(a) The attorney general shall establish the office of child support hearings, and shall appoint and commission, without regard to chapter 76, such hearings officers as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.

Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 576E-10

  • Administrative order: means the order resulting from an administrative adjudication by a hearings officer or the attorney general, through the agency, of the final disposition of a matter before the agency. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 576E-1
  • Child support: means payment for the necessary support and maintenance of a child as required by law that includes but is not limited to spousal support when being enforced in conjunction with child support or medical support when a court or administrative order requires the debtor parent to pay an amount in lieu of providing medical insurance coverage or to reimburse for maternity and delivery expenses incurred when the debtor parent's child was born. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 576E-1
  • Court: means the family courts of this State and, when the context requires, a court or agency of any other state having jurisdiction to establish, modify, and enforce support obligations. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 576E-1
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • License: means any license, certification, registration, or permit issued by a licensing authority for recreational purposes, or to conduct a trade or business, including a license to practice a profession or vocation, or a license to operate any motor vehicle, boat, airplane, or helicopter. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 576E-1
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Obligor: means a responsible parent obligated by court or administrative order to pay child support. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 576E-1
  • Office: means the office of child support hearings established pursuant to § 576E-10. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 576E-1
  • Order of support: means a judgment, decree, or order, whether temporary, final, or subject to modification, issued by a court or an administrative agency of competent jurisdiction, for the support and maintenance of a child, including a child who has attained the age of majority under the law of the issuing state, or a child and the parent with whom the child is living, which provides for monetary support, health care, arrearages, or reimbursement, and which may include related costs and fees, interest and penalties, income withholding, attorney's fees, and other relief. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 576E-1
  • Party: means each person or agency named or admitted as a party, or properly seeking and entitled as of right to be admitted as a party, including but not limited to the custodial parent and the responsible parent. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 576E-1
  • Responsible parent: means any person who does not have physical custody of the child and who has a legal duty of support. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 576E-1
  • Spousal support: means a legally enforceable obligation assessed against an individual for the support of a spouse or a former spouse who is living with a child or children for whom the individual also owes support. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 576E-1
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
(b) Hearings officers shall exercise all of the powers granted to the attorney general under this chapter, but shall not be considered deputy attorneys general and shall not exercise the powers or discharge the duties conferred upon the attorney general or the attorney general’s deputies by chapter 28.
(c) In exercising the powers conferred upon the attorney general in section 576E-2, the hearings officers shall have the authority to conduct hearings and enter the following orders:

(1) Child support orders which have the effect of modifying, suspending, terminating, or enforcing the child support provisions of orders of the family courts;
(2) Child support orders establishing, modifying, suspending, terminating, or enforcing child support obligations;
(3) Orders enforcing the collection of spousal support when child support is being established, modified, or enforced;
(4) Income withholding orders pursuant to § 576E-16;
(5) Automatic income assignment orders pursuant to sections court or administrative order of future income for payment of child support” class=”unlinked-ref” datatype=”S” sessionyear=”2022″ statecd=”HI”>571-52.2 and 576D-14;
(6) Interstate income withholding orders pursuant to chapter 576B;
(7) State income tax refund setoff orders pursuant to section 231-54;
(8) Orders determining whether Aid to Families with Dependent Children pass through payments were properly distributed;
(9) Orders determining whether a party should be required to post bond in order to secure payment of past due support pursuant to § 576D-6;
(10) Medical insurance coverage orders;
(11) Orders suspending or denying the granting, the renewal, the reinstatement, or the restoration of licenses or applications of an obligor or individual for noncompliance with an order of support or failure to comply with a subpoena or warrant relating to a paternity or child support proceeding, and authorizations allowing the reinstatement of suspended licenses or consideration of license applications pursuant to § 576D-13;
(12) Orders concerning whether a responsible parent‘s child support obligation should be reported to consumer credit reporting agencies pursuant to chapter 576D; and
(13) Orders in other child support areas as authorized by the attorney general.
(d) Hearings officers shall have further authority to:

(1) Accept voluntary acknowledgments of paternity, support liability, and stipulated agreements setting the amount of child support to be paid after application of the guidelines established under § 576D-7;
(2) Receive testimony and evidence from parties to the hearing and to establish a record;
(3) Evaluate testimony and other evidence received at hearings and make specific findings of fact and conclusions of law after contested hearings and when otherwise required by law;
(4) Issue subpoenas;
(5) Compel production of documents and witnesses;
(6) Dismiss a case upon a finding of good cause;
(7) Hold prehearing conferences;
(8) Examine judgment debtors;
(9) Refer contempt proceedings to the appropriate court.
(e) Hearings officers shall be entitled to immunity from liability while acting in their official capacity.

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