CHAPTER 352

H.P. 1125 - L.D. 1589

An Act To Improve Child Support Services

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 15 MRSA §3314, sub-§5, as amended by PL 1997, c. 752, §23 and PL 2003, c. 689, Pt. B, §6, is further amended to read:

5. Support orders. Whenever the court commits a juvenile to the Department of Health and Human Services, to a Department of Corrections juvenile correctional facility or to a relative or other person, the court may shall order either or both parents of the juvenile to pay a reasonable amount of support for the juvenile child support in accordance with the child support guidelines under Title 19-A, section 2006. The order is enforceable under Title 19-A, section 2603.

Sec. 2. 19-A MRSA §1615, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 466, §3 and affected by §28, is amended to read:

§1615. Representation of department

The commissioner may designate employees of the department who are not attorneys to file the record of proceedings commenced under this subchapter in District Court and to represent the department in court in both those proceedings and proceedings