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State Representative Tina Liebling
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-0573
For more information contact: Melissa Parker 651-296-8873
Press/News Releases
State Collection of Spousal Support Will Not be Cut Off Under Bill By Rep. Liebling
ST. PAUL, MN -- The Minnesota Department of Human Services will continue to help divorcees collect spousal support under the terms of a bill being proposed by Rep. Tina Liebling, Rochester. The bill clarifies that DHS does have a mandate to help collect those payments through salary withholding in cases that do not involve child support collection.
Liebling said her bill is in response to DHS plans to discontinue providing that assistance.
This past August, DHS sent a letter to about 1,700 people receiving their help in collecting support payments through income withholding. In the letter they said they would stop providing this service in June 2005.
DHS has said that that they have no state mandate to collect payments in cases that don't include child support, but there has been disagreement on this point. Liebling's bill simply clarifies that DHS has the authority to continue the practice by specifying that "spousal maintenance" is included in the definition of "support order" under Minnesota law.
Some legislators have reported receiving panicked communications from constituents fearing their loss of state assistance in collecting court-ordered spousal maintenance payments.
Liebling said having DHS continue this service is important because many of the 1,700 people who would be affected by a change are older women who have experienced domestic abuse and/or have mental or physical disabilities. "The existing system has been a cost-effective way for these people, mostly women, to reliably receive payments owed to them," she said.
News Items
- Rep. Tina Liebling Named Chair of House Health and Human Services Policy Committee - (Posted: 2012-11-16 00:00:00)
- Statement on DEED Bonding Project Announcement - (Posted: 2012-09-13 00:00:00)
- Local Legislators to Hold Town Hall Meeting - (Posted: 2012-07-19 00:00:00)
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