Otter: Legislature ‘put Idaho’s child support system at serious risk’

Idaho is at risk of losing millions of dollars in federal child support funding after conservatives in the Legislature killed a measure that would have brought the state into compliance with federal rules.

“I am concerned that some members of the House Judiciary and Rules Committee put Idaho’s child support system at serious risk by killing Senate Bill 1067 in the waning hours of the 2015 legislative session,” Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter said in a statement Monday. “We are analyzing the impacts of the committee’s actions and what they mean for the 400,000 people who depend on Idaho’s system.”

The conservative lawmakers who killed the bill were concerned that passing the legislation could have forced the state to enforce child support rulings made in other countries under Islamic law.

Some House members said last week they were concerned the bill was tied to an international convention regarding cross-border recovery of child-support payments.

Health officials said Monday that if Idaho is not brought into compliance within about 60 days, they stand to lose access to programs that help locate child support scofflaws as well as $46 million in federal payouts.