An Act To Enhance Tribal-State Collaboration in the Enforcement of Child Support
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 0562
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: TALBOT ROSS
Amends: 19-A MRSA §2201-A, 19-A MRSA §2360-B, 19-A MRSA §2360-C

Legislative Document
No. 562
H.P. 407
House of Representatives, February 24, 2021
An Act To Enhance Tribal-State Collaboration in the Enforcement 
of Child Support
Received by the Clerk of the House on February 22, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Judiciary pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative TALBOT ROSS of Portland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  19-A MRSA §2201-A is enacted to read:
§2201-A.  Notice to licensing boards and obligor; judicial review; Penobscot Nation
1.  Notice.  The Penobscot Nation may serve notice upon a support obligor who is not 
in compliance with an order of support that informs the obligor of the Penobscot Nation's 
intention to submit the obligor's name to the appropriate board as a licensee who is not in 
compliance with an order of support.  The notice must inform the obligor that:
A.  The obligor may request a court hearing in the Penobscot Nation Tribal Court to 
contest the issue of compliance;
B.  A request for hearing must be made in writing and must be received by the 
Penobscot National Tribal Court within 20 days of service;
C.  If the obligor requests a hearing within 20 days of service, the Penobscot Nation 
shall stay the action to certify the obligor to a board for noncompliance with an order 
of support pending a hearing;
D.  If the obligor does not request a hearing within 20 days of service and is not in 
compliance with an order of support, the Penobscot Nation shall certify the obligor to 
the appropriate board for noncompliance with an order of support;
E.  If the Penobscot Nation certifies the obligor to a board for noncompliance with an 
order of support, the board must revoke the obligor's license and refuse to issue or 
reissue a license until the obligor provides the board with a written confirmation of 
compliance from the Penobscot Nation that states the obligor is in compliance with the 
obligor's order of support.  A revocation by an agency or a refusal by an agency to 
reissue, renew or otherwise extend the license or certificate of authority is deemed a 
final determination within the meaning of Title 5, section 10002; and
F.  The obligor can comply with an order of support by:
(1)  Paying current support;
(2)  Paying all past-due support or, if unable to pay all past-due support and a 
periodic payment for past-due support has not been ordered by the court, by making 
periodic payments in accordance with a written payment agreement with the 
Penobscot Nation; and
(3)  Meeting the obligor's health insurance obligation.
The notice must include the address and telephone number of the Penobscot Nation's 
support enforcement office that issues the notice and a statement of the need to obtain a 
written confirmation of compliance from that office as provided in subsection 8.  The 
Penobscot Nation shall attach a copy of the obligor's order of support to the notice.  Service 
of the notice must be made in the manner provided for service of summons by the Maine 
Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 4.  For purposes of this subsection, this must be deemed to 
be an action pursuant to Chapter XIII of the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure.
2.  Written agreement to pay past-due support.  An obligor who is presently unable 
to pay all past-due support may come into compliance with the support order by executing 
a written payment agreement with the Penobscot Nation and by complying with that 
agreement.  A condition of a written payment agreement must be that the obligor pay the 
current child support when due.  Before a written payment agreement is executed, the 
obligor shall:
A.  Disclose fully to the Penobscot Nation in writing on a form prescribed by the 
Penobscot Nation the obligor's financial circumstances, including income from all 
sources, assets, liabilities and work history for the past year; and
B.  Provide documentation to the Penobscot Nation concerning the obligor's financial 
circumstances, including copies of the most recent state and federal income tax returns, 
both personal and business, a copy of a recent pay stub representative of current income 
and copies of other records that show the obligor's income and the present value of 
assets held by the obligor.
After full disclosure, the Penobscot Nation shall determine the obligor's ability to pay past-
due support and request the obligor to execute a written payment agreement consistent with 
the obligor's ability to pay, not to exceed the limits on income withholding in section 2356.
3.  Failure to comply with written agreement.  Failure to comply with a written 
payment agreement is grounds for license revocation unless the obligor notifies the 
Penobscot Nation that the obligor is unable to comply with the agreement and provides the 
Penobscot Nation with evidence of the obligor's current financial circumstances to support 
the claim.  The consequences of failing to comply with a written payment agreement and 
the requirements to avoid license revocation, if the obligor cannot comply with the 
agreement, must be stated in the agreement.  If the obligor claims inability to comply with 
a written payment agreement, the Penobscot Nation, upon motion to the Penobscot Nation 
Tribal Court, may request the court to determine the obligor's ability to pay past-due 
support.  After notice and an opportunity for hearing, the court may make a finding of 
money due, render judgment in that amount and order execution and levy, order installment 
payments, order an employer or payor of earnings to make direct payments, order 
attachment, order any other method of enforcement that may be used in a civil action or 
order the judgment debtor to give security, post a bond or give some other guarantee to 
secure payment of the judgment.
4.  Hearing.  An obligor may request a hearing in the Penobscot Nation Tribal Court 
upon service of the notice described in subsection 1.  The request for hearing must be made 
in writing and must be received by the Penobscot Nation Tribal Court within 20 days of 
service.  The issues that may be determined at hearing are limited to whether the obligor is 
required to pay child support under an order of support and whether the obligor is in 
compliance with an order of support.  The obligor may raise additional issues, including 
the reasonableness of a payment agreement in light of the obligor's current circumstances, 
to be preserved for appeal.
5.  Order.  The Penobscot Nation Tribal Court shall issue an order after hearing without 
undue delay as to whether the obligor is in compliance with the obligor's order of support.  
The order must be based on the hearing record.  The Penobscot Nation Tribal Court shall 
send an attested copy of the order to the obligor by regular mail to the obligor's most recent 
address of record.
6.  Stay.  If an obligor timely requests a hearing to contest the issue of compliance, the 
Penobscot Nation may not certify the name of the obligor to a board for noncompliance 
with an order of support until the Penobscot Nation Tribal Court issues an order after 
hearing that finds the obligor is not in compliance with an order of support.
7.  Certification of noncompliance.  The Penobscot Nation may certify in writing to 
the appropriate board that a support obligor is not in compliance with an order of support 
if:
A.  The obligor does not timely request a hearing upon service of a notice issued under 
subsection 1 and is not in compliance with an order of support 21 days after service of 
the notice;
B.  The Penobscot Nation issues a decision after a hearing that finds the obligor is not 
in compliance with an order of support and the obligor has not appealed the the order;
C.  The obligor abandons a timely request for a hearing on the Penobscot Nation's 
notice of noncompliance and is not in compliance with the support order; or
D.  The obligor fails to comply with a written payment agreement, does not notify the 
Penobscot Nation that the obligor is unable to comply with the agreement and does not 
provide the Penobscot Nation with evidence of the obligor's current financial 
circumstances.
The Penobscot Nation shall send by regular mail a copy of a certification of noncompliance 
filed with a board to the obligor at the obligor's most recent address of record.
8.  Notice from board.  A board shall notify an obligor certified by the Penobscot 
Nation under subsection 7, without undue delay, that the obligor's application for the 
issuance or renewal of a license may not be granted or that the obligor's license has been 
revoked because the obligor's name has been certified by the Penobscot Nation as a support 
obligor who is not in compliance with an order of support.
9.  Written confirmation of compliance.  When an obligor who is served notice under 
subsection 1 subsequently complies with the official order of support, the Penobscot Nation 
shall provide the obligor with written confirmation that the obligor is in compliance with 
the order of support.
10.  Rules.  The Penobscot Nation shall adopt rules to implement and enforce the 
requirements of this section.
11.  Agreements.  The Penobscot Nation and the various boards shall enter into 
agreements that are necessary to carry out the requirements of this section, but only to the 
extent the Penobscot Nation determines it is cost-effective.
12.  Motion to modify order of support; stay.  This section does not prohibit a support 
obligor from filing a motion to modify support with the court.  
13.  Reporting.  As soon as economically feasible and at least annually, all boards 
subject to this section and the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, 
Division of Administrative Services shall provide to the Penobscot Nation specified 
information in machine-readable or electronic form, according to standards established by 
the Penobscot Nation, about applicants for licensure and all current licensees.  The 
Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, Office of Securities shall provide the 
specified information for only those current licensees that are residents of this State.  The 
information to be provided must include all of the following information about the licensee:
A.  Name;
B.  Address of record;
C.  Federal employer identification number or social security number;
D.  Type of license;
E.  Effective date of license or renewal;
F.  Expiration date of license; and
G.  Active or inactive status.
14.  Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife report.  The Commissioner of 
Inland Fisheries and Wildlife shall provide annually to the Penobscot Nation in machine-
readable or electronic form, according to standards established by the Penobscot Nation, 
watercraft, snowmobile and all-terrain vehicle registration information concerning obligors 
who are residents of this State.  The information to be provided must include all of the 
following information about the registrant: 
A.  Name;
B.  Address of record;
C.  Make, model and identification number for each watercraft registered under Title 
12, section 13052; each snowmobile registered under Title 12, section 13104; and each 
all-terrain vehicle registered under Title 12, section 13155;
D.  Type of registration;
E.  Effective date of registration or registration renewal; and
F.  Expiration of registration.
15.  Effect of noncompliance.  The Penobscot Nation, upon receipt of the licensee 
information referred to in subsection 13 and registration information referred to in 
subsection 14, shall identify and notify each board and the Department of Professional and 
Financial Regulation, Division of Administrative Services, of the names of their licensees 
and registrants who are support obligors subject to this section.  The notice must include 
the social security number and address of the support obligor, the name, address and 
telephone number of the Penobscot Nation's designee for implementing this section and a 
certification by the Penobscot Nation that it has verified that the licensee or registrant is a 
support obligor subject to this section.  When the Penobscot Nation notifies a board under 
this subsection, the Penobscot Nation shall provide adequate notice of its action to the 
obligor.  The notice must inform the obligor of the right to request a hearing on the issue 
of whether the obligor is in compliance with an order of support.  The board may not issue 
or renew a license or registration to a person whose name is on the most recent list from 
the Penobscot Nation until the board receives a copy of the written confirmation of 
compliance specified in subsection 9.
16.  Subsequent reissuance, renewal or other extension of license or certificate.  
The board may reissue, renew or otherwise extend the license or certificate of authority in 
accordance with the board's rules after the board receives a copy of the written confirmation 
of compliance specified in subsection 9.  A board may waive any applicable requirement 
for reissuance, renewal or other extension if it determines that the imposition of that 
requirement places an undue burden on the person and that waiver of the requirement is 
consistent with the public interest.
Sec. 2.  19-A MRSA §2360-B is enacted to read:
§2360-B.  Setoff of debts against lottery winnings; Penobscot Nation
1.  Notice to Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations.  The 
Penobscot Nation shall periodically notify the Department of Administrative and Financial 
Services, Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations, referred to in this section 
as "the bureau," of all persons who owe the Penobscot Nation a child support debt that has 
been liquidated by judicial or administrative action.  Prior to paying any state lottery 
winnings that must be paid directly by the bureau, the bureau shall determine whether the 
lottery winner is on the list of persons who owe a child support debt to the Penobscot Nation 
that has been liquidated by judicial or administrative action.  If the winner is on a list of 
persons who owe child support debts, the bureau shall suspend payment of winnings and 
notify the winner of its intention to offset the winner's child support debt against the 
winnings.  The bureau shall notify the winner of the winner's right to request a hearing 
before the Penobscot Nation Tribal Court within 15 days of the winner's receipt of that 
notice.  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 order of the Penobscot 
Nation Tribal Court is final as to the debt owed.  If, within 90 days of the notice of intended 
setoff to the winner, the Penobscot Nation certifies to the bureau that the winner did not 
make a timely request for hearing or that a hearing was held and the debt was upheld, the 
bureau shall offset the liquidated debt against the winnings due to the winner.  Any 
remaining winnings are paid to the winner.  If the bureau does not hear from the Penobscot 
Nation within 90 days of the notice of intended setoff to the winner, the bureau shall release 
all winnings to the winner.
2.  Notice to Tri-state Lotto Commission.  The Penobscot Nation shall periodically 
notify the Tri-state Lotto Commission of all persons who owe the Penobscot Nation a child 
support debt that has been liquidated by judicial or administrative action.
Sec. 3.  19-A MRSA §2360-C is enacted to read:
§2360-C.  Lump-sum settlement; workers' compensation claims; Penobscot Nation
On a monthly basis, the Penobscot Nation shall notify the Workers' Compensation 
Board, referred to in this section as "the board," of the names and social security numbers 
of all persons who owe the Penobscot Nation child support debts that have been liquidated 
by judicial or administrative action.  Before approving any lump-sum settlement, the board 
shall determine whether the person receiving the settlement is on the list of persons who 
owe to the Penobscot Nation child support debts that have been liquidated by judicial or 
administrative action.  If the person is on the list, the board shall notify the Penobscot 
Nation of the pending settlement and inform the person of the notification to the Penobscot 
Nation.
SUMMARY
This bill enacts new sections providing authority to the Penobscot Nation that is parallel 
to the authority the Department of Health and Human Services has to enforce child support 
with regard to the issuance or renewal of licenses by licensing boards and registrations of 
watercraft, snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles by the Department of Inland Fisheries and 
Wildlife.  It also provides for parallel setoffs of debts against lottery winnings and lump-
sum workers' compensation payments.