HF 664

1st Engrossment - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to family law; providing appropriate child 
  1.3             support guidelines; setting a fee; appropriating 
  1.4             money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, sections 
  1.5             357.021, by adding a subdivision; 518.64, by adding a 
  1.6             subdivision; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
  1.7             Statutes, chapter 518; repealing Minnesota Statutes 
  1.8             2002, section 518.551, subdivisions 5, 5f. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 357.021, is 
  1.11  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.12     Subd. 8.  [MARITAL DISSOLUTION FEE.] (a) The court 
  1.13  administrator shall collect in each proceeding in the district 
  1.14  seeking a dissolution of a marriage or a legal separation, in 
  1.15  the manner in which other fees are collected, a marital 
  1.16  dissolution fee in the amount of $11 from: 
  1.17     (1) the petitioner instituting the marital dissolution or 
  1.18  legal separation, to be collected at the time of the filing of 
  1.19  the first paper; and 
  1.20     (2) the respondent who appears, to be collected at the time 
  1.21  of the filing of the first paper by the respondent or at the 
  1.22  time when the respondent's appearance is entered in the case. 
  1.23     (b) The court administrator shall forward the marital 
  1.24  dissolution fee to the state treasurer for deposit in the 
  1.25  general fund. 
  1.26     [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective July 1, 2003. 
  1.27     Sec. 2.  [518.571] [CHILD SUPPORT.] 
  2.1      Subdivision 1.  [BASIC SUPPORT OBLIGATION.] In all cases of 
  2.2   dissolution of marriage, separate maintenance, or adjudication 
  2.3   of paternity, both parents have an equal duty to pay for the 
  2.4   actual cost of supplying the reasonable needs of their child or 
  2.5   children had in common between them in proportion to their 
  2.6   respective incomes and other resources.  The best interests of 
  2.7   the child or children shall be deemed met when this obligation 
  2.8   is fairly satisfied as far as practicable after due regard is 
  2.9   given to the self-support needs of each parent. 
  2.10     Subd. 2.  [SUPPORT GUIDELINES.] (a) The guidelines in this 
  2.11  subdivision apply as a rebuttable presumption in all child 
  2.12  support cases in this state.  The guidelines must be used for 
  2.13  temporary and permanent child support orders.  The guidelines 
  2.14  must be used by the court as the basis for reviewing the 
  2.15  adequacy of child support levels in both contested and 
  2.16  noncontested cases.  The court may deviate from the guidelines 
  2.17  only if, in light of the evidence offered and received, 
  2.18  application of them would not conform to the basic obligation of 
  2.19  child support in subdivision 1.  If the court orders an amount 
  2.20  other than the amount determined by the application of the 
  2.21  guidelines, the court must make written findings of fact that 
  2.22  justify the deviation, that state the amount of the award which 
  2.23  would have resulted from the application of the guidelines, and 
  2.24  that justify the amount of support awarded by the court. 
  2.25  The court may consider the following reasons in deviating from 
  2.26  the guidelines: 
  2.27     (1) in-kind contributions of either parent; 
  2.28     (2) extraordinary travel expenses to exercise parenting 
  2.29  time or shared physical custody; 
  2.30     (3) educational costs; 
  2.31     (4) unusually high debt structure, in which case the court 
  2.32  shall consider a reasonable restructuring plan of the parent's 
  2.33  repayment of debt and shall consider treating the ongoing 
  2.34  payment of that debt as a subtraction from that parent's monthly 
  2.35  adjusted gross income.  This adjustment may also include the 
  2.36  cost of income taxes and other taxes on the income needed for 
  3.1   payment of this debt; 
  3.2      (5) ages of the children; 
  3.3      (6) a child's extraordinary medical costs or needs in 
  3.4   addition to accident and sickness insurance, provided that all 
  3.5   the costs or needs must be considered if no insurance is 
  3.6   available; 
  3.7      (7) other financial support a parent is providing or will 
  3.8   be providing, such as payment of a mortgage; 
  3.9      (8) a parent's own extraordinary needs, such as medical 
  3.10  expenses; 
  3.11     (9) considerations of the economic cost-of-living factors 
  3.12  of the community of each parent, as determined by the trier of 
  3.13  fact; 
  3.14     (10) a determination that the gross income of one of the 
  3.15  parents is substantially higher than that of the other parent; 
  3.16     (11) any nonminor dependents in either parent's household; 
  3.17     (12) historical spending in the family on the children as 
  3.18  guidance for an upper limit to an appropriate award while taking 
  3.19  into account reduced available income from maintaining two 
  3.20  households instead of an intact household; and 
  3.21     (13) any other factor the court considers to be required by 
  3.22  the ends of justice. 
  3.23     (b) The guidelines include a self-support reserve that 
  3.24  ensures the obligors have sufficient income to maintain a 
  3.25  minimum standard of living based on the federal poverty 
  3.26  guideline for a household that consists only of one adult.  The 
  3.27  self-support reserve is set at 133 percent of the federal 
  3.28  poverty guideline for a single person living alone, as 
  3.29  determined by the federal Department of Health and Human 
  3.30  Services (DHHS).  This figure is updated annually by the DHHS, 
  3.31  and is published in the Federal Register on or about February 15 
  3.32  of each year.  For purposes of guideline calculations, the 
  3.33  poverty guideline figure shall be updated March 1 of each year 
  3.34  or as soon as made available through publication in the Federal 
  3.35  Register. 
  3.36     (c) The schedule of basic child costs is based on economic 
  4.1   data which represent estimates of total expenditures on 
  4.2   child-rearing costs to age 18 and is inclusive of typical 
  4.3   expenditures by parents on children, including health insurance 
  4.4   and health care costs but excluding child care and educational 
  4.5   expenses which are handled separately as add-ons.  These 
  4.6   expenditures are for a single-parent household with income equal 
  4.7   to the average of both parents' incomes. 
  4.8      (d) For the purpose of this section, "income" means actual 
  4.9   gross income of a parent or potential income if the parent is 
  4.10  unemployed or underemployed. 
  4.11     Gross income of each parent should be determined as follows:
  4.12     (1) Gross income includes, but is not limited to, income 
  4.13  from salaries, wages, commissions, bonuses, dividends, severance 
  4.14  pay, pensions, interest, trust income, annuities, capital gains, 
  4.15  social security benefits, workers' compensation benefits, 
  4.16  unemployment insurance benefits, disability pay and insurance 
  4.17  benefits, gifts, prizes, and alimony or maintenance received 
  4.18  from persons other than the parents.  The computation of gross 
  4.19  income based on salaries and wages is limited to the earnings of 
  4.20  a normal 40-hour work week.  The income from salary and wages 
  4.21  excludes overtime earnings or extra, part-time employment 
  4.22  earnings, as long as the children's basic needs are being met, 
  4.23  and benefits received from means-tested public assistance 
  4.24  programs, including, but not limited to, aid to families with 
  4.25  dependent children (AFDC), temporary assistance to needy 
  4.26  families (TANF), supplemental security income (SSI), food 
  4.27  stamps, and general assistance. 
  4.28     Payments received for the benefit of the children as a 
  4.29  result of the disability of a parent are counted as part of 
  4.30  gross income of the disabled parent but also are credited as a 
  4.31  payment toward the disabled parent's child support obligation. 
  4.32     (2) For income from self-employment, rent, royalties, 
  4.33  proprietorship of a business, or joint ownership of a 
  4.34  partnership or closely held corporation, gross income means 
  4.35  gross receipts minus ordinary and necessary expenses required 
  4.36  for self-employment or business operation.  Specifically 
  5.1   excluded from ordinary and necessary expenses for the purposes 
  5.2   of this section are amounts allowable by the Internal Revenue 
  5.3   Service for the accelerated component of depreciation expenses, 
  5.4   investment tax credits, and any other business expenses 
  5.5   determined by the court to be inappropriate for determining 
  5.6   gross income for purposes of determining child support.  Income 
  5.7   and expenses from self-employment or operation of a business 
  5.8   must be carefully reviewed to determine the appropriate level of 
  5.9   gross income available to the parent to satisfy a child support 
  5.10  obligation.  Self-employment taxes in excess of equivalent 
  5.11  payroll taxes must be deducted from gross income.  In most 
  5.12  cases, this amount will differ from a determination of business 
  5.13  income for tax purposes.  Expense reimbursements or in-kind 
  5.14  payments received by a parent in the course of employment, 
  5.15  self-employment, or operation of a business, such as a company 
  5.16  car, free housing, or reimbursed meals, must be counted as 
  5.17  income if they are significant and reduce personal living 
  5.18  expenses.  
  5.19     (3) If a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, 
  5.20  child support may be calculated based on a determination of 
  5.21  potential income, except that a determination of potential 
  5.22  income should not be made for a parent who is physically or 
  5.23  mentally incapacitated.  
  5.24     (4) Child support received for any other legally dependent 
  5.25  child is not income under this section. 
  5.26     (5) Payment of maintenance, if any, must be determined 
  5.27  prior to the determination of the child support obligation, 
  5.28  either on a temporary or permanent basis, and in calculations 
  5.29  for the child support obligation, must be counted as income for 
  5.30  the receiving parent and as a deduction from income for the 
  5.31  paying parent.  Maintenance paid or received from separate 
  5.32  relationships is also counted as excluded or included income, 
  5.33  respectively. 
  5.34     (6) Income statements of the parents must be verified with 
  5.35  documentation of both current and past income.  Suitable 
  5.36  documentation of current earnings includes at least one full 
  6.1   month's pay stubs, employer statements, or receipts and expenses 
  6.2   if self-employed.  Documentation of current income must be 
  6.3   supplemented with copies of the most recent tax return to 
  6.4   provide verification of earnings over a longer period.  
  6.5   Sanctions may be imposed for failure to comply with this 
  6.6   provision on the motion of either parent or by the court on its 
  6.7   own motion. 
  6.8      (e) The basic child support obligation includes typical 
  6.9   medical expenses.  If the court orders one or both parents to 
  6.10  pay for medical insurance, then the amount paid by that parent 
  6.11  or parents for medical insurance for the children must be 
  6.12  deducted from the basic support obligation that varies according 
  6.13  to the parents' share of parenting time and must be directly 
  6.14  attributed as an expense of the parent incurring the cost.  The 
  6.15  portion to be included in the child support calculation is the 
  6.16  amount of the health insurance premium actually attributable to 
  6.17  the children subject to the order.  If coverage is provided 
  6.18  through an employer, only the employee's portion of cost may be 
  6.19  included.  This cost must be calculated net of any tax offsets 
  6.20  that may exist and are specifically attributable to provision of 
  6.21  the medical insurance.  Annual medical or dental expenses in 
  6.22  excess of $250 per child uncompensated by insurance must be 
  6.23  divided between the parents in proportion to their respective 
  6.24  adjusted after-tax incomes. 
  6.25     (f) Child care and educational costs are not included in 
  6.26  the schedule of basic child costs and must be added when 
  6.27  appropriate.  These costs must be calculated net of any tax 
  6.28  benefits directly attributable to incurring these specific child 
  6.29  costs. 
  6.30     (g)(1) The amount of child support payments for dependent 
  6.31  children not a part of the instant action and actually made by a 
  6.32  parent under any preexisting court order or separation agreement 
  6.33  must be deducted from the parent's monthly gross income in order 
  6.34  to determine monthly adjusted gross income and monthly adjusted 
  6.35  after-tax income. 
  6.36     (2) The amount of a parent's financial responsibility for 
  7.1   natural or adopted children currently residing in that parent's 
  7.2   household who are not involved in this action must be deducted 
  7.3   from a parent's monthly gross income.  For purposes of this 
  7.4   deduction, a child support award must be imputed for those 
  7.5   children and deducted from the parent's gross income. 
  7.6      (3) Actual payments or receipts of alimony or other 
  7.7   court-ordered maintenance must be deducted from or added to the 
  7.8   parent's monthly gross income and monthly after-tax income in 
  7.9   order to determine monthly adjusted gross income and monthly 
  7.10  adjusted after-tax income. 
  7.11     (h) The presumptive child support award must not exceed an 
  7.12  amount that would leave the obligor with income less than needed 
  7.13  for basic living needs.  Additionally, the presumptive child 
  7.14  support award must not exceed a level that causes or would 
  7.15  cause, if implemented, income deduction orders to exceed any 
  7.16  withholding limit as established by the federal Consumer Credit 
  7.17  Protection Act. 
  7.18     (i) Both parents have a continuous duty to provide support 
  7.19  for a minor child.  That duty ends automatically, however, when 
  7.20  the child: 
  7.21     (1) reaches the age of 18 or graduates from high school, 
  7.22  whichever occurs later, but in no event does the obligation 
  7.23  continue after the child reaches the age of 19; 
  7.24     (2) dies; 
  7.25     (3) marries; 
  7.26     (4) lives an emancipated lifestyle; 
  7.27     (5) enters military service; or 
  7.28     (6) becomes a fugitive from justice. 
  7.29  The provisions of this paragraph with regard to a child support 
  7.30  obligation beyond the age of majority are applicable only to a 
  7.31  temporary order or final decree for divorce, separate 
  7.32  maintenance, legitimation, or paternity entered on or after the 
  7.33  July 1 that immediately follows enactment. 
  7.34     (j) The enactment of this section constitutes a significant 
  7.35  material change in the establishment and calculation of child 
  7.36  support orders.  In any proceeding to modify an existing order 
  8.1   that is two years old or older, an increase or decrease 
  8.2   respectively of 15 percent or more between the amount of the 
  8.3   existing order and the amount of child support resulting from 
  8.4   the application of these guidelines, is presumed to constitute a 
  8.5   substantial change of circumstances warranting a modification.  
  8.6   If there is a substantial difference between a new presumptive 
  8.7   award and the existing award, the court may phase in the new 
  8.8   award over a time period of up to three years if it is in the 
  8.9   interests of justice. 
  8.10     (k) If the parent paying child support suffers an 
  8.11  involuntary termination of employment, has an extended 
  8.12  involuntary loss of average weekly hours, is involved in an 
  8.13  organized strike, suffers a loss of health, or similar 
  8.14  involuntary adversity resulting in a loss of income of 25 
  8.15  percent or more, the portion of the child support attributable 
  8.16  to that lost income does not accrue. 
  8.17     (l) Which parent must pay child support is determined by 
  8.18  reference to the factors which make up the basic support 
  8.19  obligation and the presumptive award, not by reference to the 
  8.20  award of physical custody.  The presumptive child support award 
  8.21  is determined by applying the following steps: 
  8.22     (1) determine each parent's monthly gross income; 
  8.23     (2) determine each parent's monthly adjusted gross income 
  8.24  by subtracting from monthly gross income preexisting child 
  8.25  support obligations and other current child support obligations 
  8.26  not involved in the instant action.  Maintenance must be 
  8.27  deducted or added to monthly gross income appropriately for 
  8.28  payments made or received; 
  8.29     (3) determine each parent's monthly adjusted after-tax 
  8.30  income.  Each determination must be calculated assuming single 
  8.31  taxpayer status with no children and by using standard 
  8.32  deductions and exemptions as applied to monthly adjusted gross 
  8.33  income.  The child-related tax benefits are taken into account 
  8.34  in a separate step; 
  8.35     (4) determine the self-support reserve for basic living 
  8.36  needs.  The self-support reserve is equal to 133 percent of the 
  9.1   federally defined poverty guideline for a single person living 
  9.2   alone as published in the Federal Register as submitted by the 
  9.3   federal Department of Health and Human Services; 
  9.4      (5) calculate each parent's monthly income available for 
  9.5   child support by subtracting the self-support reserve from each 
  9.6   parent's monthly adjusted after-tax income.  If a negative 
  9.7   number results, set it to zero.  Add these two values to 
  9.8   calculate combined monthly income available for child support; 
  9.9      (6) calculate each parent's share of combined monthly 
  9.10  income available for child support by dividing each parent's 
  9.11  monthly income available for child support by the combined 
  9.12  figure and then multiplying by 100 to put in percentage form; 
  9.13     (7) determine the parents' basic child costs by averaging 
  9.14  the parents' monthly adjusted gross incomes and looking up the 
  9.15  corresponding basic child costs for the appropriate number of 
  9.16  children in the schedule of basic child costs in paragraph (m); 
  9.17     (8) determine the amount of court-ordered medical and life 
  9.18  insurance required of both parents.  Portions of medical 
  9.19  insurance costs that are atypically high may be treated as an 
  9.20  add-on rather than as part of basic child costs; 
  9.21     (9) calculate the basic child costs to be prorated by 
  9.22  parenting time by subtracting combined court-ordered life 
  9.23  insurance payments from basic child costs; 
  9.24     (10) calculate each parent's percentage share of the 
  9.25  children's time, which is the relative percentage of time that 
  9.26  each parent has primary physical responsibility for the children 
  9.27  and must total 100 percent.  The court may use a conversion 
  9.28  table for this purpose.  In cases in which parents have 
  9.29  different parenting time responsibilities for different 
  9.30  children, use the average of the percentages each parent spends 
  9.31  with each child; 
  9.32     (11) calculate each parent's incurred basic child costs by 
  9.33  prorating basic child costs, excluding court-ordered insurance, 
  9.34  by each parent's share of the children's time; 
  9.35     (12) identify and enter by appropriate expense column for 
  9.36  each parent the court-ordered medical and life insurance amounts 
 10.1   previously included in basic costs and add any significant 
 10.2   additional child cost items, such as child care, that are not 
 10.3   included in the schedule of basic child costs.  Tax benefit 
 10.4   offsets should be calculated for child care but included only in 
 10.5   the calculation in clause (13); 
 10.6      (13) calculate each parent's tax benefit attributable to 
 10.7   the children, which must be treated as a child cost offset.  
 10.8   Unless the parents voluntarily have made a sharing arrangement 
 10.9   of the tax benefits, the court must allocate the child-related 
 10.10  tax benefits.  For joint custody situations, the court shall 
 10.11  either order the parents to alternate each year the right to 
 10.12  claim the child-related tax benefits or name a parent as 
 10.13  custodian of the tax benefits and then allocate the tax 
 10.14  benefit.  Each parent's child-related tax benefit is defined as 
 10.15  the difference between a parent's after-tax income with the 
 10.16  child-related tax benefits versus after-tax income as a single 
 10.17  taxpayer without the tax benefits.  This calculation must be 
 10.18  made net of alimony paid or received.  The child-related tax 
 10.19  benefit includes any child-related welfare benefits, such as WIC 
 10.20  payments, for which child support is not a reimbursement to the 
 10.21  state.  Child care tax credits are to be included.  At the 
 10.22  court's discretion, the child-related tax benefit of head of 
 10.23  household status may be discounted if that parent's itemized 
 10.24  deductions normally exceed significantly the standard deduction 
 10.25  for a single taxpayer; 
 10.26     (14) calculate each parent's incurred total child costs by 
 10.27  totaling separately each parent's basic child costs and 
 10.28  additional child cost items, and subtracting the child-related 
 10.29  tax benefits attributable to the children; 
 10.30     (15) calculate monthly amount owed to other parent.  The 
 10.31  father's monthly amount owed to mother is equal to the mother's 
 10.32  incurred total child costs multiplied by the father's share of 
 10.33  combined monthly income available for child support.  The 
 10.34  mother's monthly amount owed to father is equal to the father's 
 10.35  incurred total child costs multiplied by the mother's share of 
 10.36  combined monthly income available for child support; 
 11.1      (16) calculate the preliminary presumptive child support 
 11.2   award.  The parent with the higher monthly amount owed to other 
 11.3   parent is the obligor parent.  Calculate the preliminary 
 11.4   presumptive child support award by subtracting the lower monthly 
 11.5   amount owed to other parent from the higher monthly amount owed 
 11.6   to other parent.  Depending on relative incomes, each parent's 
 11.7   share of the children's time, and the size of the child-related 
 11.8   tax benefits, either parent may be the obligor parent.  The 
 11.9   court shall designate which parent is the obligor and which is 
 11.10  the obligee separately from which is noncustodial and which is 
 11.11  custodial or jointly custodial; and 
 11.12     (17) the obligor parent's presumptive child support award 
 11.13  to be paid is the lesser of that parent's monthly income 
 11.14  available for child support and the preliminary presumptive 
 11.15  child support award. 
 11.16     (m) This paragraph lists the Minnesota child support 
 11.17  guidelines schedule of basic child costs for a single-parent 
 11.18  household, excluding child care and education costs, using 
 11.19  average of parents' monthly adjusted gross income. 
 11.20                                                   Five or
 11.21     Average   One     Two      Three      Four     More
 11.22     Income   Child  Children  Children  Children  Children
 11.23      400       25      25        25        25        25
 11.24      450       61      80        88        96       102
 11.25      500       96     135       151       167       179
 11.26      550      132     190       213       238       256
 11.27      600      167     245       276       309       333
 11.28      650      203     300       339       380       409
 11.29      700      239     356       402       451       486
 11.30      750      274     411       464       522       563
 11.31      800      310     466       527       593       640
 11.32      850      345     521       590       664       717
 11.33      900      381     576       653       735       794
 11.34      950      416     631       715       806       871
 11.35    1,000      452     686       778       877       948
 11.36    1,050      456     691       788       889       960
 11.37    1,100      462     698       795       897       968
 11.38    1,150      465     705       800       902       974
 11.39    1,200      469     711       809       912       985
 11.40    1,250      474     718       816       920       994
 11.41    1,300      479     725       825       930     1,005
 11.42    1,350      481     732       831       937     1,012
 11.43    1,400      486     739       840       947     1,023
 11.44    1,450      492     744       847       955     1,032
 11.45    1,500      496     751       855       964     1,041
 11.46    1,550      500     759       861       971     1,049
 11.47    1,600      505     765       869       980     1,058
 11.48    1,650      509     770       877       989     1,068
 11.49    1,700      513     778       885       998     1,078
 11.50    1,750      517     785       892     1,006     1,086
 11.51    1,800      521     791       900     1,015     1,096
 11.52    1,850      526     798       907     1,023     1,105
 12.1     1,900      530     803       914     1,031     1,113
 12.2     1,950      536     812       923     1,041     1,124
 12.3     2,000      539     818       929     1,048     1,131
 12.4     2,050      543     824       937     1,057     1,141
 12.5     2,100      548     831       945     1,066     1,151
 12.6     2,150      552     838       952     1,074     1,159
 12.7     2,200      557     846       960     1,083     1,169
 12.8     2,250      561     850       968     1,092     1,179
 12.9     2,300      565     856       976     1,101     1,189
 12.10    2,350      570     864       982     1,107     1,196
 12.11    2,400      574     870       990     1,116     1,206
 12.12    2,450      576     878       999     1,127     1,217
 12.13    2,500      582     883     1,005     1,133     1,224
 12.14    2,550      588     892     1,013     1,142     1,234
 12.15    2,600      592     898     1,020     1,150     1,242
 12.16    2,650      597     904     1,029     1,160     1,253
 12.17    2,700      600     911     1,037     1,169     1,263
 12.18    2,750      604     918     1,043     1,176     1,270
 12.19    2,800      609     925     1,052     1,186     1,281
 12.20    2,850      613     931     1,059     1,194     1,290
 12.21    2,900      617     936     1,067     1,203     1,300
 12.22    2,950      621     943     1,075     1,212     1,309
 12.23    3,000      626     951     1,082     1,220     1,318
 12.24    3,050      631     957     1,089     1,228     1,326
 12.25    3,100      635     964     1,097     1,237     1,336
 12.26    3,150      639     971     1,104     1,245     1,345
 12.27    3,200      644     977     1,113     1,255     1,356
 12.28    3,250      648     984     1,119     1,262     1,363
 12.29    3,300      652     990     1,127     1,271     1,373
 12.30    3,350      657     997     1,134     1,279     1,381
 12.31    3,400      661   1,004     1,142     1,288     1,391
 12.32    3,450      664   1,011     1,150     1,297     1,401
 12.33    3,500      670   1,016     1,156     1,304     1,408
 12.34    3,550      674   1,024     1,165     1,314     1,419
 12.35    3,600      677   1,029     1,171     1,321     1,426
 12.36    3,650      683   1,037     1,181     1,332     1,438
 12.37    3,700      688   1,044     1,187     1,339     1,446
 12.38    3,750      692   1,051     1,195     1,348     1,455
 12.39    3,800      695   1,057     1,202     1,356     1,464
 12.40    3,850      700   1,063     1,211     1,366     1,475
 12.41    3,900      704   1,072     1,217     1,372     1,482
 12.42    3,950      709   1,077     1,225     1,381     1,492
 12.43    4,000      713   1,084     1,233     1,390     1,502
 12.44    4,050      718   1,091     1,240     1,398     1,510
 12.45    4,100      721   1,097     1,247     1,406     1,519
 12.46    4,150      725   1,104     1,254     1,414     1,527
 12.47    4,200      732   1,109     1,264     1,425     1,539
 12.48    4,250      734   1,116     1,270     1,432     1,547
 12.49    4,300      739   1,124     1,279     1,442     1,558
 12.50    4,350      745   1,131     1,286     1,450     1,566
 12.51    4,400      748   1,136     1,294     1,459     1,576
 12.52    4,450      753   1,144     1,302     1,468     1,586
 12.53    4,500      758   1,151     1,310     1,477     1,596
 12.54    4,550      760   1,157     1,318     1,486     1,605
 12.55    4,600      765   1,165     1,325     1,494     1,614
 12.56    4,650      770   1,171     1,333     1,503     1,624
 12.57    4,700      774   1,178     1,340     1,511     1,632
 12.58    4,750      780   1,184     1,349     1,521     1,643
 12.59    4,800      783   1,190     1,356     1,529     1,652
 12.60    4,850      788   1,198     1,364     1,538     1,661
 12.61    4,900      794   1,204     1,371     1,546     1,670
 12.62    4,950      796   1,213     1,380     1,556     1,681
 12.63    5,000      801   1,218     1,387     1,564     1,689
 12.64    5,050      807   1,226     1,396     1,574     1,700
 12.65    5,100      810   1,232     1,402     1,581     1,708
 12.66    5,150      815   1,239     1,410     1,590     1,717
 12.67    5,200      819   1,246     1,418     1,599     1,727
 12.68    5,250      824   1,253     1,426     1,608     1,737
 12.69    5,300      829   1,259     1,434     1,617     1,747
 12.70    5,350      832   1,267     1,442     1,626     1,756
 12.71    5,400      837   1,272     1,449     1,634     1,765
 13.1     5,450      842   1,280     1,457     1,643     1,775
 13.2     5,500      845   1,286     1,464     1,651     1,783
 13.3     5,550      850   1,293     1,471     1,659     1,792
 13.4     5,600      855   1,300     1,481     1,670     1,804
 13.5     5,650      859   1,306     1,488     1,678     1,812
 13.6     5,700      864   1,314     1,496     1,687     1,822
 13.7     5,750      868   1,322     1,503     1,695     1,831
 13.8     5,800      872   1,329     1,511     1,704     1,840
 13.9     5,850      878   1,336     1,518     1,712     1,849
 13.10    5,900      883   1,341     1,527     1,722     1,860
 13.11    5,950      887   1,350     1,535     1,731     1,870
 13.12    6,000      892   1,354     1,544     1,741     1,881
 13.13    6,050      895   1,363     1,550     1,748     1,888
 13.14    6,100      900   1,368     1,558     1,757     1,898
 13.15    6,150      903   1,376     1,566     1,766     1,907
 13.16    6,200      907   1,383     1,574     1,775     1,917
 13.17    6,250      913   1,389     1,582     1,784     1,927
 13.18    6,300      917   1,397     1,588     1,791     1,934
 13.19    6,350      921   1,403     1,597     1,801     1,945
 13.20    6,400      927   1,411     1,605     1,810     1,955
 13.21    6,450      932   1,417     1,613     1,819     1,965
 13.22    6,500      936   1,423     1,620     1,827     1,973
 13.23    6,550      939   1,431     1,629     1,837     1,984
 13.24    6,600      945   1,437     1,636     1,845     1,993
 13.25    6,650      949   1,445     1,644     1,854     2,002
 13.26    6,700      953   1,450     1,650     1,861     2,010
 13.27    6,750      957   1,457     1,660     1,872     2,022
 13.28    6,800      962   1,464     1,668     1,881     2,032
 13.29    6,850      966   1,471     1,674     1,888     2,039
 13.30    6,900      970   1,478     1,682     1,897     2,049
 13.31    6,950      975   1,485     1,690     1,906     2,058
 13.32    7,000      980   1,492     1,698     1,915     2,068
 13.33    7,050      984   1,499     1,705     1,923     2,077
 13.34    7,100      989   1,505     1,713     1,932     2,086
 13.35    7,150      994   1,513     1,721     1,941     2,096
 13.36    7,200      998   1,519     1,730     1,951     2,107
 13.37    7,250    1,002   1,526     1,735     1,957     2,113
 13.38    7,300    1,007   1,532     1,744     1,967     2,124
 13.39    7,350    1,011   1,538     1,753     1,977     2,135
 13.40    7,400    1,015   1,546     1,761     1,986     2,145
 13.41    7,450    1,021   1,553     1,767     1,993     2,152
 13.42    7,500    1,024   1,560     1,776     2,003     2,163
 13.43    7,550    1,029   1,567     1,783     2,011     2,172
 13.44    7,600    1,033   1,573     1,792     2,021     2,183
 13.45    7,650    1,038   1,581     1,799     2,029     2,191
 13.46    7,700    1,042   1,586     1,807     2,038     2,201
 13.47    7,750    1,046   1,595     1,816     2,048     2,212
 13.48    7,800    1,051   1,600     1,822     2,055     2,219
 13.49    7,850    1,056   1,608     1,830     2,064     2,229
 13.50    7,900    1,059   1,614     1,838     2,073     2,239
 13.51    7,950    1,064   1,620     1,847     2,083     2,250
 13.52    8,000    1,070   1,628     1,854     2,091     2,258
 13.53    8,050    1,074   1,634     1,861     2,099     2,267
 13.54    8,100    1,078   1,641     1,869     2,108     2,276
 13.55    8,150    1,084   1,648     1,878     2,118     2,287
 13.56    8,200    1,087   1,654     1,885     2,126     2,296
 13.57    8,250    1,091   1,662     1,893     2,135     2,306
 13.58    8,300    1,094   1,668     1,901     2,144     2,315
 13.59    8,350    1,100   1,677     1,908     2,152     2,324
 13.60    8,400    1,105   1,682     1,916     2,161     2,334
 13.61    8,450    1,108   1,690     1,922     2,167     2,341
 13.62    8,500    1,113   1,695     1,932     2,179     2,353
 13.63    8,550    1,118   1,702     1,939     2,187     2,362
 13.64    8,600    1,122   1,709     1,946     2,195     2,370
 13.65    8,650    1,128   1,716     1,954     2,204     2,380
 13.66    8,700    1,132   1,723     1,963     2,214     2,391
 13.67    8,750    1,136   1,730     1,969     2,220     2,398
 13.68    8,800    1,141   1,736     1,978     2,231     2,409
 13.69    8,850    1,146   1,744     1,985     2,239     2,418
 13.70    8,900    1,149   1,750     1,994     2,249     2,429
 13.71    8,950    1,154   1,757     2,001     2,257     2,437
 14.1     9,000    1,158   1,764     2,008     2,264     2,446
 14.2     9,050    1,162   1,772     2,016     2,273     2,455
 14.3     9,100    1,167   1,779     2,025     2,284     2,466
 14.4     9,150    1,171   1,785     2,032     2,292     2,475
 14.5     9,200    1,177   1,791     2,039     2,299     2,483
 14.6     9,250    1,181   1,799     2,048     2,310     2,494
 14.7     9,300    1,184   1,805     2,056     2,319     2,504
 14.8     9,350    1,190   1,813     2,064     2,328     2,514
 14.9     9,400    1,194   1,818     2,071     2,336     2,522
 14.10    9,450    1,198   1,826     2,080     2,346     2,533
 14.11    9,500    1,203   1,832     2,087     2,354     2,542
 14.12    9,550    1,208   1,840     2,095     2,363     2,552
 14.13    9,600    1,212   1,847     2,102     2,370     2,560
 14.14    9,650    1,216   1,854     2,111     2,381     2,571
 14.15    9,700    1,221   1,861     2,118     2,389     2,580
 14.16    9,750    1,225   1,866     2,126     2,398     2,589
 14.17    9,800    1,229   1,873     2,133     2,405     2,598
 14.18    9,850    1,233   1,880     2,141     2,414     2,608
 14.19    9,900    1,239   1,887     2,149     2,423     2,617
 14.20    9,950    1,243   1,895     2,157     2,433     2,627
 14.21   10,000 or 
 14.22   greater   1,247   1,900     2,165     2,442     2,637
 14.23     (n) For income deduction orders issued on or after July 1, 
 14.24  2003, no order is valid without listing the birth dates of the 
 14.25  dependent children for whom the obligor is having income 
 14.26  deducted.  Income deduction orders must also state the dates on 
 14.27  which each dependent child attains the age of 18, on which date 
 14.28  the income deduction order is no longer valid without a showing 
 14.29  that the dependent is still in secondary school and has not yet 
 14.30  attained the age of 19. 
 14.31     (o) It is the responsibility of the department of human 
 14.32  services to ensure that income deduction orders end when the 
 14.33  obligation ends, regardless of whether the case at hand was 
 14.34  initiated by the department of human services.  This department 
 14.35  shall establish an administrative procedure for obligors to file 
 14.36  a petition with the department to administratively stop income 
 14.37  deduction orders when the obligation of support has ended.  
 14.38  Overpayments must be refunded to the obligor.  
 14.39     Any overpayment resulting from the department of human 
 14.40  service's failure to terminate an income deduction order within 
 14.41  90 days of the date the income deduction order should end bears 
 14.42  interest payable to the obligor at the existing judgment rate. 
 14.43     Subd. 3.  [CONFLICT OF LAW.] This section governs in case 
 14.44  of any conflict with a Minnesota law in effect on the effective 
 14.45  date of this section. 
 14.46     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 518.64, is 
 15.1   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
 15.2      Subd. 7.  [SPECIAL RELIEF.] Notwithstanding any other part 
 15.3   of this section or other provision of law, a motion may be made 
 15.4   by any obligor or obligee at any time for modification of child 
 15.5   support, if the obligor or obligee can demonstrate that child 
 15.6   support ordered unjustifiably deviates from the amount defined 
 15.7   in section 518.571.  In any criminal proceedings or proceedings 
 15.8   to impose the sanctions of criminal contempt to punish 
 15.9   nonpayment of child support, and in any proceedings to impose 
 15.10  the sanctions of civil contempt to coerce payment of child 
 15.11  support or to remedy failure to pay child support, an 
 15.12  affirmative defense is available to the extent that child 
 15.13  support previously ordered exceeds the amount defined in section 
 15.14  518.571. 
 15.15     Sec. 4.  [INSTRUCTION TO REVISOR.] 
 15.16     The revisor of statutes, in consultation with the house of 
 15.17  representatives research department and senate counsel and 
 15.18  research, shall prepare a report by December 31, 2003, on 
 15.19  portions of Minnesota law that are in conflict with sections 2 
 15.20  and 3 and shall recommend amendments and repealers required to 
 15.21  resolve those conflicts.  The report must be submitted to the 
 15.22  appropriate committees of the legislature with jurisdiction over 
 15.23  family law issues. 
 15.24     Sec. 5.  [APPROPRIATIONS.] 
 15.25     $405,000 is appropriated in fiscal year 2004 from the 
 15.26  general fund to the commissioner of human services for costs 
 15.27  associated with implementing sections 2 and 3.  Any unencumbered 
 15.28  balance in fiscal year 2004 does not cancel but is available in 
 15.29  fiscal year 2005.  This is a onetime appropriation. 
 15.30     $40,000 is appropriated in fiscal year 2004 and $44,000 is 
 15.31  appropriated in fiscal year 2005 from the general fund to the 
 15.32  supreme court administrator for costs associated with 
 15.33  implementing sections 2 and 3.  These are onetime appropriations.
 15.34     Sec. 6.  [REPEALER.] 
 15.35     Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 518.551, subdivisions 5 
 15.36  and 5f, are repealed. 
 16.1      Sec. 7.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
 16.2      Sections 2 to 4 and 6 are effective the day following final 
 16.3   enactment.