H. R. 3734—151
‘‘(C) LIABILITY.—A financial institution shall not be
liable under any Federal or State law to any person—
‘‘(i) for any disclosure of information to the State
agency under subparagraph (A)(i);
‘‘(ii) for encumbering or surrendering any assets
held by such financial institution in response to a
notice of lien or levy issued by the State agency as
provided for in subparagraph (A)(ii); or
‘‘(iii) for any other action taken in good faith to
comply with the requirements of subparagraph (A).
‘‘(D) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this paragraph—
‘‘(i) FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.—The term ‘financial
institution’ has the meaning given to such term by
section 469A(d)(1).
‘‘(ii) ACCOUNT.—The term ‘account’ means a
demand deposit account, checking or negotiable with-
drawal order account, savings account, time deposit
account, or money-market mutual fund account.’’.
SEC. 373. ENFORCEMENT OF ORDERS AGAINST PATERNAL OR
MATERNAL 
GRANDPARENTS 
IN 
CASES 
OF 
MINOR
PARENTS.
Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by sections 315,
317, 323, 365, 369, and 372 of this Act, is amended by inserting
after paragraph (17) the following new paragraph:
‘‘(18) ENFORCEMENT
OF
ORDERS
AGAINST
PATERNAL
OR
MATERNAL
GRANDPARENTS.—Procedures under which, at the
State’s option, any child support order enforced under this
part with respect to a child of minor parents, if the custodial
parent of such child is receiving assistance under the State
program under part A, shall be enforceable, jointly and sever-
ally, against the parents of the noncustodial parent of such
child.’’.
SEC. 374. NONDISCHARGEABILITY IN BANKRUPTCY OF CERTAIN
DEBTS FOR THE SUPPORT OF A CHILD.
(a) AMENDMENT TO TITLE 11 OF THE UNITED STATES CODE.—
Section 523(a) of title 11, United States Code, is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph (16);
(2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (17)
and inserting ‘‘; or’’;
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(18) owed under State law to a State or municipality
that is—
‘‘(A) in the nature of support, and
‘‘(B) enforceable under part D of title IV of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).’’; and
(4) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘section 402(a)(26)’’ and
inserting ‘‘section 408(a)(3)’’.
(b) AMENDMENT TO THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT.—Section 456(b)
(42 U.S.C. 656(b)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(b) NONDISCHARGEABILITY.—A debt (as defined in section 101
of title 11 of the United States Code) owed under State law to
a State (as defined in such section) or municipality (as defined
in such section) that is in the nature of support and that is enforce-
able under this part is not released by a discharge in bankruptcy
under title 11 of the United States Code.’’.
H. R. 3734—152
(c) APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply only with respect to cases commenced under
title 11 of the United States Code after the date of the enactment
of this Act.
SEC. 375. CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT FOR INDIAN TRIBES.
(a) CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AGREEMENTS.—Section 454
(42 U.S.C. 654), as amended by sections 301(b), 303(a), 312(b),
313(a), 333, 343(b), 370(a)(2), and 371(b) of this Act, is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (31);
(2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (32)
and inserting ‘‘; and’’;
(3) by adding after paragraph (32) the following new para-
graph:
‘‘(33) provide that a State that receives funding pursuant
to section 428 and that has within its borders Indian country
(as defined in section 1151 of title 18, United States Code)
may enter into cooperative agreements with an Indian tribe
or tribal organization (as defined in subsections (e) and (l)
of section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education
Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b)), if the Indian tribe or tribal
organization demonstrates that such tribe or organization has
an established tribal court system or a Court of Indian Offenses
with the authority to establish paternity, establish, modify,
and enforce support orders, and to enter support orders in
accordance with child support guidelines established by such
tribe or organization, under which the State and tribe or
organization shall provide for the cooperative delivery of child
support enforcement services in Indian country and for the
forwarding of all funding collected pursuant to the functions
performed by the tribe or organization to the State agency,
or conversely, by the State agency to the tribe or organization,
which shall distribute such funding in accordance with such
agreement.’’; and
(4) by adding at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘Noth-
ing in paragraph (33) shall void any provision of any cooperative
agreement entered into before the date of the enactment of
such paragraph, nor shall such paragraph deprive any State
of jurisdiction over Indian country (as so defined) that is law-
fully exercised under section 402 of the Act entitled ‘An Act
to prescribe penalties for certain acts of violence or intimidation,
and for other purposes’, approved April 11, 1968 (25 U.S.C.
1322).’’.
(b) DIRECT FEDERAL FUNDING TO INDIAN TRIBES AND TRIBAL
ORGANIZATIONS.—Section 455 (42 U.S.C. 655) is amended by adding
at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(b) The Secretary may, in appropriate cases, make direct pay-
ments under this part to an Indian tribe or tribal organization
which has an approved child support enforcement plan under this
title. In determining whether such payments are appropriate, the
Secretary shall, at a minimum, consider whether services are being
provided to eligible Indian recipients by the State agency through
an agreement entered into pursuant to section 454(34).’’.
(c) COOPERATIVE ENFORCEMENT AGREEMENTS.—Paragraph (7)
of section 454 (42 U.S.C. 654) is amended by inserting ‘‘and Indian
tribes or tribal organizations (as defined in subsections (e) and
H. R. 3734—153
(l) of section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education
Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b))’’ after ‘‘law enforcement officials’’.
(d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (c) of section 428
(42 U.S.C. 628) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(c) For purposes of this section, the terms ‘Indian tribe’ and
‘tribal organization’ shall have the meanings given such terms
by subsections (e) and (l) of section 4 of the Indian Self-Determina-
tion and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b), respectively.’’.
Subtitle H—Medical Support
SEC. 381. CORRECTION TO ERISA DEFINITION OF MEDICAL CHILD
SUPPORT ORDER.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 609(a)(2)(B) of the Employee Retire-
ment Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1169(a)(2)(B)) is
amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘issued by a court of competent jurisdiction’’;
(2) by striking the period at the end of clause (ii) and
inserting a comma; and
(3) by adding, after and below clause (ii), the following:
‘‘if such judgment, decree, or order (I) is issued by a court
of competent jurisdiction or (II) is issued through an
administrative process established under State law and
has the force and effect of law under applicable State
law.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by this section
shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(2) PLAN AMENDMENTS NOT REQUIRED UNTIL JANUARY 1,
1997.—Any amendment to a plan required to be made by an
amendment made by this section shall not be required to be
made before the 1st plan year beginning on or after January
1, 1997, if—
(A) during the period after the date before the date
of the enactment of this Act and before such 1st plan
year, the plan is operated in accordance with the require-
ments of the amendments made by this section; and
(B) such plan amendment applies retroactively to the
period after the date before the date of the enactment
of this Act and before such 1st plan year.
A plan shall not be treated as failing to be operated in accord-
ance with the provisions of the plan merely because it operates
in accordance with this paragraph.
SEC. 382. ENFORCEMENT OF ORDERS FOR HEALTH CARE COVERAGE.
Section 466(a) (42 U.S.C. 666(a)), as amended by sections 315,
317, 323, 365, 369, 372, and 373 of this Act, is amended by inserting
after paragraph (18) the following new paragraph:
‘‘(19) HEALTH CARE COVERAGE.—Procedures under which
all child support orders enforced pursuant to this part shall
include a provision for the health care coverage of the child,
and in the case in which a noncustodial parent provides such
coverage and changes employment, and the new employer pro-
vides health care coverage, the State agency shall transfer
notice of the provision to the employer, which notice shall
H. R. 3734—154
operate to enroll the child in the noncustodial parent’s health
plan, unless the noncustodial parent contests the notice.’’.
Subtitle I—Enhancing Responsibility and
Opportunity for Non-Residential Parents
SEC. 391. GRANTS TO STATES FOR ACCESS AND VISITATION PRO-
GRAMS.
Part D of title IV (42 U.S.C. 651–669), as amended by section
353 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following
new section:
‘‘SEC. 469B. GRANTS TO STATES FOR ACCESS AND VISITATION PRO-
GRAMS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administration for Children and Fami-
lies shall make grants under this section to enable States to estab-
lish and administer programs to support and facilitate noncustodial
parents’ access to and visitation of their children, by means of
activities including mediation (both voluntary and mandatory),
counseling, education, development of parenting plans, visitation
enforcement (including monitoring, supervision and neutral drop-
off and pickup), and development of guidelines for visitation and
alternative custody arrangements.
‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of the grant to be made
to a State under this section for a fiscal year shall be an amount
equal to the lesser of—
‘‘(1) 90 percent of State expenditures during the fiscal
year for activities described in subsection (a); or
‘‘(2) the allotment of the State under subsection (c) for
the fiscal year.
‘‘(c) ALLOTMENTS TO STATES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The allotment of a State for a fiscal
year is the amount that bears the same ratio to $10,000,000
for grants under this section for the fiscal year as the number
of children in the State living with only 1 biological parent
bears to the total number of such children in all States.
‘‘(2) MINIMUM ALLOTMENT.—The Administration for Chil-
dren and Families shall adjust allotments to States under para-
graph (1) as necessary to ensure that no State is allotted
less than—
‘‘(A) $50,000 for fiscal year 1997 or 1998; or
‘‘(B) $100,000 for any succeeding fiscal year.
‘‘(d) NO SUPPLANTATION OF STATE EXPENDITURES FOR SIMILAR
ACTIVITIES.—A State to which a grant is made under this section
may not use the grant to supplant expenditures by the State for
activities specified in subsection (a), but shall use the grant to
supplement such expenditures at a level at least equal to the
level of such expenditures for fiscal year 1995.
‘‘(e) STATE ADMINISTRATION.—Each State to which a grant is
made under this section—
‘‘(1) may administer State programs funded with the grant,
directly or through grants to or contracts with courts, local
public agencies, or nonprofit private entities;
‘‘(2) shall not be required to operate such programs on
a statewide basis; and