Opinion ID: 874394
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Department substantially complied with the requirements under the FLLSA to commence license suspension proceedings against Wheeler.

Text: First, Wheeler asserts the Department did not have authority under the FLLSA to institute license suspension proceedings against him. Wheeler argues that because the Department did not present evidence that it notified the Department of Transportation (DOT) of Wheeler's delinquency and that the DOT failed to take action within 30 days, the Department failed to prove that it met the statutory prerequisites to commence suspension proceedings under I.C. § 7-1404. Idaho Code § 7-1404, which governs jurisdiction for license suspension proceedings, states in pertinent part: Upon notification by the department [of health and welfare] of a child support delinquency, a licensing authority shall initiate proceedings to suspend a license in accordance with its statutory process, petition the court, or refer the matter to the department to initiate proceedings for suspension of the license in accordance with the requirements of this chapter. Upon referral, or if the licensing authority takes no action within thirty (30) days after notification of the delinquency by the department, the department is authorized to commence a license suspension proceeding under this chapter. The licensing authority shall notify the department of all action taken in response to the notification of the delinquency. (Emphasis added). In sum, the Department must first notify the DOT of a licensee's child support delinquency, and then wait for the DOT to either not take action within 30 days or refer the case to the Department before the Department may commence license suspension proceedings under the FLLSA. Here, the Department established that it substantially complied with these statutory prerequisites through the affidavit of Kristy White, a policy specialist for the Department. In her affidavit, Ms. White stated: The Idaho Department of Transportation has referred all of the child support cases which qualify for license suspension to the Department for the initiation of license suspension proceedings. Ms. White's affidavit establishes that the Department met the statutory referral requirement, and thus contrary to Wheeler's assertion, it was unnecessary that the Department also prove the DOT failed to take action within 30 days. It can be reasonably inferred from her affidavit that the DOT waived the statutory prerequisite of notice when it provided a blanket referral of all cases to the Department. The notice requirement merely triggered the DOT's choice as to whether to commence license suspension proceedings itself or to refer the case back to the Department for handling of the suspension proceedings. With the blanket referral in place, it would be superfluous for us to require the Department to continue to notify the DOT of each child support delinquency case before commencing license suspension proceedings against a licensee. Because we find that the Department substantially complied with I.C. § 7-1404, we uphold the district court's decision to dismiss Wheeler's argument. [1]