AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 20, 2026

AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 3, 2026

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 22, 2026

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

96

Introduced by Assembly Member Celeste Rodriguez

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Papan)

February 19, 2026

An act to amend Section 17520.5 of the Family Code, relating to child support.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

Existing law delegates to the Department of Child Support Services and local child support agencies the responsibility for collecting and enforcing child support obligations, including child support delinquencies, as defined. Existing law requires a local child support agency to maintain a list of those persons included in certain child support cases. Existing law requires the Department of Child Support Services to consolidate and certify the local child support agency lists and provide the consolidated list to specified state entities that are responsible for the regulation of licenses, including, but not limited to, the Department of Motor Vehicles. Existing law requires those entities, prior to the issuance or renewal of a license, to determine whether the applicant is on the most recent certified consolidated list provided by the department and authorizes the entity to withhold issuance or renewal of the license of an applicant on the list, as specified. Existing law prohibits a local child support agency from issuing a release removing an obligor from license suspension or denial if the obligor is not in compliance with a judgment or order for support. Existing law prohibits the department from including in the list sent to the Department of Motor Vehicles, for the purpose of denying, withholding, or suspending a driver’s license, the information of a support obligor whose annual household income is at or below 70% of the median income for the county in which the department or the local child enforcement agency believes the support obligor resides. Commencing January 1, 2027, existing law would only apply this prohibition to noncommercial driver’s licenses.

This bill would delete the provision making this prohibition applicable only to noncommercial driver’s licenses. The bill would instead prohibit an obligor from being included on that the list sent to the Department of Motor Vehicles for purposes of denying, withholding, or suspending a noncommercial driver’s license, if the support obligor’s annual income is 70% or less of the median income for a household of one person within the applicable. applicable county, as specified. The bill would, for all boards other than the Department of Motor Vehicles, would also entitle a support obligor to relief from denying, withholding, or suspending any license, other than a driver’s license, license, other than a noncommercial driver’s license issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles, if they provide proof to the local child support agency that their income is at or below that threshold. The bill would authorize the department to implement and administer these provisions through a child support services letter. The bill would make these provisions operative on January 1, 2027, or on the date the department notifies the Legislature that the California Child Support Enforcement System can perform the necessary automation to implement these changes, whichever is later.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 17520.5 of the Family Code is amended to read:

17520.5.

(a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, the department shall not include in the list sent to the Department of Motor Vehicles pursuant to Section 17520, for the purpose of denying, withholding, or suspending a noncommercial driver’s license, the information of a support obligor found to be out of compliance with a judgment or order for support in a case being enforced under Title IV-D of the federal Social Security Act, if the annual income of the support obligor is at or below 70 percent of the median income for a household of one person within the county in which the department or the local child support agency believes the support obligor resides, based on the most recent available data published by the Department of Housing and Community Development pursuant to Section 6932 of Title 25 of the California Code of Regulations or successor regulation thereto.

(2) For all boards, licenses, as defined in Section 17520, other than a noncommercial driver’s license issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles, a support obligor shall be entitled to relief from denying, withholding, or suspending any license, as defined in Section 17520, other than a driver’s license, license if the support obligor provides proof to the local child support agency that their income is at or below the threshold provided in paragraph (1).

(3) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to limit or prohibit an obligor’s ability to reach an agreement with the local child support agency for relief from denying, withholding, or suspending any license pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 17520, or from seeking judicial review of a local child support agency’s decision pursuant to subdivision (k) of Section 17520.

(b) This section shall be implemented to the extent allowed under federal law.

(c) Notwithstanding the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with section Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the department may implement and administer this section through a child support services letter or similar instruction, without taking any regulatory action.

(d) The changes made to this section by the act that added this subdivision shall become operative on January 1, 2027, or on the date the department notifies the Legislature that the California Child Support Enforcement System can perform the necessary automation to implement these changes, whichever is later.