An Act To Increase Child Support Collection by Expanding the New Hire Reporting Requirements
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 0300
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: SIMPSON, BRYANT, ALFOND, BLISS, HOBBINS, SULLIVAN, CAREY, PRIEST
Amends: 19-A MRSA §2154

FIRST REGULAR SESSIOl'"~-2009 
Legislative Document 
No. 300 
S.P.96 
In Senate, February 3,2009 
An Act To Increase Child Support Collection by Expanding the New 
Hire Reporting Requirements 
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Senator SIMPSON of Androscoggin. 
Cosponsored by Representative BRYANT of Windham and 
9rf)(J~ 
JOY 1. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate' 
Senators: ALFOND of Cumberland, BLISS of Cumberland, HOBBINS of York, SULLIVAN 
of York, Representatives: CAREY of Lewiston, PRIEST of Brunswick. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 19-A MRSA §2154, sub-§4-A, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 224, § 1, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 2. 19-A MRSA §2154, sub-§4-B is enacted to read: 
4-B. Independent contractors. An employer who reports under subsection 1 shall 
also report the contracting for services in this State with an independent contractor when 
reimbursement for such services is anticipated to equal or exceed $600. 
A. An employer required to report under this subsection may report by mailing a 
copy of the employer's federal Internal Revenue Service 1099-MISC form, 
transmitting a facsimile of the 1099-MISC form, sending magnetic tape in a 
compatible format or by other means, as mutually agreed to by the employer and the 
department, that will result in timely reporting. 
B. The employer shall report the information in this paragraph within 7 days of the 
earlier of ftrst making payments that in the aggregate equal or exceed $600 in any 
year to an independent contractor and entering into a contract or contracts with an 
independent contractor providing for payments that in the aggregate equal or exceed 
$600 in any year: 
. 
(1) The independent contractor's name, address and social security number; 
(2) The employer's name, business name, address and telephone number; 
(3) 
The employer's social security number, employment security reference 
number or unifted business identifter number; 
(4) The date the contract is executed or, if no contract, the date payments in the 
aggregate ftrst equal or exceed $600; and 
(5) The total dollar amount of the contract, if any, and the contract expiration 
date. 
Sec. 3. 19-A MRSA §2154, sub-§7, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 537, §39 and 
affected by §62, is amended to read: 
7. Transmissions to the National Directory of New Hires. Within 3 business days 
after the date information regarding a newly hired or rehired employee or independent 
contractor is entered into the department's computer system, the department shall transmit 
the information to the National Directory of New Hires maintained by the federal 
Department of Health and Human Services. After obtaining the information from the 
Department of Labor, the department shall send the National Directory of New Hires 
quarterly reports of wages and unemployment compensation benefits paid to persons who 
are reported to the department under this section as specified by federal regulations~ 
Sec. 4. 19-A MRSA §2154, sub-§10 is enacted to read: 
10. Independent contractor. For purposes of this section, "independent contractor" 
means an individual who is not an employee of the employer and who receives 
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compensation or executes a contract for services performed for that employer within or 
without this State. 
SUMMARY 
The purpose of this bill is to increase child support collection by expanding the new 
hire reporting requirements to include the reporting of independent contractors by any 
employer who is already required to report new hires. The report is required when the 
aggregate compensation to be paid to the independent contractor equals or exceeds $600. 
This is consistent with the filing of the federal Internal Revenue Service 1099-MISC form 
under federal requirements. This bill is modeled on the New Hampshire independent 
contractor reporting requirements.