SB1074 - 502R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Heading change

The article heading of title 25, chapter 5, article 5, Arizona Revised Statutes, is changed from "CHILD SUPPORT ARREST WARRANTS" to "SUPPORT ARREST WARRANTS".

Sec. 2. Section 25-502, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE25-502. Jurisdiction, venue and procedure; additional enforcement provisions

A. The superior court has original jurisdiction in proceedings brought by the department, its agents, a person having physical custody of a child or a party to the case to establish, enforce or modify the duties of support as prescribed in this chapter and to enforce spousal support obligations. All such proceedings are civil actions except as provided in section 25‑511. Proceedings to enforce the duties of support as prescribed in this chapter may be originated in the county of residence of the respondent or the petitioner or of the child or children who are the subject of the action.

B. A proceeding to establish support must originate in the county where the child resides or, if the child resides out of state, the county of this state where the party filing the petition to establish support resides, if either of the following applies:

1. An action does not exist under this title.

2. Paternity was established without a court order pursuant to section 36‑334.

C. A person or the department or its agent must file a petition to establish or modify a child support order in the superior court in the county of the last order issued under this title if an order exists in this state. If a person wishes the case transferred to the county of this state where the child resides or, if the child resides out of state, the county of this state where the party requesting the transfer resides, the person must file a request for transfer with the clerk of the superior court that issued the last order.

D. A request for transfer pursuant to subsection C of this section must include a petition or motion regarding support, a statement of payments in default, if applicable, and the transmittal fee prescribed in section 12‑284. The responding party may object to the transfer by filing an objection and affidavit within twenty days after service of the request to transfer.

E. If the clerk does not receive an objection and affidavit pursuant to subsection D of this section, the clerk shall issue the transfer order and transfer the proceeding and all related court files to the other county within thirty days after service of the request to transfer. If the clerk receives an objection and affidavit within the time prescribed in subsection D of this section, the clerk shall notify all parties of the date of the hearing at least ten days before the hearing date. The court may hear evidence relevant only to the issue of the transfer. If after that hearing the court orders the transfer, the clerk shall transfer the proceeding and court files within ten days after the order. The county to which the transfer is made retains the court files and venue for all purposes and the transferring county shall not retain a copy of those files.

F. The county to which a transfer is made pursuant to subsection D or E of this section shall proceed as if the proceeding was brought in that county originally. A judgment from that county has the same effect and may be enforced or modified as a judgment from the original county.

G. The party who petitioned for transfer must pay the postadjudication fee prescribed in section 12‑284 to the county to which the proceeding was transferred within ten days after the date the clerk of the court mails the notice of the requirement to pay the postadjudication fee. If the party does not pay the fee by that date, the transfer order is automatically nullified and the court clerk shall return the proceeding and all related court files to the original county.

H. Except as provided in section 25‑510, in title IV‑D cases the superior court shall accept for filing any documents that are received through electronic transmission if the electronically reproduced document states that the copy used for the electronic transmission was certified before it was electronically transmitted.

I. On filing of the petition and, if applicable, after a transfer is completed, the court shall issue an order requiring the responding party to appear at the time and place set for the hearing on the petition. Service of the order and a copy of the petition shall be as provided in the Arizona rules of family law procedure. If the responding party receives notice of a hearing but fails to appear, the court may issue a child support arrest warrant as provided in article 5 of this chapter and shall require that the responding party pay at the time of arrest an amount set by the court to secure the responding party's release from custody pending an appearance at the next scheduled hearing. The court also may find the party to be in contempt of court pursuant to section 12‑864.01 and set an amount to be paid to purge the contempt. Any purge amount set by the court shall supersede the amount required to be set to secure the responding party's release, and the responding party shall pay only the purge amount as a condition of release from custody. Any amounts paid under this section subsection shall be deposited with the clerk of the court or the support payment clearinghouse and credited first to the responding party's current child support obligation and then to arrearages other support obligations as required by law. The court may grant a default judgment for arrearages on a prima facie showing of the amount due.

J. The department or its agent or a parent, guardian or custodian may file with the clerk of the superior court a request to establish child support. The request must include a proposed order, the worksheet for child support and a notice of the right to request a hearing within twenty days after service in this state or within thirty days after service outside this state. The request, proposed order, worksheet and notice shall be served pursuant to the Arizona rules of family law procedure on all parties, and in a title IV‑D case, on the department or its agent. In a title IV‑D case, the department or its agent may serve all parties by certified mail, return receipt requested. If a party does not request a hearing within the time prescribed by this subsection, the court shall review the proposed order and worksheet and enter an appropriate order or set the matter for a hearing. In a title IV‑D case, the department or its agent shall enforce the order.

K. Each licensing board or agency that issues professional, recreational or occupational licenses or certificates shall record on the application the social security number of the applicant and shall enter this information in its database in order to aid the department of economic security in locating parents or their assets or to enforce child support orders. This subsection does not apply to a license that is issued pursuant to title 17 and that is not issued by an automated drawing system. If a licensing board or agency allows an applicant to use a number other than the social security number on the face of the license or certificate while the licensing board or agency keeps the social security number on file, the licensing board or agency shall advise an applicant of this fact. END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Section 25-681, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE25-681. Support arrest warrants; definitions

A. In any action or proceeding pursuant to section 25‑502 or article 3 of this chapter, on motion of a party or on its own motion the court may issue a child support arrest warrant if the court finds that all of the following apply to the person for whom the warrant is sought:

1. The person was ordered by the court to appear personally at a specific time and location.

2. The person received actual notice of the order, including a warning that the failure to appear might result in the issuance of a child support arrest warrant.

3. The person failed to appear as ordered.

B. The judicial officer shall order the child support arrest warrant and the clerk shall issue the warrant. The warrant shall contain the name of the person to be arrested and other information required to enter the warrant in the Arizona criminal justice information system. The warrant shall command that the named person be arrested and either remanded to the custody of the sheriff or brought before the judicial officer or, if the judicial officer is absent or unable to act, the nearest or most accessible judicial officer of the superior court in the same county. A warrant that is issued pursuant to this section remains in effect until it is executed or extinguished by the court.

C. The court shall determine and the warrant shall state the amount the arrested person shall pay in order to be released from custody.

D. For the purposes of this article, "child support arrest warrant" means an order that is issued by a judicial officer in a noncriminal child support matter and that directs a peace officer in this state to arrest the person named in the warrant and bring the person before the court. END_STATUTE

Sec. 4. Section 25-682, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE25-682. Time and manner of execution; information

A. A child support arrest warrant is executed by the arrest of the person named in the warrant. The warrant may be executed at any time.

B. When making an arrest pursuant to a child support arrest warrant, the arresting officer shall inform the person named in the warrant that the arresting officer has a child support arrest warrant or a spousal support arrest warrant unless:

1. The named person flees or forcibly resists before the arresting officer has an opportunity to inform the named person.

2. Providing this information will imperil the arrest.

C. In order to execute a child support arrest warrant, the arresting officer may use reasonable force to enter any building in which the person named in the warrant is or is reasonably believed to be.

D. The arresting officer does not have to possess the warrant at the time of the arrest. If after the arrest the arrested person requests to see the warrant, the arresting officer shall show the arrested person a copy of the warrant as soon as practicable.

E. The arrested person shall be brought before the issuing judicial officer as soon as possible or, if that judicial officer is absent or unable to act, the nearest or most accessible judicial officer of the superior court in the same county. In any event, the arrested person shall be brought before a judicial officer of the superior court in the issuing county or the county of arrest within twenty‑four judicial business hours of the execution of the warrant. If the person is arrested in a county other than the county in which the warrant was issued, the arresting officer shall notify the sheriff and the local title IV‑D agency, if applicable, in the county in which the warrant was issued that the person has been arrested. As soon as practicable, the sheriff of the county in which the warrant was issued shall take custody of and transport the arrested person to the issuing judicial officer or a judicial officer of the superior court in the county in which the warrant was issued. If the arrested person is not taken into custody and transported within seventy‑two hours after arrest, the arrested person shall be released and issued a written notice directing the arrested person to appear at a specified date and time in the superior court in the county in which the warrant was issued. The notice shall have has the same force and effect as an order of the superior court. The notice shall state that if the arrested person fails to appear as directed a child support arrest warrant may be issued. A copy of this notice shall be sent to the court and the local title IV‑D agency, if applicable, in the county in which the warrant was issued. END_STATUTE

Sec. 5. Section 25-683, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE25-683. Procedure after arrest; payment for release from custody

A. When a person who is arrested pursuant to a child support arrest warrant or a spousal support arrest warrant is brought before the court, the judicial officer shall advise the arrested person of the nature of the proceedings and shall set a date for the next court appearance. The arrested person may be released from custody pending the hearing if the arrested person pays the amount set by the court pursuant to section 25‑681 or a larger amount as the court determines. The court shall not reduce the amount ordered to be paid. The arrested person shall not be released from custody without paying the amount unless the court finds in writing or on the record that a compelling reason exists to release the arrested person. Monies received pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited and credited pursuant to section 25‑502, subsection I.

B. If the arrested person pays the full amount set forth in the warrant before the arrested person is brought before a judicial officer, the arrested person may be released after receiving a notice to appear in the superior court in the county in which the warrant was issued pursuant to the procedure prescribed in section 25‑682, subsection E. If the arrested person fails to appear as directed, a child support arrest warrant may be issued.

C. The arresting agency shall forward all amounts that are paid by the arrested person for release pursuant to this subsection section to the clerk of the superior court in the county in which the warrant was issued or the support payment clearinghouse for deposit and credit pursuant to section 25‑502, subsection I. END_STATUTE

Sec. 6. Section 25-684, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE25-684. Preexisting warrants

A civil arrest warrant that is issued before the effective date of this section July 20, 1996 for the failure to appear in a child support enforcement proceeding under this chapter or chapter 3 of this title automatically becomes a child support arrest warrant after the effective date of this section July 20, 1996. This article applies to all procedures under the warrant, unless the agency that is responsible for child support enforcement in a county elects not to convert warrants issued in that county. END_STATUTE

Sec. 7. Section 25-685, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE25-685. Entry into criminal information system

Child Support arrest warrants shall be entered in the wanted person file of the Arizona criminal justice information system. END_STATUTE