Bill Summary:

• AN ACT Relating to child support pass through; amending RCW 1 26.23.035; adding a new section to chapter 74.08A RCW; and providing 2 an effective date

What the Bill says:

• It alters the amount of the funds which must be processed requiring 8 days to do so once funds are paid including all past due (in arears) payments and states that these funds will not be considered for the purpose of needy family assistance programs.

What the bill means:

• Recipients of child support payments will receive their funds faster including funds which were past due rather than waiting for the department to process them which is good. It also says that the money will not be used to determine eligibility for TANF which is questionable. When child support can be structured to be over a thousand dollars for a child it begs the question be answered “why isn’t that enough to support that child”? Perhaps a formula for the poverty line aspect needs to be incorporated into this equation to prevent the abuse of public funds.