Could a Louisiana district attorney use part of a court's child support expedited-process fee?

Plain-English summary

The Fifth Judicial District Attorney asked whether a court and district attorney could agree to use some of a five-percent child support fee in the Child Support Enforcement Unit. The Attorney General found no prohibition on such an agreement when the money supported the expedited process for establishing or enforcing child support orders.

The quoted statute allowed a court to assess a fee of no more than five percent of support obligations to fund administrative costs of an expedited process. The opinion said those funds should not be used for general judicial purposes and described the district attorney's Title IV-D work as part of the court-and-prosecutor system for meeting required time frames.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2002. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Could the district attorney receive part of the five-percent fee?
The AG found no prohibition on an agreement with the court allowing use of part of the fund for the child support expedited process.

What was the fee supposed to fund?
The opinion said the fee funded administrative costs of a system for expedited establishment of paternity or establishment and enforcement of support obligations, not general judicial purposes.

Did the fee reduce support owed to the recipient?
No. The statute quoted by the AG said the fee was assessed against the support payor and did not reduce child support owed to the recipient.

How much could the court assess?
The quoted statute authorized a fee of no more than five percent of existing and future support obligations.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion quoted R.S. 46:236.5B's expedited-process provision and discussed the Title IV-D service contract between the state and district attorneys. It also referenced Attorney General Opinion 96-226 for the restriction against using these funds for general judicial purposes.

Citations and references

• R.S. 46:236.5B

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/02-0242

Original opinion text

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
One American Place
301 Ma~n Street, Suite 600
OV=L aW~S=ON
P.O. Box 94005
BATON ROUGE
TEL.: (225) 342-7013
FAX: (225t 342-2090
RICHARD P. I~YOU~+
70804-9005
ATTORNEY GENERAL

AUG 1 2 2002
OPINION NO. 02-0242

15 Courts
46-A Fees & Costs
22 District and Prosecuting Attorneys
R.S. 46:236.5B
We have found no prohibitions to the courts entering into an agreement with the District Attorneys permitting the District
William R. Coenen, Jr.
Attomeys to utilize a portion of the 5% fund in the Child Enforcement
Unit in connection with expedited process to establish and enforce child support orders.
District Attorney
Fifth Judicial District
P. O. Drawer 389
Rayville, Louisiana 71209

Dear Mr. Coenen:

You have requested an opinion of the office regarding Louisiana R.S. 46:236.5 (B). Specifically, you ask:

[W]hether the judiciary and the District Attorney may enter into an agreement to permit the District Attorney to utilize a portion of the five percent (5%) fund in the Child Support Enforcement Unit in connection with expedited process to establish and enforce child support orders.

Louisiana R.S. 46.236.5 (B) states:

B. (1) Any court with jurisdiction to establish paternity or to establish or enforce support obligations shall implement an expedited process for the establishment or enforcement thereof in accordance with existing judicial procedures or the provisions of Subsection C of this Section. "Expedited process" means administrative or expedited judicial processes or both which increase effectiveness and meet completion time frames specified in Paragraphs (1) and (2) of Subsection A of this Section. Such a court may collect and distribute support obligations and may, by court order or rule, assess and collect a sum payable by the obligor as a fee of not more than five percent of all existing and future support obligations to fund the administrative costs of a system for expedited process. The fee may be assessed and collected against existing and future arrearages as well as ongoing support payments, whether or not an arrearage exists. The fee shall be assessed only against the payor of support and such assessment shall not reduce the amount of child support owed the obligee.

Page 2

OPINION NO. 02-0242
William R. Coenen, Jr.
District Attorney
5t~ Judicial Distdct
Page: -2-

The above cited statute implements the federal mandate of Title IV-D that all actions brought before the Department of Social Services to establish paternity or to establish or enforce a child support obligation must be completed within statutorily mandated time frames, the "expedited process." (La. R.S. 236.5 A)

Section B gives "any court with jurisdiction to establish paternity or establish or enforce child support obligations" the authority to assess and collect a fee of not more than five percent of all existing or future support obligations to fund the administrative costs of a system for expedited process.

Webster’s Third New Intemational Dictionary defines "administration" as " the principles, practices, and rationalized techniques employed in achieving the objectives or aims of an organization .... " A "system" is a "group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements forming a complex whole." (The American Heritage College Dictionary, Third Edition).

Just a few of the extensive obligations of Section IV, "Administrative Section," of the model contract to provide Title IV-D services between the State of Louisiana and the District Attorneys require the District Attorneys to expedite the filings, establish and maintain case records, and expedite court appearances in order to comply with the Title IV-D requirements. These are the principles, practices and techniques that enable the expedited process to deliver the mandated results. As we understand the facts, the system of interaction between the courts and the District Attorneys in fulfilling the requirements of Title IV-D is the established mechanism to fulfill the mandate.

As stated in La. R.S. 46.236.5 B (1), "expedited process" means the "administrative or expedited judicial processes or both which increase effectiveness and meet completion time frames .... " (Emphasis added).

As this office stated in Attorney General Opinion 96-226, the funds should not be used for general judicial purposes but to "fund the administrative costs" of the system for expedited process for the establishment of paternity and the establishment or enforcement of support obligations. As such, the expenditures should be related to the administrative or judicial processes or both which increase effectiveness in order to meet completion time frames.

We have found no prohibitions to the courts entering into an agreement with the District Attorneys permitting the District Attorneys to utilize a portion of the 5% fund in the Child Enforcement Unit in connection with the expedited process to establish and enforce child support orders. Indeed, the statute at issue, combined with logic and common sense would seem to support the interaction

Page 3

OPINION NO. 02-0242
William R. Coenen, Jr.
District Attorney
5th Judicial District
Page: -3-

between the two offices in their united efforts to create a system whereby the expedited process functions optimally.

We trust that this opinion adequately addresses your concerns. If you require additional information, please do not hesitate to contact this office.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL

SUE MCNABB
Assistant Attorney General

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