An Act To Improve Child Support Services
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 1541
Committee Amendment CA_B_H539 (House)
Amends: 19-A MRSA §2360-B

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT '13" to H.P. 1066, L.D. 1541, Bill, "An Act To 
Improve Child Support Services" 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 1 the following: 
'Sec.2. 19-A MRSA §2360-B is enacted to read: 
§2360-B. Setoff of debts against gam hling winnings 
1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings. 
A. "Child support debt" means a child support debt owed to the State that has been 
liquidated by judicial or administrative action. 
B. 
"Slot machine" has the same meaning as set forth in Title 8, section 1001, 
subsection 39. 
C. "Slot machine operator" has the same meaning as set forth in Title 8, section 
1001, subsection 42. 
D. "Slot machine winnings" or "winnings" means the cash, tokens or credits to be 
exchanged for cash, merchandise or anything of value that a person playing a slot 
machine receives. 
2. Reportable winnings; determination whether child support obligor. A slot 
machine operator may not pay to an individual any slot machine winnings meeting the 
criteria for reporting to the federal Internal Revenue Service pursuant to the Internal 
Revenue Code, 26 United States Code, Section 6041 until the slot machine operator has 
complied with this section. 
A. The slot machine operator shall determine according to the method provided by 
the department pursuant to subsection 4 whether the winner is a person who owes a 
child support debt. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT:/3- to H.P. 1066, L.D. 1541 
B. Ifthe winner is a person who owes a child support debt, the slot machine operator 
shall pay the department the child support debt due from the winnings and notify the 
winner of the offset. The slot machine operator shall pay the winner any remaining 
amount of the winnings not offset by the child support debt. 
C. The slot machine operator shall inform a winner determined to be a person who 
owes a child support debt of the winner's right to request a hearing before the 
department. The winner has 30 days from the date the winner receives notice of the 
offset to request a hearing. 
D. The department shall hold winnings paid to the department under paragraph B 
until the time to request a hearing has lapsed or until a hearing is held. 
The 
department shall refund the money to the winner if it is determined that the child 
support debt is not owed. 
3. Hearing. If the winner requests a hearing pursuant to subsection 2, paragraph C 
within 30 days of the receipt of the notice of the offset of the child support debt against 
the winnings, the department shall hold a hearing. The hearing is limited to the questions 
of whether the debt is liquidated and whether post-liquidation events have affected the 
winner's liability. The decision of the department as to the existence of a liquidated debt 
constitutes final agency action. 
4. Method for determination of child support obligors, child support debt. The 
department shall provide a method by which a slot machine operator can determine 
within a reasonable time whether a winner is a person who owes a child support debt and 
the amount ofthe debt to be set off. 
5. Written materials. The department shall provide to a slot machine operator 
written information for the slot machine operator to provide to winners who are 
determined to be persons who owe a child support debt. The written information must 
explain the set-off process and the winner's right to request a hearing and the procedure 
for doing so. 
6. Confidentiality. Any information about a person who owes a child support debt 
provided by the department to a slot machine operator under this section is confidential. 
The information may be used by· the slot machine operator only for the purpose of 
carrying out the requirements of this section. Use or disclosure of the information for any 
other purpose is a Class E crime. 
7. Immunity from liability. A slot machine operator is immune from criminal and 
civil liability for its good faith actions to comply with this section. 
8. Penalties. A slot machine operator who knowingly fails to comply with the offset 
procedures as outlined by this section is subject to a fine of $1.000 per violation. ' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment is the minority report of the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary. 
This amendment requires gambling facilities operating slot machines to offset 
gambling winnings in a similar fashion as the Department of Administrative and 
Financial Services, Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations must when an 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMlTIEE AMENDMENT· .b '" M.P. 1066, L.D. 1541 
individual wins the lottery for the purpose of collecting child support debts prior to 
dispersing winnings to a child support obligor. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Revised: 06105/07 Mac 
LD 1541 
LR 828(03) 
An Act To Improve Child Support Services 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment -:f;" 
Committee: Judiciary 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Potential future biennium revenue increase - Other Special Revenue Funds 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Minor revenue increase - General Fund 
'":orrectional and Judicial Impact Statements 
Establishes a new civil violation and a Class E crime. 
The collection of additional fines may also increase General Fund revenue by minor amounts. 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
The bill allows the Department of Health and Human Services to meet the requirements of the federal Deficit 
Reduction Act of 2005, to impose an annual fee in each case in which the state has collected at least $500 in child 
support on behalf of an individual who has never received assistance under a state program. The fiscal note assumes 
the department will not assess the fee until it is cost effective to do so but will still need to reimburse the federal 
government for its share of the fee which the department will do from the state share of exiting child support 
collections. It is further assumed there will be some 2,000 such cases paying a fee of $25, totaling $50,000, with a 
federal share of approximately $33,000. The fiscal note also assumes any additional costs to the Department of Health 
and Human Services in implementing a slot machine gambling winnings child support offset can be absorbed by the 
department utilizing existing resources and the revenue generated by the offset. 
LR0828(03) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1