(a) The individual seeking the order resides in another state; or
(b) The support enforcement agency seeking the order is located in another state.
(2) The tribunal may issue a temporary child support order if the tribunal determines that such an order is appropriate and the individual ordered to pay is:
(a) Presumed father of the child;
(b) Petitioning to have his paternity adjudicated;
(c) Identified as the father of the child through genetic testing;
(d) An alleged father who has declined to submit to genetic testing;
(e) Shown by clear and convincing evidence to be the father of the child;
(f) An acknowledge father;
(g) The mother of the child; or
(h) An individual who has been ordered to pay child support in a previous proceeding that has not been reversed or vacated.
(3) Upon finding, after notice and opportunity to be heard, that an obligor owes a duty of support, the tribunal shall issue a support order directed to the obligor and may issue other orders pursuant to Section 93-25-35 * * *.
SECTION 24. Section 93-25-67, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-67. An income-withholding order issued in another state may be sent by or on behalf of the obligee, or by the support enforcement agency to the person or entity defined as the obligor's employer under Sections 93-11-101 through 93-11-119, without first filing a petition or comparable pleading or registering the order with a tribunal of this state.
SECTION 25. Section 93-25-77, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-77. (1) An obligor may contest the validity or enforcement of an income-withholding order issued in another state and received directly by an employer in this state by registering the order in a tribunal of this state and filing a contest to that order as provided in Sections 93-25-81 through 93-25-111, or otherwise contesting the order in the same manner as if the order had been issued by a tribunal of this state. Section 93-25-87 * * * applies to the contest.
(2) The obligor shall give notice of the contest to:
(a) A support enforcement agency providing services to the obligee;
(b) Each employer that has directly received an income-withholding order;
(c) The person or agency designated to receive payments in the income-withholding order; or
(d) The obligee, where no person or agency is designated.
SECTION 26. Section 93-25-83, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-83. (1) A support order or income-withholding order of another state may be registered in this state by sending the following records and information to the appropriate tribunal in this state:
(a) A letter of transmittal to the tribunal requesting registration and enforcement;
(b) Two (2) copies, including one (1) certified copy, of the order to be registered, including any modification of the order;
(c) A sworn statement by the party seeking registration or a certified statement by the custodian of the records showing the amount of any arrearage;
(d) The name of the obligor and, if known:
(i) The obligor's address and social security number;
(ii) The name and address of the obligor's employer and any other source of income of the obligor; * * *
(iii) A description and the location of property of the obligor in this state not exempt from execution; and
(e) Except as otherwise provided in Section 93-25-49, the name and address of the obligee and, if applicable, the agency or person to whom support payments are to be remitted.
(2) On receipt of a request for registration, the registering tribunal shall cause the order to be filed as a foreign judgment, together with one (1) copy of the documents and information, regardless of their form.
(3) A petition or comparable pleading seeking a remedy that must be affirmatively sought under other law of this state may be filed at the same time as the request for registration or later. The pleading must specify the grounds for the remedy sought.
(4) If two (2) or more orders are in effect, the agency or individual requesting registration shall:
(a) Furnish to the tribunal a copy of every support order asserted to be in effect in addition to the documents specified in this section;
(b) Specify the order alleged to be the controlling order, if any; and
(c) Specify the amount of consolidated arrears, if any.
(5) A request for a determination of which is the controlling order may be filed with a request for registration and enforcement, for registration and modification, or may be filed separately. The agency or individual requesting registration shall give notice of the request to each party whose rights may be affected by the determination.
SECTION 27. Section 93-25-87, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-87. (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (4), the law of the issuing state governs:
(a) The nature, extent, amount and duration of current payments under the support order;
(b) The computation and payment of arrearages and accrual of interest on the arrearages under the order; and
(c) The existence and satisfaction of other obligations under the support order.
(2) In a proceeding for arrearages, the statute of limitation under the laws of this state or of the issuing state, whichever is longer, applies.
(3) A responding tribunal of this state shall apply the procedures and remedies of this state to enforce current support and collect arrearages and interest due on a support order of another state.
(4) After a tribunal of this or another state determines which is the controlling order and issues an order consolidating arrears, if any, a tribunal of this state shall prospectively apply the law of the state issuing the controlling order, including its law on interest on arrears, on current and future support and on consolidated arrears.
SECTION 28. Section 93-25-89, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-89. (1) When a support order or income-withholding order issued in another state is registered, the registering tribunal shall notify the nonregistering party. The notice must be accompanied by a copy of the registered order and the documents and relevant information accompanying the order.
(2) The notice must inform the nonregistering party:
(a) That a registered order is enforceable as of the date of registration in the same manner as an order issued by a tribunal of this state;
(b) That a hearing to contest the validity or enforcement of the registered order must be requested within twenty (20) days after notice;
(c) That failure to contest the validity or enforcement of the registered order in a timely manner will result in confirmation of the order and enforcement of the order and the alleged arrearages and precludes further contest of that order with respect to any matter that could have been asserted; and
(d) Of the amount of any alleged arrearages.
(3) Upon registering an income-withholding order for enforcement, the registering tribunal shall notify the obligor's employer pursuant to Sections 93-11-101 through 93-11-119, Mississippi Code of 1972.
(4) If the registering party assets that two (2) or more orders are in effect, a notice must also:
(a) Identify the two (2) or more orders and the order alleged by the registering agency or individual to be the controlling order, if any, and the consolidated arrears, if any;
(b) Notify the nonregistering party of the right to a determination of which is the controlling order;
(c) State that the procedures provided in subsection (2) apply to the determination of which is the controlling order; and
(d) State that failure to contest the validity or enforcement of the order alleged to be the controlling order in a timely manner may result in confirmation of the order as the controlling order.
SECTION 29. Section 93-25-93, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-93. (1) A party contesting the validity or enforcement of a registered order or seeking to vacate the registration has the burden of proving one or more of the following defenses:
(a) The issuing tribunal lacked personal jurisdiction over the contesting party;
(b) The order was obtained by fraud;
(c) The order has been vacated, suspended or modified by a later order;
(d) The issuing tribunal has stayed the order pending appeal;
(e) There is a defense under the law of this state to the remedy sought;
(f) Full or partial payment has been made; * * *
(g) The statute of limitation under Section 93-25-87 * * * precludes enforcement of some or all of the alleged arrearage; or
(h) The alleged controlling order is not the controlling order.
(2) If a party presents evidence establishing a full or partial defense under subsection (1), a tribunal may stay enforcement of the registered order, continue the proceeding to permit production of additional relevant evidence and issue other appropriate orders. An uncontested portion of the registered order may be enforced by all remedies available under the law of this state.
(3) If the contesting party does not establish a defense under subsection (1) to the validity or enforcement of the order, the registering tribunal shall issue an order confirming the order.
SECTION 30. Section 93-25-101, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-101. (1) If Section 93-25-107 does not apply, upon petition, a tribunal of this state may modify a child support order issued in another state which is registered in this state, if, after notice and hearing, it finds that:
(a) The following requirements are met:
(i) The child, the individual obligee and the obligor do not reside in the issuing state;
(ii) A petitioner who is a nonresident of this state seeks modification; and
(iii) The respondent is subject to the personal jurisdiction of the tribunal of this state; or
(b) The child or a party who is an individual is subject to the personal jurisdiction of the tribunal of this state and all of the parties who are individuals have filed written consents in a record in the issuing tribunal for a tribunal of this state to modify the support order and assume continuing, exclusive jurisdiction * * *.
(2) Modification of a registered child support order is subject to the same requirements, procedures and defenses that apply to the modification of an order issued by a tribunal of this state and the order may be enforced and satisfied in the same manner.
(3) A tribunal of this state may not modify any aspect of a child support order that may not be modified under the law of the issuing state. If two (2) or more tribunals have issued child support orders for the same obligor and child, the order that controls and must be so recognized under the provisions of Section 93-25-21 establishes the aspects of the support order which are nonmodifiable.
(4) In a proceeding to modify a child support order, the law of the state that is determined to have issued the initial controlling order governs the duration of the obligation of support. The obligor's fulfillment of the duty of support established by that order precludes imposition of a further obligation of support by a tribunal of this state.
(5) On issuance of an order by a tribunal of this state modifying a child support order issued in another state, the tribunal of this state becomes the tribunal of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction.
SECTION 31. Section 93-25-103, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-103. If a child support order issued by a tribunal of this state is modified by a tribunal of another state which assumed jurisdiction pursuant to this chapter, a tribunal of this state:
(a) May enforce its order that was modified only as to arrears and interest accruing before the modification;
* * *
(b) May provide * * * appropriate relief * * * for violations of its order which occurred before the effective date of the modification; and
(c) Shall recognize the modifying order of the other state, upon registration, for the purpose of enforcement.
SECTION 32. The following shall be codified as Section 93-25-108, Mississippi Code of 1972:
93-25-108. (1) If a foreign jurisdiction that is a state pursuant to Section 93-25-3(s) will not or may not exercise jurisdiction to modify its order pursuant to its laws, a tribunal of this state may assume jurisdiction to modify the support order and bind all individuals subject to the personal jurisdiction of the tribunal whether or not the consent to modification of a support order otherwise required of the individual pursuant to Section 93-25-101 has been given or whether the individual seeking modification is a resident of this state or of the foreign jurisdiction.
(2) An order issued pursuant to this section is the controlling order.
SECTION 33. Section 93-25-109, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-109. (1) A tribunal of this state may serve as an initiating or responding tribunal in a proceeding brought under this chapter or a law substantially similar to this chapter * * * to determine that the petitioner is a parent of a particular child or to determine that a respondent is a parent of that child.
(2) In a proceeding to determine parentage, a responding tribunal of this state shall apply the procedural and substantive law of this state * * *.
SECTION 34. Section 93-25-113, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-25-113. (1) Before making demand that the Governor of another state surrender an individual charged criminally in this state with having failed to provide for the support of an obligee, the Governor of this state may require a prosecutor of this state to demonstrate that at least sixty (60) days previously the obligee had initiated proceedings for support pursuant to this chapter or that the proceeding would be of no avail.
(2) If, under this chapter or a law substantially similar to this chapter, * * * the Governor of another state makes a demand that the Governor of this state surrender an individual charged criminally in that state with having failed to provide for the support of a child or other individual to whom a duty of support is owed, the Governor may require a prosecutor to investigate the demand and report whether a proceeding for support has been initiated or would be effective. If it appears that a proceeding would be effective but has not been initiated, the Governor may delay honoring the demand for a reasonable time to permit the initiation of a proceeding.
(3) If a proceeding for support has been initiated and the individual whose rendition is demanded prevails, the Governor may decline to honor the demand. If the petitioner prevails and the individual whose rendition is demanded is subject to a support order, the Governor may decline to honor the demand if the individual is complying with the support order.
SECTION 35. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2003.