Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 3, March 1, 2024
(1) For the purposes of this rule, "license"
means any of the licenses, certificates, permits or registrations that a person
is required by state law to possess in order to engage in an occupation or
profession, all annual licenses issued to individuals by the Oregon Liquor
Control Commission, all driver licenses and permits issued by the Department of
Transportation under ORS chapter 807, and all permanent and fee-based annual
hunting and fishing licenses issued by the Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife.
(2) The administrator may
begin the process to suspend an obligor's licenses if:
(a) The obligor has an order or judgment to
pay child support, regardless of whether that order or judgment is currently
accruing support;
(b) The
administrator has been providing services on the case pursuant to ORS
25.080
for at least three months;
(c) The
obligor owes arrears in an amount equal to the greater of three months of
support or $2500;
(d) The obligor
and administrator have not entered into an agreement as described in section
(10), or there is an agreement but the obligor is not in compliance with the
agreement;
(e) The obligor has not
made voluntary payments, or payments by income withholding, every month for the
last three months greater than the current support amount, or if there is no
longer an order or judgment for current support, equal to the amount of the
most recent order for current support. This criterion does not apply to
payments resulting from garnishment, tax offset, or any other enforcement
action other than income withholding; and
(f) The order is not currently suspended
under ORS
25.247.
(3) The administrator will
consider the obligor's employment and payment history, the obligor's current
ability to pay, the likely benefit to the child, and any other pertinent factor
in determining whether to initiate or continue the license suspension process.
(4) The administrator will begin
the license suspension process by giving written notice to the obligor by
regular mail. If the issuing agency or agencies have addresses listed for the
obligor other than the address in the administrator's records, the
administrator will send copies of the notice to the address in the
administrator's records and to each address in the records of the agencies
holding licenses. The notice to the obligor will specify:
(a) The obligor's name, final four digits of
Social Security number, if available, and year of birth, if known;
(b) The license(s) subject to suspension and
a statement that any license not specified in the notice will also be subject
to suspension without a separate notice;
(c) The obligor's child support case
number(s);
(d) The basis for the
suspension, including amount of the arrears and the amount of the monthly
support obligation(s), if any;
(e)
The procedure and grounds for contesting the suspension;
(f) A statement that the obligor can prevent
suspension of the license(s) by entering into and complying with an agreement
with the administrator; and
(g) A
statement that unless the obligor contacts the administrator within 30 days of
the date of the notice and contests the license suspension or enters into an
agreement, the administrator may notify the issuing agency or agencies to
suspend the license(s) without further notice.
(5) The obligor may contest the suspension
within 30 days of the notice described in section (4) of this rule only on the
grounds that:
(a) The obligor owes arrears
less than or equal to the greater of three months of support or $2,500;
or
(b) There is a mistake in the
obligor's identity.
(6)
Any of the following events ends the license suspension process. The
administrator will stop all license suspension actions and notify the issuing
agency to release any license already suspended, subject to that agency's
requirements, if, on timely receipt of a contest from the obligor under section
(5), on the obligor's subsequent request for a review of the case, or at any
time upon review of the case, the administrator determines that:
(a) The administrator is no longer providing
services under ORS
25.080;
(b) The obligor owes arrears less than or
equal to the greater of three months of support or $2,500;
(c) The individual whose license(s) are to be
suspended is not the obligor who owes the support arrears that are the basis
for the suspension; or
(d) The
order is suspended under ORS
25.247.
(7) If the obligor contests
license suspension under section (5), the administrator will make a
determination based on the criteria in section (6) and notify the parties in
writing of the determination. If the administrator determines that the
suspension process will continue, the obligor may object within 30 days of the
date of the administrator's determination by requesting an administrative
hearing. Upon receipt of the hearing request, the administrator will take no
further action to suspend pending receipt of the hearing order.
(8) Not less than 30 days after issuing the
notice that the obligor's license is subject to suspension, as described in
section (4), the administrator will review the case. If the case continues to
qualify for suspension, and no contest has been received from the obligor, the
administrator may notify the issuing agency to suspend the obligor's
license(s).
(9) If an obligor holds
more than one license, any determination regarding suspension of one license is
sufficient to suspend any other license.
(10) The administrator may enter into an
agreement with the obligor, the obligor's compliance with which will preclude
suspension of the obligor's license.
(a) The
standard monthly payment amount for a compliance agreement is the amount that
could be obtained through income withholding under ORS
25.414.
In determining this amount, the obligor's actual earnings will be used, but no
less than the equivalent of full-time work at the lowest Oregon minimum wage.
An agreement under this subsection may be for any period of time agreed to by
the administrator and obligor.
(b)
If the obligor demonstrates inability to pay the full amount described in
subsection (10)(a), the administrator may agree to a temporary hardship
exception for a lesser amount, including, where appropriate, no amount. The
administrator may condition the hardship exception on receipt of a modification
request from the obligor, including any evidence needed to substantiate the
request. A hardship exception may also require that the obligor take specific
steps to enhance the obligor's ability to pay, such as job search, job training
or substance abuse treatment. A hardship exception under this subsection may be
for no longer than six months. At the end of the hardship period, the agreement
must automatically change to a standard payment amount under subsection
(10)(a). However, at the end of the hardship period, the administrator may
agree to a subsequent hardship exception under this subsection if the
administrator determines such an exception remains appropriate.
(11) Any agreement entered into
under section (10) must include:
(a) The
amount and due date of the payment. The due date in the payment agreement is
solely for the purposes of the license suspension process and does not affect
the monthly due date in the support order;
(b) If the agreement is based on a hardship
exception under subsection (10)(b), a standard payment amount determined under
subsection (10)(a) that will automatically go into effect at the end of the
specified hardship exception period;
(c) The duration of the agreement, including
the duration of the subsequent payment agreement if the initial agreement is
based on a hardship exception under subsection (10)(b) of this rule;
(d) A statement that payments may be made
through income withholding;
(e) A
statement that failure to comply with the agreement may result in immediate
notification to the issuing agency to suspend the license(s) without further
notice to the obligor;
(f) A
statement that the agreement may be terminated if the support order or judgment
is modified;
(g) A statement that
the administrator may terminate the agreement and suspend the license at any
time if the obligor fails to comply with the agreement, if the obligor's income
changes, or if the obligor has under-reported income;
(h) A statement that the obligor's compliance
with the agreement does not preclude any enforcement action by the
administrator other than license suspension, and that other collection actions
will continue to occur;
(i) A
statement that the obligor is required to inform the administrator within 10
days of any change in employment;
(j) A statement that information provided by
the obligor may be used for other enforcement actions, including contempt
actions; and
(k) The signatures of
the obligor and the administrator.
(12) When the administrator enters into an
agreement with the obligor, the administrator will send courtesy copies of the
agreement to the parties on the case.
(13) If the obligor complies with the
agreement, the administrator will not notify the issuing agency to suspend the
obligor's license(s), or, if the license has already been suspended, the
administrator will notify the issuing agency to reinstate the license.
(14) If the obligor fails to
comply with an agreement, the administrator may notify the issuing agency to
suspend the obligor's license(s). The administrator will notify the parties to
the case that the action has been taken. If the obligor has complied with the
agreement for at least one year and then stops complying, the administrator
will send the obligor written notice 30 days prior to issuing the notice to
suspend to provide the opportunity for the obligor to comply.
(15) If an obligor has more than one child
support case, the Child Support Program Director or designee will determine and
assign a single office that will be responsible for services relating to that
obligor under this rule. Any enforcement services other than license suspension
will be provided by the office(s) otherwise assigned to the obligor's
case(s).
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS
25.750
to
25.785
& 180.345
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS
25.750
to
25.783
