Revision: Dec. 10, 2009, midnight
HB 1552-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2010 SESSION
05/09
HOUSE BILL 1552-FN
AN ACT revising the child support guidelines based on the Melson formula.
SPONSORS: Rep. Bickford, Straf 3
COMMITTEE: Children and Family Law
This bill requires the department of health and human services to revise the child support guidelines based on the Melson formula.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
10-2651
05/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT revising the child support guidelines based on the Melson formula.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Review of Child Support Guidelines; Income Shares Model. Amend RSA 458-C:6 to read as follows:
458-C:6 Review of Guidelines. Not less than once every 4 years, the department of health and human services shall review the guidelines provided under this chapter in order to determine whether application of such guidelines results in the determination of appropriate child support award amounts and, beginning April 1, 2011, shall ensure that the guidelines are based on the Melson formula for calculating child support. Upon completion of the review, the department of health and human services shall report its findings and recommendations to the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the governor. The review required under this section shall meet the requirements of 42 U.S.C. section 667 and may be conducted in conjunction with a legislative review of the child support guidelines.
2 Adoption of Melson Formula. The state of New Hampshire shall transition from an income shares model to the Melson formula for purposes of calculating child support. The Melson formula, developed by Delaware Family Court Judge Melson and more fully explained in Dalton v. Clanton, 559 A.2d 1197 (Del. 1989), shall be designed to insure that each parent’s basic needs are met in addition to the children’s. On or before November 1, 2010, the department of health and human services shall report to the speaker of the house of representatives, the senate president, and the governor any changes to RSA 458-C or other state laws and regulations required in order to use the Melson formula for the 2011 New Hampshire child support guidelines issued by the department of health and human services.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
10-2651 11/30/09
HB 1552-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT revising the child support guidelines based on the Melson formula.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Legislative Budget Assistant has determined that this legislation has a total fiscal impact of less than $10,000 in each of the fiscal years 2010 through 2014.