2005 California Family Code Sections 17450-17460 Financial Institution Data Match

17450.  (a) For purposes of this article:
   (1) "Child support delinquency" means a delinquency defined in
subdivision (c) of Section 17500.
   (2) "Earnings"  shall include the items described in Section 5206.
   (b) (1) When a delinquency is  submitted to the department
pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 17500, the amount of the child
support delinquency shall be collected by the department in any
manner authorized under  state or federal law.
   (2) Any compensation, fee, commission, expense, or any other fee
for service incurred by the department in the collection of a child
support delinquency authorized under this article shall not be an
obligation of, or collected from, the obligated parent.
   (c) (1) The department may  return or allow a local child support
agency to retain a child support delinquency for a specified purpose
for collection where the department determines  that the return or
retention of the delinquency for the purpose so specified will
enhance the collectibility of the delinquency.  The department shall
establish a process whereby a local child support agency may request
and shall be allowed to withdraw, rescind, or otherwise recall the
submittal of an account that has been  submitted.
   (2) If an obligor is disabled, meets the federal Supplemental
Security Income resource test, and is receiving Supplemental Security
Income/State Supplementary Payments (SSI/SSP), or, but for excess
income as described in Section 416.1100 and following of Part 416 of
Title 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations, would be eligible to
receive as SSI/SSP, pursuant to Section 12200 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, and the obligor has supplied the local child
support agency with proof of his or her eligibility for, and, if
applicable, receipt of, SSI/SSP or Social Security Disability
Insurance benefits, then the child support delinquency shall not be
referred to the department for collection, and, if referred, shall be
withdrawn, rescinded, or otherwise recalled from the department by
the local child support agency.  The department shall not take any
collection action, or if the local child support agency has already
taken collection action, shall cease collection actions in the case
of a disabled obligor when the delinquency is withdrawn, rescinded,
or otherwise recalled by the local child support agency in accordance
with the process established as described in paragraph  (1).
   (d) It is the intent of the Legislature that when the California
Child Support  Automation System (CCSAS) is fully operational, any
statutes that should be modified based upon the status of the system
shall be revised.  During the development and implementation of
CCSAS, the department, as the Title IV-D agency, may, through
appropriate interagency agreement, delegate any and all of the
functions or procedures specified in  this article to the Franchise
Tax Board.  The Franchise Tax Board shall perform those functions or
procedures as specified in Sections 19271 to 19275, inclusive, of the
Revenue and Taxation Code until such time as the director, by letter
to the executive officer of the Franchise Tax Board, revokes such
delegation of Title IV-D functions.  Sections 19271 to 19275,
inclusive, of the Revenue and Taxation Code shall be effective for
these purposes until the revocation of delegation to the Franchise
Tax Board.
   (e) Consistent with the development and implementation of the
California Child Support  Automation System (CCSAS), the Franchise
Tax Board and the department shall enter into a letter of agreement
and an interagency agreement whereby the department shall assume
responsibility for collection of child support delinquencies and the
Financial Institution Data Match System as set forth in this article.
  The letter of agreement and interagency agreement shall, at a
minimum, set forth all of the following:
   (1) Contingent upon the enactment of the Budget Act, and staffing
authorization from the Department of Finance and the Department of
Personnel Administration, the department shall assume responsibility
for leadership and staffing of the collection of child support
delinquencies and the Financial Institution Data Match System.
   (2) All employees and other personnel who staff or provide support
for the collection of child support delinquencies and the Financial
Institution Data Match System at the Franchise Tax Board shall become
the employees of the department at their existing or equivalent
classification, salaries, and benefits.
   (3) Any other provisions necessary to ensure continuity of
function and meet or exceed existing levels of service, including,
but not limited to, agreements for continued use of automated systems
used by the Franchise Tax Board to locate child support obligors and
their assets.
17452.  (a) Subject to state and federal privacy and information
security laws, the Franchise Tax Board shall make tax return
information available to the department, upon request, for the
purpose of collecting child support delinquencies referred to the
department.
   (b) For purposes of this article, the Franchise Tax Board shall
incur no obligation or liability to any person arising from any of
the following:
   (1) Furnishing information to the department as required by this
section.
   (2) Failing to disclose to a taxpayer or accountholder that the
name, address, social security number, or other taxpayer
identification number or other identifying information of that person
was included in the data exchange with the department required by
this section.
   (3) Any other action taken in good faith to comply with the
requirements of this section.
   (c) It is the intent of the Legislature that any provision of
income tax return information by the Franchise Tax Board to the
department pursuant to this article shall be done in accordance with
the privacy and confidential information laws of this state and of
the United States, and to the satisfaction of the Franchise Tax
Board.
17453.  (a) The department, in coordination with financial
institutions doing business in this state, shall operate a Financial
Institution Data Match System utilizing automated data exchanges to
the maximum extent feasible.  The Financial Institution Data Match
System shall be implemented and maintained pursuant to guidelines
prescribed by the department.  These guidelines shall include a
structure by which financial institutions, or their designated
data-processing agents, shall receive from the department the file or
files of past-due support obligors compiled in accordance with
subdivision (c), so that the institution shall match with its own
list of accountholders to identify past-due support obligor
accountholders at the institution.  To the extent allowed by the
federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation
Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-193), the guidelines shall include an option by
which financial institutions without the technical ability to
process the data exchange, or without the ability to employ a
third-party data processor to process the data exchange, may forward
to the department a list of all accountholders and their social
security numbers, so that the department shall match that list with
the file or files of past-due support obligors compiled in accordance
with subdivision (c).
   (b) The Financial Institution Data Match System shall not be
subject to any limitation set forth in Chapter 20 (commencing with
Section 7460) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code.
However, any use of the information provided pursuant to this section
for any purpose other than the enforcement and collection of a child
support delinquency, as set forth in Section  17450, shall be a
violation of Section  17212.
   (c) (1)  Until implementation of the California Child Support
Automation System, each county shall compile a file of support
obligors with judgments and orders that are being enforced by local
child support agencies pursuant to Section 17400, and who are past
due in the payment of their support obligations.  The file shall be
compiled, updated, and forwarded to the department, in accordance
with the guidelines prescribed by the department.
   (2) The department shall compile a file of obligors with support
arrearages from requests made by other states for administrative
enforcement in interstate cases, in accordance with federal
requirements pursuant to paragraph 14 of subsection (a) of Section
666 of Title 42 of the United States Code.  The file shall include,
to the extent possible, the obligor's address.
   (d) To effectuate the Financial Institution Data Match System,
financial institutions subject to this section shall do all of the
following:
   (1) Provide to the department on a quarterly basis, the name,
record address and other addresses, social security number or other
taxpayer identification number, and other identifying information for
each noncustodial parent who maintains an account at the institution
and who owes past-due support, as identified by the department by
name and social security number or other taxpayer identification
number.
   (2) Except as provided in subdivision (j), in response to a notice
or order to withhold issued by the department, withhold from any
accounts of the obligor the amount of any past-due support stated on
the notice or order and transmit the amount to the department in
accordance with Section 17454.
   (e) Unless otherwise required by applicable law, a financial
institution furnishing a report or providing information to the
department pursuant to this section shall not disclose to a
depositor, accountholder, codepositor, or coaccountholder, that the
name, address, social security number, or other taxpayer
identification number or other identifying information of that person
has been received from, or furnished to, the department.
   (f) A financial institution shall incur no obligation or liability
to any person arising from any of the following:
   (1) Furnishing information to the department as required by this
section.
   (2) Failing to disclose to a depositor, accountholder,
codepositor, or coaccountholder, that the name, address, social
security number, or other taxpayer identification number or other
identifying information of that person was included in the data
exchange with the department required by this section.
   (3) Withholding or transmitting any assets in response to a notice
or order to withhold issued by the department as a result of the
data exchange.  This paragraph shall not preclude any liability that
may result if the financial institution does not comply with
subdivision (b) of Section 17456.
   (4) Any other action taken in good faith to comply with the
requirements of this section.
   (g) (1) With respect to files compiled under paragraph (1) of
subdivision (c), the department shall forward to the counties, in
accordance with guidelines prescribed by the department, information
obtained from the financial institutions pursuant to this section.
No county shall use this information for directly levying on any
account.  Each county shall keep the information confidential as
provided by Section 17212.
   (2) With respect to files compiled under paragraph (2) of
subdivision (c), the amount collected by the department shall be
deposited and distributed to the referring state in accordance with
Section  17458.
   (h) For those noncustodial parents owing past-due support for
which there is a match under paragraph (1) of subdivision (d), the
amount past due as indicated on the file or files compiled pursuant
to subdivision (c) at the time of the match shall be a delinquency
under this article for the purposes of the department taking any
collection action pursuant to Section 17454.
   (i) A child support delinquency need not be referred to the
department for collection if a jurisdiction outside this state is
enforcing the support order.
   (j) (1) Each county shall notify the department upon the
occurrence of the circumstances described in the following
subparagraphs with respect to an obligor of past-due support:
   (A) A court has ordered an obligor to make scheduled payments on a
child support arrearages obligation and the obligor is in compliance
with that order.
   (B) An earnings assignment order or an order/notice to withhold
income that includes an amount for past-due support has been served
on the obligated parent's employer and earnings are being withheld
pursuant to the earnings assignment order or an order/notice to
withhold income.
   (C) At least 50 percent of the obligated parent's earnings are
being withheld for support.
   (2) Notwithstanding Section 704.070 of the Code of Civil
Procedure, if any of the conditions set forth in paragraph (1) exist,
the assets of an obligor held by a financial institution are subject
to levy as provided by paragraph (2) of subdivision (d).  However,
the first three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500) of an obligor'
s assets are exempt from collection under this subdivision without
the obligor having to file a claim of exemption.
   (3) If any of the conditions set forth in paragraph (1) exist, an
obligor may apply for a claim of exemption pursuant to Article 2
(commencing with Section 703.510) of Chapter 4 of Division 2 of Title
9 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure for an amount that is
less than or equal to the total amount levied.  The sole basis for a
claim of exemption under this subdivision shall be the financial
hardship for the obligor and the obligor's dependents.
   (4) For the purposes of a claim of exemption made pursuant to
paragraph (3), Section 688.030 of the Code of Civil Procedure shall
not apply.
   (5) For claims of exemption made pursuant to paragraph (3), the
local child support agency responsible for enforcement of the obligor'
s child support order shall be the levying officer for the purpose of
compliance with the provisions set forth in Article 2 (commencing
with Section 703.510) of Chapter 4 of Division 2 of Title 9 of Part 2
of the Code of Civil Procedure except for the release of property
required by subdivision (e) of Section 703.580 of the Code of Civil
Procedure.
   (6) The local child support agency shall notify the department
within two business days of the receipt of a claim of exemption from
an obligor.  The department shall direct the financial institution
subject to the order to withhold to hold any funds subject to the
order pending notification by the department to remit or release the
amounts held.
   (7) The superior court in the county in which the local child
support agency enforcing the support obligation is located shall have
jurisdiction to determine the amount of exemption to be allowed.
The court shall consider the needs of the obligor, the obligee, and
all persons the obligor is required to support, and all other
relevant circumstances in determining whether to allow any exemption
pursuant to this subdivision.  The court shall give effect to its
determination by an order specifying the extent to which the amount
levied is exempt.
   (8) Within two business days of receipt of an endorsed copy of a
court order issued pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 703.580 of
the Code of Civil Procedure, the local child support agency shall
provide the department with a copy of the order.  The department
shall instruct the financial institution to remit or release the
obligor's funds in accordance with the court's order.
   (k) Out of any money received from the federal government for the
purpose of reimbursing financial institutions for their actual and
reasonable costs incurred in complying with this section, the state
shall reimburse those institutions.  To the extent that money is not
provided by the federal government for that purpose, the state shall
not reimburse financial institutions for their costs in complying
with this section.
   (l) For purposes of this section:
   (1) "Account" means any demand deposit account, share or share
draft account, checking or negotiable withdrawal order account,
savings account, time deposit account, or a money market mutual fund
account, whether or not the account bears interest.
   (2) "Financial institution" has the same meaning as defined in
paragraph (1) of subsection (d) of Section 669A of Title 42 of the
United States Code.
17454.  (a) At least 45 days before sending a notice to withhold,
the department shall request that a depository institution provide
the department with a designated address for receiving notices to
withhold.
   (b) Once the depository institution has specified a designated
address pursuant to subdivision (a), the department shall send all
notices to that address unless the depository institution provides
notification of another address.  The department shall send all
notices to withhold to a new designated address 30 days after
notification.
   (c) If a notice to withhold is mailed to the branch where the
account is located or principal banking office, the depository
institution shall be liable for a failure to withhold only to the
extent that the accounts can be identified in information normally
maintained at that location in the ordinary course of business.
   (d) The department may by notice, served by magnetic media,
electronic transmission, or other electronic technology, require any
depository institution, as defined in the Federal Reserve Act (12
U.S.C.A. Sec. 461 (b)(1)(A)), that the department, in its sole
discretion, has reason to believe may have in its possession, or
under its control, any credits or other personal property or other
things of value, belonging to a  child support obligor, to withhold,
from the credits or other personal property or other things of value,
the amount of any child support delinquency, and interest, due from
an obligor and transmit that amount withheld to the department at the
times that it may designate, but not less than 10 business days from
receipt of the notice.  The notice shall state the amount due from
the obligor and shall be delivered or transmitted to the branch or
office reported pursuant to  subdivision (a), or other address
designated by that depository institution for purposes of the
department serving notice by magnetic media, electronic transmission,
or other electronic technology.
   (e) For purposes of this section, the term "address" shall include
telephone or modem number, facsimile number, or any other number
designated by the depository institution to receive data by
electronic means.
17456.  (a) Any person required to withhold and transmit any amount
pursuant to this article shall comply with the requirement without
resort to any legal or equitable action in a court of law or equity.
Any person paying to the department any amount required by it to be
withheld is not liable therefore to the person from whom withheld
unless the amount withheld is refunded to the withholding agent.
However, if a depository institution, as defined in the Federal
Reserve Act (12 U.S.C.A.  Sec. 461(b)(1)(A)) withholds and pays to
the department pursuant to this article any moneys held in a deposit
account in which the delinquent obligor and another person or persons
have an interest, or in an account held in the name of a third party
or parties in which the delinquent obligor is ultimately determined
to have no interest, the depository institution paying those moneys
to the department is not liable therefore to any of the persons who
have an interest in the account, unless the amount withheld is
refunded to the withholding agent.
   (b) In the case of a deposit account or accounts for which this
notice to withhold applies, the depository institution shall send a
notice by first-class mail to each person named on the account or
accounts included in the notice from the department, provided that a
current address for each person is available to the institution.
This notice shall inform each person as to the reason for the hold
placed on the account or accounts, the amount subject to being
withheld, and the date by which this amount is to be remitted to the
department.  An institution may assess the account or accounts of
each person receiving this notice a reasonable service charge not to
exceed three dollars ($3).
17458.  Any child support delinquency collected by the department,
including those amounts that result in overpayment of a child support
delinquency, shall be deposited in the State Treasury, after
clearance of the remittance, to the credit of the Special Deposit
Fund and distributed as specified by interagency agreement executed
by the Franchise Tax Board and the department, with the concurrence
of the Controller.  Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government
Code, all moneys deposited in the Special Deposit Fund pursuant to
this article are hereby continuously appropriated, without regard to
fiscal years, for purposes of making distributions.  Upon
availability of the State Disbursement Unit, any child support
delinquency collected shall be deposited in a manner such that the
deposit and subsequent disbursement is consistent with federal law.
17460.  (a) As necessary, the department shall seek reciprocal
agreements with other states to improve its ability to collect child
support payments from out-of-state obligated parents on behalf of
custodial parents residing in California.  The department may pursue
agreements with the Internal Revenue Service, as permitted by federal
law, to improve collections of child support delinquencies from
out-of-state obligated parents through cooperative agreements with
the service.
   (b) The California Child Support  Automation System, established
pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 10080) of Part 1 of
Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, shall, for purposes
of this article, include the capacity to interface and exchange
information, if feasible, with the Internal Revenue Service, to
enable the immediate reporting and tracking of obligated parent
information.
   (c) The department shall enter into any interagency agreements
that are necessary for the implementation of this article.  State
departments and boards shall cooperate with the department to the
extent necessary for the implementation of this article.  Out of any
money received from the federal government for the purpose of
reimbursing state departments and boards for their actual and
reasonable costs incurred in complying with this section, the
department shall reimburse those departments and boards.  To the
extent that money is not provided by the federal government for that
purpose, and subject to the annual Budget Act, the state shall fund
departments and boards for their costs in complying with this
section.