P.L. 113-183 UIFSA 2008 Enactment

ACTION TRANSMITTAL

AT-14-11

DATE:  October 9, 2014

TO:  State Agencies Administering Child Support Plans under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act and Other Interested Individuals

SUBJECT:  P.L. 113-183 UIFSA 2008 Enactment

On September 29, 2014 President Obama signed Public Law (P.L.) 113-183, the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act.  This law amends section 466(f) of the Social Security Act, requiring all states to enact any amendments to the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act “officially adopted as of September 30, 2008 by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws” (referred to as UIFSA 2008).  Among other changes, the UIFSA 2008 amendments integrate the appropriate provisions of The Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance, which was adopted at the Hague Conference on Private International Law on November 23, 2007, referred to as the 2007 Family Maintenance Convention.

Section 301(f)(3)(A) of P.L. 113-183 requires that UIFSA 2008 must be in effect in every state “no later than the effective date of laws enacted by the legislature of the State implementing such paragraph, but in no event later than the first day of the first calendar quarter beginning after the close of the first regular session of the State legislature that begins after the date of the enactment of this Act.”  If a state has a 2-year legislative session, “each year of the session shall be deemed to be a separate regular session of the State legislature.” 
In 2008, after the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws adopted the UIFSA 2008 amendments, several states asked OCSE if their state legislatures could enact UIFSA 2008.  At that time, section 466(f) of the Social Security Act required states to adopt UIFSA 1996, a previous version to UIFSA 2008.  OCSE issued DCL-08-41, which permitted states to enact UIFSA 2008 verbatim with a provision that the effective date of its enactment be delayed until the 2007 Family Maintenance Convention is ratified and the United States deposits its instrument of ratification.  States that chose to follow this process did not need to request an exemption from OCSE.  Eight states passed UIFSA 2008 using the effective date language described in DCL-08-41.

Due to the specific requirement in P.L. 113-183 that states enact UIFSA 2008 in their next state legislative session, OCSE rescinds DCL-08-41.  The eight states that enacted UIFSA 2008 with a delayed implementation date must take the necessary legislative or administrative steps for UIFSA 2008 to be effective as directed in P.L. 113-183.

Now that the President has signed P.L. 113-183, the following steps must occur before the 2007 Family Maintenance convention can enter into force for the United States.

• All states must enact UIFSA 2008 verbatim by the effective date noted in P.L. 113-183.  Where UIFSA 2008 has bracketed language, states may use terminology appropriate under state law.  In addition, P.L. 113-183 requires states to make minor revisions to the state plan which OCSE will address in forthcoming guidance.
• The President must sign the instrument of ratification.
• Once these activities are completed, the United States will be able to deposit its instrument of ratification with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which is the depositary for the Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance.

It is important to note that, once UIFSA 2008 is in effect in your state, international cases will not be processed under Article 7 of UIFSA 2008 until the 2007 Family Maintenance Convention enters into force for the United States.  Once this occurs, Article 7 of UIFSA 2008 will be in effect for all cases transmitted and received under the 2007 Family Maintenance Convention.

OCSE expresses our sincere thanks to the entire child support community for the collaborative and monumental effort taken to reach this important milestone.  We look forward to working together to enact UIFSA 2008 in all states, and to implement the 2007 Family Maintenance Convention in the United States.

Thank you for your continued efforts on behalf of our nation’s children.

SUPERSEDED MATERIAL:  DCL-08-41

REFERENCES:  AT-14-08, DCL-10-20

INQUIRIES TO:  ACF/OCSE Regional Program Managers
 

Vicki Turetsky
Commissioner
Office of Child Support Enforcement

cc: Tribal IV-D Directors