1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to family law; child support; making county 
  1.3             participation in the administrative process for 
  1.4             support optional in certain cases; amending Minnesota 
  1.5             Statutes 1995 Supplement, section 518.5511, 
  1.6             subdivision 1. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section 
  1.9   518.5511, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [GENERAL.] (a) An administrative process is 
  1.11  established to obtain, modify, and enforce child and medical 
  1.12  support orders and parentage orders and modify maintenance if 
  1.13  combined with a child support proceeding.  All laws governing 
  1.14  these actions apply insofar as they are not inconsistent with 
  1.15  the provisions of this section and section 518.5512.  Wherever 
  1.16  other laws are inconsistent with this section and section 
  1.17  518.5512, the provisions in this section and section 518.5512 
  1.18  shall apply. 
  1.19     (b) All proceedings for obtaining, modifying, or enforcing 
  1.20  child and medical support orders and modifying maintenance 
  1.21  orders if combined with a child support proceeding, are required 
  1.22  to be conducted in the administrative process when the public 
  1.23  authority is a party or provides services to a party or parties 
  1.24  to the proceedings.  At county option, the administrative 
  1.25  process may include contempt motions or actions to establish 
  1.26  parentage.  Nothing contained herein shall prevent a party, upon 
  2.1   timely notice to the public authority, from commencing an action 
  2.2   or bringing a motion for the establishment, modification, or 
  2.3   enforcement of child support or modification of maintenance 
  2.4   orders if combined with a child support proceeding in district 
  2.5   court, if additional issues involving domestic abuse, 
  2.6   establishment or modification of custody or visitation, property 
  2.7   issues, or other issues outside the jurisdiction of the 
  2.8   administrative process, are part of the motion or action, or 
  2.9   from proceeding with a motion or action brought by another party 
  2.10  containing one or more of these issues if it is pending in 
  2.11  district court. 
  2.12     (c) A party may make a written request to the public 
  2.13  authority to initiate an uncontested administrative proceeding.  
  2.14  If the public authority denies the request, the public authority 
  2.15  shall issue a summary notice which denies the request for 
  2.16  relief, states the reasons for the denial, and notifies the 
  2.17  party of the right to commence an action for relief.  If the 
  2.18  party commences an action or serves and files a motion within 30 
  2.19  days after the public authority's denial and the party's action 
  2.20  results in a modification of a child support order, the 
  2.21  modification may be retroactive to the date the written request 
  2.22  was received by the public authority. 
  2.23     (d) After August 1, 1994, all counties shall participate in 
  2.24  the administrative process established in this section in 
  2.25  accordance with a statewide implementation plan to be set forth 
  2.26  by the commissioner of human services, except as otherwise 
  2.27  provided by this paragraph.  No county shall be required to 
  2.28  participate in the administrative process until after the county 
  2.29  has been trained.  The implementation plan shall include 
  2.30  provisions for training the counties by region no later than 
  2.31  July 1, 1995.  A county may, by resolution of its county board 
  2.32  filed with the commissioner of human services, choose not to 
  2.33  participate in the administrative process if the county meets 
  2.34  all case processing timelines required by federal or state law. 
  2.35     (e) For the purpose of the administrative process, all 
  2.36  powers, duties, and responsibilities conferred on judges of 
  3.1   district court to obtain and enforce child and medical support 
  3.2   and parentage and maintenance obligations, subject to the 
  3.3   limitations of this section are conferred on administrative law 
  3.4   judges, including the power to issue subpoenas, orders to show 
  3.5   cause, and bench warrants for failure to appear. 
  3.6      The administrative law judge has the authority to enter 
  3.7   parentage orders in which the custody and visitation provisions 
  3.8   are uncontested. 
  3.9      Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.10     Section 1 is effective the day following final enactment.