ASSEMBLY, No. 898

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblyman ROCCO

An Act establishing a commission to examine and study child support guidelines.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. The Legislature finds and declares that the current child support guidelines in the State are based on outdated information and that the guidelines have been applied without regard to the parties involved or their financial status. It is the intent of the Legislature to establish a special commission to examine and study child support guidelines in this State and to investigate the feasibility and practicability of developing and instituting new guidelines.

    2. There is established the "Commission on Child Support Guidelines." The commission shall consist of 13 members as follows: the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court and the Commissioner of Human Services or their designees, who shall serve ex-officio; four members of the Legislature, two of whom shall be members of the Senate appointed by the President of the Senate, who shall not be from the same political party, and two of whom shall be members of the General Assembly appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, who shall not be from the same political party; and seven public members, one of whom shall be a member of the New Jersey Bar Association, one of whom shall be knowledgeable about family financial planning, one of whom is a child support case manager, one of whom is a custodial parent, one of whom is a non-custodial parent, one of whom is an academician having expertise in the area of child support and one of whom is a representative of child welfare and social services agencies. The public members shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. The commission shall organize upon the appointment of a majority of its authorized membership and shall elect a chairman from among the members.

    Vacancies in the membership of the commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments were made. The members of the commission shall serve without compensation but they shall be eligible for reimbursement for necessary and reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties within the limits of funds appropriated for this purpose.

    3. The commission shall:

    a. Examine and study the child support guidelines in the State;

    b. Investigate the feasibility and practicability of developing and instituting new guidelines; and

    c. Report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature on or before December 31, 1995.

    4. The commission is authorized to:

    a. Call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of employees of any State, county or municipal department, board, bureau, commission or agency as it may require and as may be available to it for that purpose. All departments, agencies and divisions are authorized and directed, to the extent not inconsistent with law, to cooperate with the commission; and

    b. Meet and hold hearings at the place or places it designates during the sessions or recesses of the Legislature; and

    c. Receive assistance and avail itself of the professional, stenographic, administrative and clerical services of the Department of Human Services, which may be necessary for the commission to perform its duties.

    5. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire on December 31, 1995.

STATEMENT

    This bill establishes the Commission on Child Support Guidelines which would examine and study the child support guidelines of this State. The 13-member commission would also be authorized to:

    1. Investigate the feasibility and practicability of developing and instituting new guidelines; and

    2. Report its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature on or before December 31, 1995.

    The members of the commission shall include the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court and the Commissioner of Human Services, or their designees, four members of the Legislature and seven public members who are knowledgeable about issues affecting the child support system of the State.

Establishes the Commission on Child Support Guidelines.