Senate Bill 3023

(As Passed the Senate)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 93-11-159, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE EVERY LICENSING ENTITY SUBJECT TO SECTIONS 93-11-151 THROUGH 93-11-161 TO ASSESS A FEE FOR REISSUANCE OF LICENSES SUSPENDED FOR FAILURE TO PAY CHILD SUPPORT AND TO PROVIDE THAT SUCH FUNDS BE USED FOR THE SUPPORT OF THE LEGAL DIVISION OF THE CHILD SUPPORT UNIT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES; TO AMEND 93-11-157, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972 TO CONFORM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 93-11-159, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

93-11-159. (1) The licensing entities subject to Sections 93-11-151 through 93-11-161 may establish an additional administrative fee not to exceed Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) to be paid by licensees who are out of compliance with an order of support and who are subject to the provisions of Sections 93-11-151 through 93-11-161 for the purpose of recovering costs of the licensing entities associated with the implementation of Sections 93-11-151 through 93-11-161.

(2) In addition to the fee that may be assessed in subsection (1), every licensing entity subject to Sections 93-11-151 through 93-11-161 shall assess an administrative fee of Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) to be paid by licensees whose licenses are reinstated and such funds shall be transferred to the State General Fund to be used subject to appropriation by the Legislature for the support of the Legal Division of the Child Support Unit of the Mississippi Department of Human Services.

SECTION 2. Section 93-11-157, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

93-11-157. (1) The division shall review the information received under Section 93-11-155 and any other information available to the division, and shall determine if a licensee is out of compliance with an order for support. If a licensee is out of compliance with the order for support, the division shall notify the licensee by first class mail that ninety (90) days after the licensee receives the notice of being out of compliance with the order, the licensing entity will be notified to immediately suspend the licensee's license unless the licensee pays the arrearage owing, according to the accounting records of the Mississippi Department of Human Services or the attorney representing the party to whom support is due, as the case may be, or enters into a stipulated agreement and agreed judgment establishing a schedule for the payment of the arrearage. The licensee shall be presumed to have received the notice five (5) days after it is deposited in the mail.

(2) Upon receiving the notice provided in subsection (1) of this section the licensee may:

(a) Request a review with the division; however, the issues the licensee may raise at the review are limited to whether the licensee is the person required to pay under the order for support and whether the licensee is out of compliance with the order for support; or

(b) Request to participate in negotiations with the division for the purpose of establishing a payment schedule for the arrearage.

(3) The division director or the designees of the division director may and, upon request of a licensee, shall negotiate with a licensee to establish a payment schedule for the arrearage. Payments made under the payment schedule shall be in addition to the licensee's ongoing obligation under the latest entered periodic order for support.

(4) Should the division and the licensee reach an agreement on a payment schedule for the arrearage, the division director shall submit to the court the stipulated agreement and agreed judgment containing the payment schedule which, upon the court's approval, is enforceable as any order of the court. If the court does not approve the stipulated agreement and agreed judgment, the court may require a hearing on a case-by-case basis for the judicial review of the payment schedule agreement.

(5) If the licensee and the division do not reach an agreement on a payment schedule for the arrearage, the licensee may move the court to establish a payment schedule. However, this action does not stay the license suspension.

(6) The notice given to a licensee that the licensee's license will be suspended in ninety (90) days must clearly state the remedies and procedures that are available to a licensee under this section.

(7) If at the end of the ninety (90) days the licensee has an arrearage according to the accounting records of the Mississippi Department of Human Services or the attorney representing the party to whom support is due, as the case may be, and the licensee has not entered into a stipulated agreement and agreed judgment establishing a payment schedule for the arrearage, the division shall immediately notify all applicable licensing entities in writing to suspend the licensee's license, and the licensing entities shall immediately suspend the license and shall within three (3) business days notify the licensee and the licensee's employer, where known, of the license suspension and the date of such suspension by certified mail return receipt requested. Within forty-eight (48) hours of receipt of a request in writing delivered personally, by mail or by electronic means, the department shall furnish to the licensee, licensee's attorney or other authorized representative a copy of the department's accounting records of the licensee's payment history. A licensing entity shall immediately reinstate the suspended license upon the division's notification of the licensing entities in writing that the licensee no longer has an arrearage or that the licensee has entered into a stipulated agreement and agreed judgment.

(8) Within thirty (30) days after a licensing entity suspends the licensee's license at the direction of the division under subsection (7) of this section, the licensee may appeal the license suspension to the chancery court of the county in which the licensee resides or to the Chancery Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi, upon giving bond with sufficient sureties in the amount of Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00), approved by the clerk of the chancery court and conditioned to pay any costs that may be adjudged against the licensee. Notice of appeal shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the chancery court. If there is an appeal, the appeal may, in the discretion of and on motion to the chancery court, act as a supersedeas of the license suspension. The department shall be the appellee in the appeal, and the licensing entity shall not be a party in the appeal. The chancery court shall dispose of the appeal and enter its decision within thirty (30) days of the filing of the appeal. The hearing on the appeal may, in the discretion of the chancellor, be tried in vacation. The decision of the chancery court may be appealed to the Supreme Court in the manner provided by the rules of the Supreme Court. In the discretion of and on motion to the chancery court, no person shall be allowed to practice any business, occupation or profession or take any other action under the authority of any license the suspension of which has been affirmed by the chancery court while an appeal to the Supreme Court from the decision of the chancery court is pending.

(9) If a licensee who has entered a stipulated agreement and agreed judgment for the payment of an arrearage under this section subsequently is out of compliance with an order for support, the division shall immediately notify the licensing entity to suspend the licensee's license, and the licensing entity shall immediately suspend the license without a hearing and shall within three (3) business days notify the licensee in writing of the license suspension. In the case of a license suspension under the provisions of this subsection, the procedures provided for under subsections (1) and (2) of this section are not required; however, the appeal provisions of subsection (8) of this section still apply. After suspension of the license, if the licensee subsequently enters into a stipulated agreement and agreed judgment or the licensee otherwise informs the division of compliance with the order for support, the division shall within seven (7) days notify in writing the licensing entity that the licensee is in compliance. Upon receipt of that notice from the division, a licensing entity shall immediately reinstate the license of the licensee and shall within three (3) business days notify the licensee of the reinstatement.

(10) Nothing in this section prohibits a licensee from filing a motion for the modification of an order for support or for any other applicable relief. However, no such action shall stay the license suspension procedure, except as may be allowed under subsection (8) of this section.

(11) If a license is suspended under the provisions of this section, the licensing entity is not required to refund any fees paid by a licensee in connection with obtaining or renewing a license.

(12) The requirement of a licensing entity to suspend a license under this section does not affect the power of the licensing entity to deny, suspend, revoke or terminate a license for any other reason.

(13) The procedure for suspension of a license for being out of compliance with an order for support, and the procedure for the reissuance or reinstatement of a license suspended for that purpose, shall be governed by this section and not by the general licensing and disciplinary provisions applicable to a licensing entity. Actions taken by a licensing entity in suspending a license when required by this section are not actions from which an appeal may be taken under the general licensing and disciplinary provisions applicable to the licensing entity. Any appeal of a license suspension that is required by this section shall be taken in accordance with the appeal procedure specified in subsection (8) of this section rather than any procedure specified in the general licensing and disciplinary provisions applicable to the licensing entity. If there is any conflict between any provision of this section and any provision of the general licensing and disciplinary provisions applicable to a licensing entity, the provisions of this section shall control.

(14) No license shall be suspended under this section until ninety (90) days after July 1, 1996. This ninety-day period shall be a one-time amnesty period in which any person who may be subject to license suspension under this article may comply with an order of support in order to avoid the suspension of any license.

(15) Any individual who fails to comply with a subpoena or warrant relating to paternity or child support proceedings after receiving appropriate notice may be subject to suspension or withholding of issuance of a license under this section.

(16) Any person whose license is suspended under this section shall be subject to the administrative fees established for reinstatement under Section 93-11-159.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2004.