A bill introduced last week by Assemblyman Tom Lackey would call for the State of California to create a website which would list parents who owe more than $5,000 in child support.

According to Assembly Bill 1498, it would showcase delinquent parents who have not been making court-ordered child support payments. The website would publicly display:

Obligor’s name

photograph

amount of child support owed.

An obligor who owes past due child support as of the date the website is created shall be placed on the website if the custodial parent to whom payment of child support is owed is a resident of California and all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The obligor owes at least five thousand dollars ($5,000) in delinquent support.

(2) The obligor has been in arrears for 12 months of child support.

(3) The obligor has not made a support payment in at least six months.

(4) The obligor is not involved in bankruptcy proceedings.

(5) The obligor is not receiving state assistance.

(6) The obligor is not incarcerated in a state prison or county jail.

According to the bill, prior to placing an obligor on the website, the department shall contact the custodial parent of the child or children for whom child support is owed. If the custodial parent objects to the obligor’s name or photograph, or both, being placed on the website, the department shall not publish the obligor’s name or photograph, or both, on the website.

The state would also make a reasonable effort to notify obligators at least 60-days prior to publishing the obligators name on the website.

The bill would allow the department to publish a list of “top child support deadbeats” on one or more social media platforms. The bill would prohibit the use of information published on the website for specified purposes relating to credit, employment, and housing, among other things.

The bill would impose a fine of at least $10,000 on a person who uses information from the website to commit a misdemeanor, and a fine of up to $50,000 on a person who uses information from the website to commit a felony.

To view the full bill, click here.