Dianne Feinstein: “I am introducing today, the Child Support Penalty Fairness Act of 1998. Similar to the House passed Child Support…”

“I am introducing today, the Child Support Penalty Fairness Act of 1998. Similar to the House passed Child Support Performance and Incentive Act, this legislation decreases penalties for states who didn't make the October 1997 child support enforcement system deadline but this legislation provides exemptions for those counties, such as Los Angeles county, that made the deadline even if the state didn't. This legislation decreases the overall penalties to 4% of the child support administrative funds in the first year, and doubles the percentage of penalties each year, capping it at 20% by the fourth year. Additionally, if the state becomes certified during the year, 75% of the penalties would be forgiven for that fiscal year. The penalty structure in this legislation is the same as Clay Shaw's bill, HR3130, which passed the House of Representatives two weeks ago and awaits consideration in the Senate Finance Committee. The current penalties for not having the child support enforcement system up and running are enormous.”