Chapter 208
2003 --
H 5254 SUBSTITUTE A AS AMENDED
Enacted 07/15/03
A N A C T
RELATING
TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- ABANDONMENT AND NONSUPPORT
Introduced
By: Representatives Petrarca, Giannini, Montanaro, Smith, and McManus
Date
Introduced: January 28, 2003
It
is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Section 11-2-1.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-2 entitled
"Abandonment
and Nonsupport" is hereby amended to read as follows:
11-2-1.1.
Failure to pay child support. -- (a) Every person who is obligated to
pay child
support
pursuant to an order or decree established by or registered with the family
court pursuant
to
chapter 11 of title 15, who has incurred arrearage of past-due child support in
the amount of
thirty ten thousand
dollars ($30,000)($10,000), and who shall willfully thereafter,
having the
means
to do so, fail to pay one three (3) or more installments of child
support in an amount
previously
set by the court, according to the terms previously set by the court, shall be
guilty of a
felony
for each instance of failure to make the subsequent payments and upon
conviction shall be
punished
by imprisonment for a period not to exceed five (5) years.
(b) Every person who has for a period of three (3) years willfully failed to
pay any
installments
of child support in an amount previously set by the court, according to the
terms
previously
set by the court, and who shall thereafter, having the means to do so, fail to
pay one
three
(3) or
more installments of child support in an amount previously set by the court,
according
to
the terms previously set by the court, shall be guilty of a felony for each
instance of failure to
make
the subsequent payments and upon conviction shall be punished by imprisonment
for a
period
not to exceed five (5) years.
(c) For purposes of this section, "subsequent payments" means those
payments or
installments
due and owing after a person has incurred an arrearage of thirty ten
thousand dollars
($30,000)($10,000) as specified in
subsection (a) of this section or those payments or installments
due
and owing after a person has failed to pay an installment for a period of three
(3) years.
(d) The court may in its discretion direct that the sentence be served pursuant
to section
12-19-2(b).
[See section 12-1-15 of the General Laws.]
SECTION
2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC00895/SUB
A
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