The purpose of creating proposed Rule 12E-1.032, F.A.C., is to provide instruction and guidance to employers regarding the electronic remittance of support payments and electronic submission of associated case data to the State Disbursement Unit. ...

DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
Division of Child Support Enforcement

RULE NO: RULE TITLE
12E-1.032: Electronic Remittance of Support Payments
PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The purpose of creating proposed Rule 12E-1.032, F.A.C., is to provide instruction and guidance to employers regarding the electronic remittance of support payments and electronic submission of associated case data to the State Disbursement Unit. The effect of this proposed rule is to develop procedures to use in the administration of Section 61.1824(6), FS. These procedures will reduce data entry errors and misapplied payments as well as reduce the amount of time to process the payments, resulting in families receiving their support quicker.
SUBJECT AREA TO BE ADDRESSED: The subject of this workshop is to implement a procedure to be used in the administration of Section 61.1824(6), FS., which provides instruction and guidance to employers regarding the electronic remittance of support payments and the electronic submission of associated case data to the State Disbursement Unit.
SPECIFIC AUTHORITY: 61.1824(6) FS., 409.2557(3)(o) FS.
LAW IMPLEMENTED: 61.1824(6) FS.
A RULE DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE, TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW:
DATE AND TIME: October 16, 2006, 2:00 p.m.
PLACE: Room 301, 4070 Esplanade Way, Tallahassee, Florida.
Pursuant to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, any person requiring special accommodations to participate in this workshop/meeting is asked to advise the agency at least 48 hours before the workshop/meeting by contacting: Larry Green at [phone]. If you are hearing or speech impaired, please contact the agency using the Florida Relay Service, 1(800)955-8771 (TDD) or 1(800)955-8770 (Voice).
THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT AND A COPY OF THE PRELIMINARY DRAFT, IF AVAILABLE, IS: Phil Scruggs, Government Analyst II, Child Support Enforcement Program, Department of Revenue, P.O. Box 8030, Tallahassee, Florida 32314-8030, telephone [phone], e-mail address [e-mail].

THE PRELIMINARY TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT IS:

12E-1.032 Electronic Remittance of Support Payments.

(1) Scope. This rule chapter sets forth the rules to be used in the administration of Section 61.1824(6), F.S., which provides for the electronic remittance of support payments deducted pursuant to an income deduction order or income deduction notice and the electronic submission of associated case data by an employer to the State Disbursement Unit. An employer who needs general information concerning the electronic remittance of support payments and associated case data may contact the State Disbursement Unit, EFT Marketing, at [phone].

(2) Definitions. As used in this rule:

(a) “Addenda record” means information required by the Department in an Automated Clearing House Credit “ACH credit” transfer that is needed to completely identify an employer or provide information concerning a payment, in approved electronic format.

(b) “Associated case data” means support payment information required to be submitted to the State Disbursement Unit pursuant to Title IV-D of the Social Security Act. Subsection (5)(h), subparagraph 1. through 10., of this rule lists the case data required to be submitted to the State Disbursement Unit.

(c) “Automated Clearing House” or “ACH” means a central distribution and settlement point for the electronic clearing of debits and credits between financial institutions rather than the physical movement of paper items.

(d) “Automated Clearing House Credit” or “ACH credit” means the electronic transfer of funds generated by the employer, cleared through the ACH for deposit to the State Disbursement Unit.

(e) “Department” means the Florida Department of Revenue.

(f) “Due date” means the date that an electronic payment and associated case data must be received by the State Disbursement Unit.

(g) "Electronic means" includes any one or more of the following methods of transmitting funds or data: electronic data interchange, electronic funds transfer, Internet, or any other technology designated by the Department.

(h) “Employer” means a person, business, or organization that pays one or more workers to perform a service or engage in an activity in exchange for financial compensation.

(i) “Employer’s representative” means a financial institution or business utilized by the employer to provide ACH support payment services.

(j) “National Automated Clearing House Association” or “NACHA” means the national trade association for electronic payments associations, which establishes the rules, industry standards, and procedures governing the exchange of commercial ACH payments by depository financial institutions.

(k) “State Disbursement Unit” or “SDU” means the single unit in the state that receives all withheld support payments and processes all support payments pursuant to Section 61.1824, F.S.

(3) Methods of Transferring Funds and Associated Case Data by Electronic Means.

(a) Electronic remittance of support payments and associated case data by the employer or the employer’s representative to the State Disbursement Unit shall be in a format used within the “Automated Clearing House” or “ACH” network to conduct the transfer of support funds between business or government entities. An acceptable format includes either “Cash Concentration and Disbursement Plus (CCD+)” or “Corporate Trade Exchange (CTX).”

(b) The ACH credit transfer is the method by which employers subject to electronic payment requirements under this rule shall remit payments and associated case data by electronic means.

(4) Remittance or Transmission Problems.

(a) If the employer or employer’s representative incorrectly submits associated case data or incorrectly remits support payments, the employer or the employer’s representative shall contact, not later than the next business day after the date on which the error is discovered, the State Disbursement Unit toll-free at [phone] or the local number at [phone] for specific instructions.

(b) The State Disbursement Unit shall review payment error and associated case data problems, determine the course of action to correct the error(s), and take steps to process the information and payment. The Department shall assist the State Disbursement Unit in resolving payment errors on a case-by-case basis.

(c) To assist the employer or employer’s representative in complying with Section 61.1824(6), F.S., and this rule chapter, the State Disbursement Unit shall contact the employer or employer’s representative when one or more of the following conditions exist.

1. The employer or employer’s representative does not transmit error-free payments and associated case data.

2. The employer or employer’s representative varies from the requirements and specifications of these rules.

3. The employer or employer’s representative fails to make timely electronic payments or timely provide associated case data, or fails to provide the required addenda record with the electronic payment.

(d) The State Disbursement Unit shall help the employer or the employer’s representative resolve the condition(s) in paragraph (c).

(5) Procedures for Payment.

(a) Automated Clearing House Credit Method (ACH Credit Method). An employer who uses the ACH credit method must contact the employer’s financial institution or a business that provides prescribed ACH services and arrange to transfer the support payment to the State Disbursement Unit using an ACH credit transfer.

(b) The employer or employer’s representative must contact the State Disbursement Unit, EFT Marketing, at [phone], prior to remitting electronically, and provide the information listed in paragraph (c). The State Disbursement Unit will compare the information provided by the employer or employer’s representative with identifying information in the State Disbursement Unit’s child support computer system. Identifying information submitted by the employer or the employer’s representative must match the identifying information in the State Disbursement Unit computer system. If the information does not match, the payment may be misapplied to another case. The State Disbursement Unit will work with the employer or the employer’s representative to resolve discrepancies.

(c) The employer or the employer’s representative must provide the State Disbursement Unit with the following information for each obligor for whom payments will be remitted:

1. Obligor first and last name;

2. Obligor Social Security Number;

3. Obligee first and last name; and

4. Case identifier.

(d) The State Disbursement Unit will inform the employer or employer’s representative of the following when there is a match of the information listed in paragraph (c).

1. State Disbursement Unit’s banking information to send payments electronically; and

2.That electronic remittance of support payments may commence.

(e) Neither the State Disbursement Unit nor the Department will pay for expenses incurred by the employer or employer’s representative to use the ACH credit method. Pursuant to Section 61.1301(2)(e)6., F.S., the employer may collect a fee from the employee’s income for each withheld payment.

(f) To assure the receipt of support payments by the due date, an employer or the employer’s representative must initiate the payment transaction in accordance with subsection (6).

(g) All ACH credit transfers must be in the NACHA Cash Concentration and Disbursement Plus “CCD+” or NACHA Corporate Trade Exchange “CTX” format containing an Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12 820 Payment Order/Remittance Advice Transaction Set with associated addenda record(s) for child support, in the format specified by the Department. The Department uses NACHA guidelines to govern the formats and specifications for the electronic remittance of support payments and the electronic submission of associated case data, which are contained in the User Guide For Electronic Child Support Payments, Using The Child Support Application Banking Convention, Version 4.2, revised August 16, 2005, incorporated herein by reference. Members of the public may obtain a copy of the NACHA guidelines by writing to the Florida Department of Revenue, Child Support Enforcement Program, Attn: Forms Coordinator, P.O. Box 8030, Tallahassee, Florida, 32314-8030, or by accessing http://www.nacha.org/. The employer, employer’s financial institution, or the employer’s representative providing ACH services may contact the State Disbursement Unit, EFT Marketing, at [phone] to determine the formats, standards, and technical requirements to implement this provision.

(h) The electronic record shall include the following associated case data fields.

1. Segment identifier-A unique identifier for a segment composed of a combination of two or three uppercase letters and digits. “DED” is the segment identifier.

2. Application identifier-The type of deduction withheld from an employee’s pay. “CS” is the application identifier.

3. Case identifier-The unique identifier composed of alpha and numeric characters based on the court order number.

4. Pay date-The date the income was withheld from the employee’s paycheck.

5. Payment amount-The amount of support withheld from the employee’s income for a specific pay period, which is paid to the State Disbursement Unit.

6. Noncustodial parent Social Security Number

7. Medical support indicator-The indicator designates whether the employer offers family medical insurance coverage. If medical insurance coverage is available, place a ‘Y’ in the field; if there is no coverage available, place an ‘N’ in the field. The National Automated Clearing House Association standard requires this data element.

8. Noncustodial parent name

9. Federal Information Processing Standard Code (FIPS code)-The unique code that identifies each child support jurisdiction (i.e., states, counties and central registries). As used in this rule, the FIPS code refers to the code of the State Disbursement Unit receiving the transaction.

10. Employment termination indicator-The employment termination indicator notifies the Department that an individual’s employment has terminated. The employer is required to report this information pursuant to Section 61.1301(2)(k), F.S. If the employee has terminated, place a ‘Y’ in this field; otherwise, the field is not used.

(i) The employer or employer’s representative may combine payment amounts from more than one employee in a single payment as long as the required information in Subsection (5)(h), subparagraph 1. through 10., is submitted for each employee. In addition, the employer or employer’s representative must separately identify the portion of the single payment that is attributable to each employee.

(6) Due Date.

(a) Pursuant to Section 61.1301(1)(a)3., F.S., the employer is required to remit support payments based upon the employee’s pay cycle.

(b) The employer or employer’s representative who is required to pay support and provide associated case data through electronic means must initiate the transfer so that the amount due is deposited as collected funds to the State Disbursement Unit’s account on or before the due date. If the date on which the employer or employer’s representative is required to initiate an ACH credit transfer falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a business or banking holiday, the employer or the employer’s representative must initiate the transaction on the preceding business day. For the purpose of this rule, “banking day” has the meaning prescribed in Section 674.104(1), F.S.

(7) Waiver From Electronic Filing Requirements. A waiver granted by the Department from the requirement to electronically file tax returns under Sections 213.755 or 443.163, F.S., constitutes a waiver from the requirement to remit support payments and associated case data by electronic means.

Specific Authority 61.1824(6), FS., 409.2557(3)(o), FS. Law Implemented 61.1824(6), FS. History-New              .