AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 25, 2022
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 18, 2022
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 8, 2022
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 9, 2022
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 18, 2022
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 24, 2022
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION
91
CHAPTER 849
Statutes of 2022
[ Approved by Governor September 29, 2022. Filed with Secretary of State September 29, 2022. ]
Introduced by Senator Wieckowski
(Coauthors: Senators Hertzberg and Skinner)
February 18, 2022
An act to amend, repeal, and add Section 706.050 of the Code of Civil Procedure, relating to the enforcement of judgments.
Vote: majority Appropriation: no Fiscal committee: no Local program: no
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST
Existing law sets forth procedures for the levy of a judgment debtor’s wages when required to enforce a money judgment. Existing law specifies that the maximum amount of a judgment debtor’s disposable earnings for any workweek that is subject to levy shall not exceed the lesser of certain specified percentages, including 50% of the amount by which the disposable earnings for the week exceed 40 times the state minimum hourly wage. Existing law specifies certain multipliers to determine the maximum amount of disposable earning subject to levy for any pay period other than a weekly pay period.
This bill would provide that the maximum amount of disposable earnings of a judgment debtor for any workweek that is subject to levy must not exceed the lesser of 20% of the individual’s disposable earnings for that week or 40% of the amount by which the individual’s disposable earnings for that week exceed 48 times the state minimum hourly wage. The bill would reduce the multipliers used to determine the maximum amount of earnings subject to levy for any pay period other than a weekly pay period. The bill would make these provisions operative on September 1, 2023.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 706.050 of the Code of Civil Procedure is amended to read:
706.050.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the maximum amount of disposable earnings of an individual judgment debtor for any workweek that is subject to levy under an earnings withholding order shall not exceed the lesser of the following:
(1) Twenty-five percent of the individual’s disposable earnings for that week.
(2) Fifty percent of the amount by which the individual’s disposable earnings for that week exceed 40 times the state minimum hourly wage in effect at the time the earnings are payable. If a judgment debtor works in a location where the local minimum hourly wage is greater than the state minimum hourly wage, the local minimum hourly wage in effect at the time the earnings are payable shall be used for the calculation made pursuant to this paragraph.
(b) For any pay period other than weekly, the following multipliers shall be used to determine the maximum amount of disposable earnings subject to levy under an earnings withholding order that is proportional in effect to the calculation described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), except as specified in paragraph (1):
(1) For a daily pay period, the amounts shall be identical to the amounts described in subdivision (a).
(2) For a biweekly pay period, multiply the applicable hourly minimum wage by 80 work hours.
(3) For a semimonthly pay period, multiply the applicable hourly minimum wage by 86⅔ work hours.
(4) For a monthly pay period, multiply the applicable hourly minimum wage by 173⅓ work hours.
(c) This section shall become inoperative on September 1, 2023, and, as of January 1, 2024, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2024, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.
SEC. 2.
Section 706.050 is added to the Code of Civil Procedure, to read:
706.050.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the maximum amount of disposable earnings of an individual judgment debtor for any workweek that is subject to levy under an earnings withholding order shall not exceed the lesser of the following:
(1) Twenty percent of the individual’s disposable earnings for that week.
(2) Forty percent of the amount by which the individual’s disposable earnings for that week exceed 48 times the state minimum hourly wage in effect at the time the earnings are payable. If a judgment debtor works in a location where the local minimum hourly wage is greater than the state minimum hourly wage, the local minimum hourly wage in effect at the time the earnings are payable shall be used for the calculation made pursuant to this paragraph.
(b) For any pay period other than weekly, the following multipliers shall be used to determine the maximum amount of disposable earnings subject to levy under an earnings withholding order that is proportional in effect to the calculation described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), except as specified in paragraph (1):
(1) For a daily pay period, the amounts shall be identical to the amounts described in subdivision (a).
(2) For a biweekly pay period, multiply the applicable hourly minimum wage by 96 work hours.
(3) For a semimonthly pay period, multiply the applicable hourly minimum wage by 104 work hours.
(4) For a monthly pay period, multiply the applicable hourly minimum wage by 208 work hours.
(c) This section shall become operative on September 1, 2023.