1. Order. The commissioner may commence an action under Title 14, chapter 502 by directing a responsible parent to appear before the department to disclose under oath information that relates to the responsible parent‘s ability to pay child support. The commissioner may require a responsible parent who is directed to appear to provide documents, papers and other evidence about the responsible parent’s income and assets for the purpose of enforcing a support order. Notwithstanding section 2254, an order to appear and disclose must be served on the responsible parent by personal service as provided for personal service of summons by the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 4(d). Personal service within the State of an order to appear and disclose may be made by an authorized representative of the commissioner. Personal service outside the State of an order to appear and disclose may be made in the manner provided for personal service of summons outside the State by the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 4(e).

[PL 2009, c. 290, §32 (AMD).]

Terms Used In Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 2361

  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Board: means a bureau, board or commission listed in Title 10, section 8001 or 8001?A, other licensor that is affiliated with or is a part of the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, the Board of Overseers of the Bar or any other state agency or municipality that issues a license authorizing a person to engage in a business, occupation, profession or industry and any state agency, bureau, board, commission or municipality that issues a license or permit to hunt, fish, operate a boat, operate a snowmobile, operate an ATV or engage in any other sporting or recreational activity. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 2101
  • Child support: means money paid directly to a parent, to another person or agency awarded parental rights and responsibilities with respect to a child or to the department on behalf of a child receiving public assistance and medical or dental insurance coverage provided on behalf of a child pursuant to court order. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 1501
  • Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Health and Human Services, a designee or an authorized representative. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 101
  • Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Department: means the Department of Health and Human Services and its agents and authorized representatives. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 101
  • 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 a license, certification, registration, permit, approval or other similar document evidencing admission to or granting authority to engage in a profession, occupation, business or industry, and a license or permit to hunt, fish, operate a boat, operate a snowmobile, operate an ATV or engage in any other sporting or recreational activity, but does not mean a registration, permit, approval or similar document evidencing the granting of authority to engage in the business of banking pursuant to Title 9?B. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 2101
  • Obligee: means any person to whom a duty of support is owed. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 101
  • Obligor: means any person owing a duty of support. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 101
  • Parent: means the legal parent or the legal guardian when no legal parent exists. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 101
  • Person: means an individual, trust, estate, partnership, association, company, corporation, political subdivision of the State, instrumentality of the State or other entity. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 101
  • Responsible parent: means the parent of a dependent child. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 2101
  • state: means any state, territory or possession of the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 101
  • Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
  • Support order: 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, that provides for monetary support, health care, arrearages or reimbursement and may include related costs and fees, interest and penalties, income withholding, attorney's fees and other relief. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A Sec. 2101
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
2. Venue. The department may commence the action by ordering the obligor to appear at an office of the department, as long as the distance to be travelled by the obligor is no more than 100 miles from the obligor’s place of residence. If the department files the action in court, the department shall file the action in the division of the District Court where the obligor resides or in the division that has ordered the obligor to pay child support, if any.

[PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]

3. Notice to responsible parent. The department shall include a notice to the responsible parent with each order to appear and disclose. The notice must include the following information:
A. The date, time and place of the disclosure proceeding; [PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]
B. The amount of child support the responsible parent owes; [PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]
C. That the department may file a record of the proceeding in court to collect the debt; [PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]
D. That, if the department files a record of the proceeding in court, the court will notify the responsible parent by regular mail of the date, time and place of the court hearing; [PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]
E. That, if a record of the proceeding is filed in court, the court may issue any lawful order, including a sale or turnover order, an order to seek employment or a civil order of arrest; [PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]
F. That, if a record of the proceeding is filed in court and the responsible parent is not making regular child support payments, the burden of proof is on the responsible parent to show why regular payments can not be made; [PL 1997, c. 407, §2 (AMD); PL 1997, c. 407, §5 (AFF); PL 1997, c. 537, §46 (AMD); PL 1997, c. 537, §62 (AFF).]
G. The penalties as provided by this section that could be incurred by the responsible parent for failure to appear, failure to provide documents, papers and other evidence as required or intentionally providing false information; [RR 1997, c. 1, §17 (COR).]
H. That the responsible parent must provide to the department the name and last known address of any other person that has an ownership in any property in which the responsible parent has an ownership interest; and [RR 1997, c. 1, §18 (COR).]
I. That failure to comply with the order to appear and disclose may result in revocation of the obligor’s driver’s license, occupational licenses or other licenses as defined in section 2101, subsection 7. [RR 1997, c. 1, §19 (RAL).]
The notice must be accompanied by a copy of the support order under which the responsible parent owes child support.

[RR 1997, c. 1, §§17-19 (COR).]

4. Notice to obligee. The department shall provide notice to the obligee of the time and place of the disclosure proceeding and the nature of the proceeding.

[PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]

5. Limitation of action. The department may issue an order to appear and disclose only if the responsible parent owes $500 or more in overdue child support, the amount has been owed for at least 60 days and the responsible parent is not making reasonable, regular payments to reduce the debt.

[PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]

6. Continuance. The department may grant a continuance of the proceeding for good cause.

[PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]

7. Transcribable record. The department shall prepare an official, transcribable record of all proceedings held under this section.

[PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]

8. Failure to appear. If the responsible parent fails to appear after being served with an order to appear and disclose, the department may request a civil order of arrest pursuant to Title 14, sections 3134 and 3135 for violating the order to appear and disclose by filing a copy of the order to appear and disclose, proof of service of the order and an affidavit attesting that the responsible parent failed to appear for the administrative disclosure proceeding.

[PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]

9. Court action. The commissioner may file the record of a proceeding in the District Court to ask the court for any appropriate relief under Title 14, chapter 502, including an order requiring the responsible parent to seek employment and report that activity to the department. The record must be accompanied by a motion. The department shall notify the responsible parent by regular mail upon filing the record in court. The notice to the responsible parent must include a copy of the department’s motion. The filing of the record, along with proof of service of the order to appear and disclose, constitutes a filing under the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 3(1) and further service is not required.

[PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]

10. Representation of the department. The commissioner may designate employees of the department who are not attorneys to represent the department in District Court in a proceeding filed under this section. A designated employee may prepare and sign the motion as required under subsection 9. The commissioner shall ensure that appropriate training is provided to all employees designated to represent the department under this subsection.

[PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]

11. Employee protection. An employer who discharges, refuses to employ or takes disciplinary action against a responsible parent, or who otherwise discriminates against the parent because the parent must appear before the department pursuant to this section is liable in an action by the responsible parent for compensatory and punitive damages, plus attorney’s fees and court costs.

[PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]

12. Penalties. Failure to appear before the department, absent good cause, is a civil violation for which a forfeiture not to exceed $1,000 may be adjudged. Failure to provide documents, papers and other evidence as required, absent good cause, is a civil violation for which a forfeiture not to exceed $1,000 may be adjudged. Intentionally providing false information is a civil violation for which a forfeiture not to exceed $1,000 may be adjudged for each violation.

[PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]

13. Repeal.

[PL 1997, c. 669, §9 (RP).]

14. License revocation. If an obligor who is served with a support order under subsection 1 fails to appear without good cause or fails to provide documents, papers and other evidence as required by the order without good cause, the department may certify the obligor’s noncompliance to the Secretary of State for suspension of the obligor’s driver’s license and right to operate a motor vehicle and to any board or other entity in the State that issues a license as defined in section 2101, subsection 7. Upon receipt of a certification of noncompliance from the department, the Secretary of State, board or other entity shall cause any licenses held by the obligor to be suspended or revoked and may not issue or renew a license to the obligor until the department issues a written statement that the obligor has complied with the order. A suspension, revocation or refusal by a board or other licensing entity to reissue, renew or otherwise extend a license or permit of an obligor certified by the department is a final determination within the meaning of Title 5, section 10002.

[PL 1997, c. 537, §48 (NEW); PL 1997, c. 537, §62 (AFF).]

SECTION HISTORY

PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW). PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF). RR 1997, c. 1, §§17-19 (COR). PL 1997, c. 407, §§2,3 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 407, §5 (AFF). PL 1997, c. 466, §23 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 466, §28 (AFF). PL 1997, c. 537, §§46-48 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 537, §62 (AFF). PL 1997, c. 669, §9 (AMD). PL 2009, c. 290, §32 (AMD).
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