BILL NUMBER:  S5370

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend chapter 81 of the laws of 1995, amending the vehicle
and traffic law and other laws relating to the enforcement of support
through the suspension of driving privileges, in relation to the
effectiveness thereof

 PURPOSE OF THE BILL :

This bill would extend, for two years, the expiration of the driver's
license suspension process, one of the State's most effective tools to
enforce child support obligations.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 of the bill would amend subdivision 19 of § 246 of Chapter
81 of the Laws of 1995 to extend the administrative driver's license
suspension process from August 31, 2017 to August 31, 2019.

Section 2 of the bill would provide for an immediate effective date
and would be deemed to have been in full force and effect on and after
August 31, 2017.

 JUSTIFICATION :
              

This bill would extend, for two years, the driver's license suspension
process, a highly successful enforcement process utilized by the
Office of Temporary Disability Assistance (OTDA) to enforce child
support obligations. Using this process, OTDA is able to: (1) identify
a parent who fails to pay child support and who also has a driver's
license; and (2) notify the parent that his or her driver's license
will be suspended unless their child support payments are paid.

Federal law requires that each State must have a driver's license
suspension process to improve the effectiveness of child support
enforcement (42 U.S.C. § 666 (a)(16)). New York's administrative
process satisfies this federal requirement and accounts for
substantial collections each year. The expiration of this enforcement
tool would have a considerable impact on New York families.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

This provision was last extended by Chapter 29 of the Laws of 2015
from June 30, 2015 to August 31, 2017.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

Failing to extend the driver's license suspension process would result
in the loss of a powerful deterrent for the non-payment of child
support obligations. The driver's license suspension process accounts
for approximately $10 million in gross child support collections
annually.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
The bill provides for an immediate effective date and would be deemed
to have been in full force and effect on and after August 31, 2017.