Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 113 Third Substitute (2021GS)

Sponsor

Rep. Brammer, B.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/16/2021

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Spencer J. Cox

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• defines terms; and
• requires a biological father to pay 50% of a mother's:
• insurance premiums while she is pregnant; and
• pregnancy-related medical costs, including the hospital birth of the child, that are not paid by another person.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

SHARED MEDICAL COSTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Brady Brammer
Senate Sponsor: 
Daniel McCay
Cosponsor:
Cheryl K. Acton
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill amends the Utah Child Support Act in relation to medical costs of pregnancy.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ defines terms; and
▸ requires a biological father to pay 50% of a mother's:
• insurance premiums while she is pregnant; and
• pregnancy-related medical costs, including the hospital birth of the child, that
are not paid by another person.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
78B-12-102
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 96
ENACTS:
78B-12-105.1
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
78B-12-212.1
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
78B-12-102
 is amended to read:
78B-12-102.
Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(1) "Adjusted gross income" means income calculated under Subsection
78B-12-204
(1).
(2) "Administrative agency" means the Office of Recovery Services or the Department
of Human Services.
(3) "Administrative order" means an order that has been issued by the Office of
Recovery Services, the Department of Human Services, or an administrative agency of another
state or other comparable jurisdiction with similar authority to that of the office.
(4) "Base child support award" means the award that may be ordered and is calculated
using the guidelines before additions for medical expenses and work-related child care costs.
(5) "Base combined child support obligation table," "child support table," "base child
support obligation table," "low income table," or "table" means the appropriate table in Part 3,
Tables.
(6) "Cash medical support" means an obligation to equally share all reasonable and
necessary medical and dental expenses of children.
(7) "Child" means:
(a) a son or daughter under the age of 18 years who is not otherwise emancipated,
self-supporting, married, or a member of the armed forces of the United States;
(b) a son or daughter over the age of 18 years, while enrolled in high school during the
normal and expected year of graduation and not otherwise emancipated, self-supporting,
married, or a member of the armed forces of the United States; or
(c) a son or daughter of any age who is incapacitated from earning a living and, if able
to provide some financial resources to the family, is not able to support self by own means.
(8) "Child support" means a base child support award, or a monthly financial award for
uninsured medical expenses, ordered by a tribunal for the support of a child, including current
periodic payments, arrearages that accrue under an order for current periodic payments, and
sum certain judgments awarded for arrearages, medical expenses, and child care costs.
(9) "Child support order" or "support order" means a judgment, decree, or order of a
tribunal whether interlocutory or final, whether or not prospectively or retroactively modifiable,
whether incidental to a proceeding for divorce, judicial or legal separation, separate
maintenance, paternity, guardianship, civil protection, or otherwise that:
(a) establishes or modifies child support;
(b) reduces child support arrearages to judgment; or
(c) establishes child support or registers a child support order under Chapter 14, Utah
Uniform Interstate Family Support Act.
(10) "Child support services" or "IV-D child support services" means services provided
pursuant to Part D of Title IV of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 651 et seq.
(11) "Court" means the district court or juvenile court.
(12) "Guidelines" means the directions for the calculation and application of child
support in Part 2, Calculation and Adjustment.
(13) "Health care coverage" means coverage under which medical services are
provided to a dependent child through:
(a) fee for service;
(b) a health maintenance organization;
(c) a preferred provider organization;
(d) any other type of private health insurance; or
(e) public health care coverage.
(14) (a) "Income" means earnings, compensation, or other payment due to an
individual, regardless of source, whether denominated as wages, salary, commission, bonus,
pay, allowances, contract payment, or otherwise, including severance pay, sick pay, and
incentive pay.
(b) "Income" includes:
(i) all gain derived from capital assets, labor, or both, including profit gained through
sale or conversion of capital assets;
(ii) interest and dividends;
(iii) periodic payments made under pension or retirement programs or insurance
policies of any type;
(iv) unemployment compensation benefits;
(v) workers' compensation benefits; and
(vi) disability benefits.
(15) "Joint physical custody" means the child stays with each parent overnight for more
than 30% of the year, and both parents contribute to the expenses of the child in addition to
paying child support.
(16) "Medical expenses" means health and dental expenses and related insurance costs.
(17) "Obligee" means an individual, this state, another state, or another comparable
jurisdiction to whom child support is owed or who is entitled to reimbursement of child
support or public assistance.
(18) "Obligor" means a person owing a duty of support.
(19) "Office" means the Office of Recovery Services within the Department of Human
Services.
(20) "Parent" includes a natural parent, or an adoptive parent.
(21) "Pregnancy expenses" means an amount equal to:
(a) the sum of a pregnant mother's:
(i) health insurance premiums while pregnant that are not paid by an employer or
government program; and
(ii) medical costs related to the pregnancy, incurred after the date of conception and
before the pregnancy ends; minus
(b) any portion of the amount described in Subsection (21)(a) that a court determines is
equitable based on the totality of the circumstances, not including any amount paid by the
mother or father of the child.
[
(21)
] 
(22)
 "Split custody" means that each parent has physical custody of at least one
of the children.
[
(22)
] 
(23)
 "State" includes a state, territory, possession of the United States, the
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Native American Tribe, or other
comparable domestic or foreign jurisdiction.
[
(23)
] 
(24)
 "Temporary" means a period of time that is projected to be less than 12
months in duration.
[
(24)
] 
(25)
 "Third party" means an agency or a person other than the biological or
adoptive parent or a child who provides care, maintenance, and support to a child.
[
(25)
] 
(26)
 "Tribunal" means the district court, the Department of Human Services,
Office of Recovery Services, or court or administrative agency of a state, territory, possession
of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Native
American Tribe, or other comparable domestic or foreign jurisdiction.
[
(26)
] 
(27)
 "Work-related child care costs" means reasonable child care costs for up to
a full-time work week or training schedule as necessitated by the employment or training of a
parent under Section 
78B-12-215
.
[
(27)
] 
(28)
 "Worksheets" means the forms used to aid in calculating the base child
support award.
Section 2. Section 
78B-12-105.1
 is enacted to read:
 78B-12-105.1.
Duty of biological father to share pregnancy expenses.
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a biological father of a child has a
duty to pay 50% of the mother's pregnancy expenses.
(2) (a) If paternity is disputed, a biological father owes no duty under this section until
the biological father's paternity is established.
(b) Once paternity is established, the biological father is subject to Subsection (1).
(3) (a) Any portion of a mother's pregnancy expenses paid by the mother or the
biological father reduces that parent's 50% share under Subsection (1), not the total amount of
pregnancy expenses.
(b) Subsection (3)(a) applies regardless of when the mother or biological father pays
the pregnancy expense.
(4) If a mother receives an abortion, as defined in Section 
76-7-301
, without the
biological father's consent, the biological father owes no duty under this section, unless:
(a) the abortion is necessary to avert the death of the mother; or
(b) the mother was pregnant as a result of:
(i) rape, as described in Section 
76-5-402
;
(ii) rape of a child, as described in Section 
76-5-402.1
; or
(iii) incest, as described in Subsection 
76-5-406
(2)(j) or Section 
76-7-102
.
(5) Subsection (1) does not apply if a court apportions pregnancy expenses under
Section 
30-3-5
.
(6) A person may seek payment under Subsection (1) in accordance with Section
78B-12-113
.
(7) Nothing in this section or Section 
78B-12-212.1
 requires a person to separately bill
a biological father for pregnancy expenses.
Section 3. Section 
78B-12-212.1
 is enacted to read:
 78B-12-212.1.
Pregnancy expenses.
If a person seeks payment under Section 
78B-12-105.1
 by providing documentation of
payments, medical expenses, and insurance premiums, the district court shall, after review,
order the payment of the expenses.