An Act To Create a Gambling Offset To Enhance the Collection of Child Support
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 0982
Committee Amendment CA_A_H449 (House)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ·A" to H.P. 696, L.D. 982, Bill, "An Act To Create 
a Gambling Offset To Enhance the Collection of Child Support" 
Amend the bill by inserting before section 1 the following: 
'Sec. 1. 8 MRS A §300-B is enacted to read: 
§300-B. Interception of pari-mutuel winnings to pay child support debt 
1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings. 
A. "Child support debt" means child support debt that has been liquidated by judicial 
or administrative action. 
B. "Department" means the Department of Health and Human Services. 
C. "Registry operator" mt:ans the department or an entity with whom the department 
enters into a contract to maintain the registry pursuant to subsection 3. 
2. Interception. A licensee shall intercept pari-mutuel winnings to pay child support 
debt in accordance with this se.ction. 
3. Registry. The department shall create and maintain, or shall contract with a 
private entity to create and maintain, a secure, electronically accessible registry 
containing information regarding individuals with outstanding child support debt. The 
department shall regularly enter into the registry information including: 
A. The name and social security number of each individual with outstanding child 
support debt; 
B. The account number or identifier assigned by the department to the outstanding 
child support debt; 
C. The amount of the out~tanding child support debt; and 
D. Any other information necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
o",S 
~ 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ·A "to H.P. 696, L.D. 982 
4. Electronic access to information; procedures. A licensee shall electronically 
access the registry in accordance with this subsection. 
A. Before making a payout on a winning wager of an amount equal to or greater than 
the amount for which the licensee is required to file a Form W-2G or substantially 
equivalent form with the United States Internal Revenue Service, the licensee shall 
obtain the name, address, date of birth and social security number of the individual 
who placed the winning wager and shall electronically submit this information to the 
registry operator. 
B. Upon receipt of information pursuant to paragraph A, the registry operator shall 
electronically inform the licensee whether the individual who placed the winning 
wager is listed in the registry. If the individual is listed in the registry, the registry 
operator shall inform the licensee of the amount of the individual's outstanding child 
support debt and the account number or identifier assigned to the outstanding child 
support debt and shall provide the licensee with a notice of withholding that informs 
the individual of the right to an administrative hearing. 
C. If the registry operator informs the licensee that the individual who placed a 
winning wager is not listed in the registry or if the licensee is unable to obtain 
information from the registry operator on a real-time basis after attempting in good 
faith to do so, the licensee may make payment to the individual. 
D. If the registry operator informs the licensee that the individual who placed a 
winning wager is listed in the registry, the licensee may not make payment to the 
individual unless the amount of the payout exceeds the amount of outstanding child 
support debt, in which case the licensee may make payment to the individual of the 
amount of winnings that is in excess of the amount of the individual's outstanding 
child support debt. 
S. Lien a2ainst winnings. If the registry operatoI-informs a licensee pursuant to thisu 
section that an individual who placed a winning wager is listed in the registry, the 
department has a valid lien upon and claim of lien against the payout on the winning 
wager in the amount of the individual's outstanding child support debt. 
6. Withholding of winnings. The licensee shall withhold from any payout on a 
winning wager an amount equal to the amount of the lien created under subsection 5 and 
shall provide a notice of withholding to the individual who placed the winning wager. 
Within 7 days after withholding an amount pursuant to this subsection, the licensee shall 
transmit the amount withheld to the department together with a report of the name, 
address and social security number of the individual from whom payment was withheld, 
the account number or identifier assigned to the debt, the amount withheld, the date of 
withholding and the name and location of the licensee. 
7. Licensee costs. Notwithstanding subsection 6, the licensee may retain $10 from 
an amount withheld pursuant to this section to cover the cost of the licensee's compliance 
with this section. 
8. Administrative hearing. An individual from whom an amount was withheld 
pursuant to this section has the right, within 15 days of receipt of the notice of 
withholding, to request from the department an administrative hearing. The hearing is 
limited to questions of whether the debt is liquidated and whether any postliquidation 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
o~s 
~ 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,;4 "to H.P. 696, L.D. 982 
events have affected the individual's liability. 
The administrative hearing decision 
constitutes final agency action. 
9. Authorization to provide information. Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law to the contrary, the licensee may provide to the department or registry operator any 
information necessary to effectuate the intent of this section. The department or registry 
operator may provide to the licensee any information necessary to effectuate the intent of 
this section. 
10. Confidentiality of information. The information obtained by the department or 
registry operator from a licensee pursuant to this section and the information obtained by 
the licensee from the department or registry operator pursuant to this section are 
confidential and may be used only for the purposes set forth in this section. An employee 
or prior employee of the department, the registry operator or a licensee who knowingly or 
intentionally discloses any such information commits a civil violation for which a fine not 
to exceed $1,000 may be adjudged. 
11. Effect of compliance; noncompliance. A licensee, the department and the 
registry operator are not Habit! for any action taken in good faith to comply with this 
section. A licensee who fails to make a good faith effort to obtain information from the 
registry operator or who fails to withhold and transmit the amount of the lien created 
under subsection 5 is liable to the department for the greater of $500 and the amount the 
licensee is required to withhold and transmit to the department under this section, 
together with costs, interest and reasonable attorney's fees. 
12. Exemption for agricultural fairs. This section does not apply to payouts on 
winning wagers placed on races conducted at agricultural fairs. 
13. 
Biennial review. 
The department shall report to the Legislature and the 
Governor on or before January 31,2015 and biennially thereafter on: 
A. 
The number of namc~s of individuals submitted by licensees to the registry 
operator pursuant to this section in each of the preceding 2 calendar years; 
B. The number of individuals who were found to be listed in the registry in each of 
the preceding 2 calendar ye:ars; 
C. The amount of winnings withheld by licensees pursuant to this section in each of 
the preceding 2 calendar ye:ars; and 
D. 
The amount of withheld winnings refunded to individuals as the result of 
administrative hearings reHuested pursuant to this section in each of the preceding 2 
calendar years.' 
Amend the bill in section 1 in § 1066 in subsection 4 in paragraph C in the 2nd line 
(page 2, line 4 in L.D.) by inserting after the following: "operator" the following: 'on a 
real-time basis' 
Amend the bill in section 1 in § 1066 in subsection 6 in the 3rd line (page 2, line 17 in 
L.D.) by striking out the following: "24 hours" and inserting the following: '7 days' 
Amend the bill in section 1 in § 1 066 by striking out all of subsection 10 (page 2, lines 
to 42 in L.D.) and inserting the following: 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
o~s 
~ 
l3 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT·A "to H.P. 696, L.D. 982 
'10. Confidentiality of information. The information obtained by the department or 
registry operator from a licensee pursuant to this section and the information obtained by 
the licensee from the department or registry operator pursuant to this section are 
confidential and may be used only for the purposes set forth in this section. An employee 
or prior employee of the department. the registry operator or a licensee who knowingly or 
intentionally discloses any such information commits a civil violation for which a fine not 
to exceed $1,000 may be adjudged.' 
Amend the bill in section 1 in § 1 066 by striking out all of subsection 11 (page 3, lines 
and 2 in L.D.) and inserting the following: 
'11. Effect of compliance; noncompliance. A licensee, the department and the 
registry operator are not liable for any action taken in good faith to comply with this 
section. A licensee who fails to make a good faith effort to obtain information from the 
registry operator or who fails to withhold and transmit the amount of the lien created 
under subsection 5 is liable to the department for the greater of $500 and the amount the 
person was required to withhold and transmit to the department under this section, 
together with costs, interest and reasonable attorney's fees.' 
Amend the bill by adding after section 1 the following: 
'Sec. 2. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and 
allocations are made. 
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF (FORMERLY DHS) 
Child Support 0100 
Initiative: Allocates funds for the one-time technology costs of implementing a registry of 
individuals with outstanding child support debt. 
--------
--
----
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS 
All Other 
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL 
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families 0138 
2013-14 
$102,146 
$102,146 
Initiative: Allocates funds for additional child support payments to families. 
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS 
All Other 
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL 
2013-14 
$121,275 
$121,275 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
2014-15 
$0 
$0 
2014-15 
$121,275 
$121,275 
o-«s 
~ 
lO 
~ 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 696, L.D. 982 
HEAL TH AND HUMAN SERVICES, 
DEPARTMENT OF (FORMERLY DHS) 
DEPARTMENT TOTALS 
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS 
DEPARTMENT TOTAL-ALL FUNDS 
2013-14 
2014-15 
$223,421 
$121,275 
$223,421 
$121,275 
Amend the bill by relett;:ring or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment requires licensees that conduct pari-mutuel wagering on horse 
racing in this State, in addition to the licensees that operate slot machines and table games 
as included in the bill, to inten:ept the gambling winnings of individuals with outstanding 
child support debt and requin~s that those amounts be forwarded to the Department of 
Health and Human Services. 
This amendment clarifies that, if the licensee is unable to obtain the child support 
obligor information from the r,~gistry owner on a real-time basis after attempting in good 
faith to do so, the licensee may make payment to the individual. 
The bill requires the licemee to transmit the amount withheld to the Department of 
Health and Human Services within 24 hours. 
This amendment extends the time to 
transmit the withheld amount to within 7 days. 
This amendment clarifies that the information obtained by the department or the 
registry operator from a licensee and the information obtained by the licensee from the 
----department or the registry operator are Gonfidential. 
It-provides that-kIKlnEl403-1'.'NvHin*g~olFr------­
intentional disclosure of the information is a civil violation for which a fine not to exceed 
$1,000 may be adjudged. 
This amendment provides that a licensee who fails to make a good faith effort to 
obtain information from the n~gistry operator or who fails to withhold and transmit the 
amount of the lien is liable to the department for the greater of $500 and the amount the 
licensee is required to withhold and transmit to the department, together with costs, 
interest and reasonable attorney's fees. 
The amendment also adds an appropriations and allocations section. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 06/10/13 ;tvac 
LD982 
LR 1607(02) 
An Act To Create a Gambling Offset To Enhance the Collection of Child Support 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment "ft.' ( H -4 4C1 ) 
Committee: Judiciary 
Appropriationsl Allocations 
Other Special Revenue Funds 
Revenue 
Federal Expenditures Fund 
Other Special Revenue Funds 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
FY 2013-14 
FY 2014-15 
$223,421 
$121,275 
($23,909) 
($23,909) 
$157,500 
$157,500 
Projections 
FY 2015-16 
$121,275 
($23,909) 
$157,500 
Projections 
FY 2016-17 
$121,275 
($23,909) 
$157,500---
Provides Other Special Revenue Funds allocations to the Department of Health and Human Services for the one-time 
technology costs of implementation and for additional child support payments to families. Also assumes additional 
collections of child support payments based on the experience of other states with gambling intercept laws. 
LRI607(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1