Home > 105th Congressional Bills > H.R. 3130 (rh) To provide for an alternative penalty procedure for States that fail to ...H.R. 3130 (rh) To provide for an alternative penalty procedure for States that fail to ...
105th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 3130
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 5, 1998
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To provide for an alternative penalty procedure for States that fail to
meet Federal child support data processing requirements, to reform
Federal incentive payments for effective child support performance, to
provide for a more flexible penalty procedure for States that violate
interjurisdictional adoption requirements, to amend the Immigration and
Nationality Act to make certain aliens determined to be delinquent in
the payment of child support inadmissible and ineligible for
naturalization, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Child Support Performance and
Incentive Act of 1998''.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents of this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
TITLE I--CHILD SUPPORT DATA PROCESSING REQUIREMENTS
Sec. 101. Alternative penalty procedure.
Sec. 102. Authority to waive single Statewide automated data processing
and information retrieval system
requirement.
TITLE II--CHILD SUPPORT INCENTIVE SYSTEM
Sec. 201. Incentive payments to States.
TITLE III--ADOPTION PROVISIONS
Sec. 301. More flexible penalty procedure to be applied for failing to
permit interjurisdictional adoption.
TITLE IV--TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS
Sec. 401. Technical corrections.
TITLE V--IMMIGRATION PROVISIONS
Sec. 501. Aliens ineligible to receive visas and excluded from
admission for nonpayment of child support.
Sec. 502. Effect of nonpayment of child support on establishment of
good moral character.
Sec. 503. Authorization to serve legal process in child support cases
on certain arriving aliens.
Sec. 504. Authorization to obtain information on child support payments
by aliens.
TITLE I--CHILD SUPPORT DATA PROCESSING REQUIREMENTS
SEC. 101. ALTERNATIVE PENALTY PROCEDURE.
(a) In General.--Section 455(a) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 655(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(4)(A) If--
``(i) the Secretary determines that a State plan under
section 454 would (in the absence of this paragraph) be
disapproved for the failure of the State to comply with section
454(24)(A), and that the State has made and is continuing to
make a good faith effort to so comply; and
``(ii) the State has submitted to the Secretary a
corrective compliance plan that describes how, by when, and at
what cost the State will achieve such compliance, which has
been approved by the Secretary,
then the Secretary shall not disapprove the State plan under section
454, and the Secretary shall reduce the amount otherwise payable to the
State under paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection for the fiscal year by
the penalty amount.
``(B) In this paragraph:
``(i) The term `penalty amount' means, with respect to a
failure of a State to comply with section 454(24)--
``(I) 4 percent of the penalty base, in the case of
the 1st fiscal year in which such a failure by the
State occurs;
``(II) 8 percent of the penalty base, in the case
of the 2nd such fiscal year;
``(III) 16 percent of the penalty base, in the case
of the 3rd such fiscal year; or
``(IV) 20 percent of the penalty base, in the case
of the 4th or any subsequent such fiscal year.
``(ii) The term `penalty base' means, with respect to a
failure of a State to comply with section 454(24) during a
fiscal year, the amount otherwise payable to the State under
paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection for the preceding fiscal
year.
``(C)(i) The Secretary shall waive a penalty under this paragraph
for any failure of a State to comply with section 454(24)(A) during
fiscal year 1998 if--
``(I) by December 31, 1997, the State has submitted to the
Secretary a request that the Secretary certify the State as
having met the requirements of such section;
``(II) the Secretary has provided the certification as a
result of a review conducted pursuant to the request; and
``(III) the State has not failed such a review.
``(ii) If a State with respect to which a reduction is made under
this paragraph for a fiscal year achieves compliance with section
454(24)(A) by the beginning of the succeeding fiscal year, the
Secretary shall increase the amount otherwise payable to the State
under paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection for the succeeding fiscal
year by an amount equal to 75 percent of the reduction for the fiscal
year.
``(iii) The Secretary shall reduce the amount of any reduction
that, in the absence of this clause, would be required to be made under
this paragraph by reason of the failure of a State to achieve
compliance with section 454(24)(B) during the fiscal year, by an amount
equal to 20 percent of the amount of the otherwise required reduction,
for each State performance measure described in section 458A(b)(4) with
respect to which the applicable percentage under section 458A(b)(6) for
the fiscal year is 100 percent, if the Secretary has made the
determination described in section 458A(b)(5)(B) with respect to the
State for the fiscal year.
``(D) The preceding provisions of this paragraph (except for
subparagraph (C)(i)) shall apply, separately and independently, to a
failure to comply with section 454(24)(B) in the same manner in which
the preceding provisions apply to a failure to comply with section
454(24)(A).''.
(b) Inapplicability of Penalty Under TANF Program.--Section
409(a)(8)(A)(i)(III) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 609(a)(8)(A)(i)(III)) is
amended by inserting ``(other than section 454(24))'' before the
semicolon.
SEC. 102. AUTHORITY TO WAIVE SINGLE STATEWIDE AUTOMATED DATA PROCESSING
AND INFORMATION RETRIEVAL SYSTEM REQUIREMENT.
(a) In General.--Section 452(d)(3) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 652(d)(3)) is amended to read as follows:
``(3) The Secretary may waive any requirement of paragraph (1) or
any condition specified under section 454(16), and shall waive the
single statewide system requirement under sections 454(16) and 454A,
with respect to a State if--
``(A) the State demonstrates to the satisfaction of the
Secretary that the State has or can develop an alternative
system or systems that enable the State--
``(i) for purposes of section 409(a)(8), to achieve
the paternity establishment percentages (as defined in
section 452(g)(2)) and other performance measures that
may be established by the Secretary;
``(ii) to submit data under section 454(15)(B) that
is complete and reliable;
``(iii) to substantially comply with the
requirements of this part; and
``(iv) in the case of a request to waive the single
statewide system requirement, to--
``(I) meet all functional requirements of
sections 454(16) and 454A;
``(II) ensure that calculation of
distributions meets the requirements of section
457 and accounts for distributions to children
in different families or in different States or
sub-State jurisdictions, and for distributions
to other States;
``(III) ensure that there is only 1 point
of contact in the State which provides seamless
case processing for all interstate case
processing and coordinated, automated
intrastate case management;
``(IV) ensure that standardized data
elements, forms, and definitions are used
throughout the State;
``(V) complete the alternative system in no
more time than it would take to complete a
single statewide system that meets such
requirement; and
``(VI) process child support cases as
quickly, efficiently, and effectively as such
cases would be processed through a single
statewide system that meets such requirement;
``(B)(i) the waiver meets the criteria of paragraphs (1),
(2), and (3) of section 1115(c); or
``(ii) the State provides assurances to the Secretary that
steps will be taken to otherwise improve the State's child
support enforcement program; and
``(C) in the case of a request to waive the single
statewide system requirement, the State has submitted to the
Secretary separate estimates of the total cost of a single
statewide system that meets such requirement, and of any such
alternative system or systems, which shall include estimates of
the cost of developing and completing the system and of
operating and maintaining the system for 5 years, and the
Secretary has agreed with the estimates.''.
(b) Payments to States.--Section 455(a)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
655(a)(1)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (B);
(2) by striking the semicolon at the end of subparagraph
(C) and inserting ``, and''; and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:
``(D) equal to 66 percent of the sums expended by the State
during the quarter for an alternative statewide system for
which a waiver has been granted under section 452(d)(3), but
only to the extent that the total of the sums so expended by
the State on or after the date of the enactment of this
subparagraph does not exceed the least total cost estimate
submitted by the State pursuant to section 452(d)(3)(C) in the
request for the waiver;''.
TITLE II--CHILD SUPPORT INCENTIVE SYSTEM
SEC. 201. INCENTIVE PAYMENTS TO STATES.
(a) In General.--Part D of title IV of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 651-669) is amended by inserting after section 458 the
following:
``SEC. 458A. INCENTIVE PAYMENTS TO STATES.
``(a) In General.--In addition to any other payment under this
part, the Secretary shall, subject to subsection (f), make an incentive
payment to each State for each fiscal year in an amount determined
under subsection (b).
``(b) Amount of Incentive Payment.--
``(1) In general.--The incentive payment for a State for a
fiscal year is equal to the incentive payment pool for the
fiscal year, multiplied by the State incentive payment share
for the fiscal year.
``(2) Incentive payment pool.--
``(A) In general.--In paragraph (1), the term
`incentive payment pool' means--
``(i) $422,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;
``(ii) $429,000,000 for fiscal year 2001;
``(iii) $450,000,000 for fiscal year 2002;
``(iv) $461,000,000 for fiscal year 2003;
``(v) $454,000,000 for fiscal year 2004;
``(vi) $446,000,000 for fiscal year 2005;
``(vii) $458,000,000 for fiscal year 2006;
``(viii) $471,000,000 for fiscal year 2007;
``(ix) $483,000,000 for fiscal year 2008;
and
``(x) for any succeeding fiscal year, the
amount of the incentive payment pool for the
fiscal year that precedes such succeeding
fiscal year, multiplied by the percentage (if
any) by which the CPI for such preceding fiscal
year exceeds the CPI for the 2nd preceding
fiscal year.
``(B) CPI.--For purposes of subparagraph (A), the
CPI for a fiscal year is the average of the Consumer
Price Index for the 12-month period ending on September
30 of the fiscal year. As used in the preceding
sentence, the term `Consumer Price Index' means the
last Consumer Price Index for all-urban consumers
published by the Department of Labor.
``(3) State incentive payment share.--In paragraph (1), the
term `State incentive payment share' means, with respect to a
fiscal year--
``(A) the incentive base amount for the State for
the fiscal year; divided by
``(B) the sum of the incentive base amounts for all
of the States for the fiscal year.
``(4) Incentive base amount.--In paragraph (3), the term
`incentive base amount' means, with respect to a State and a
fiscal year, the sum of the applicable percentages (determined
in accordance with paragraph (6)) multiplied by the
corresponding maximum incentive base amounts for the State for
the fiscal year, with respect to each of the following measures
of State performance for the fiscal year:
``(A) The paternity establishment performance
level.
``(B) The support order performance level.
``(C) The current payment performance level.
``(D) The arrearage payment performance level.
``(E) The cost-effectiveness performance level.
``(5) Maximum incentive base amount.--
``(A) In general.--For purposes of paragraph (4),
the maximum incentive base amount for a State for a
fiscal year is--
``(i) with respect to the performance
measures described in subparagraphs (A), (B),
and (C) of paragraph (4), the State collections
base for the fiscal year; and
``(ii) with respect to the performance
measures described in subparagraphs (D) and (E)
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