Post by Logan on Feb 1, 2016 1:08:50 GMT -6
The last time Idaho lawmakers let their constitutional interpretations get in the way of routine state business, they put at risk $200 million in child support payments for 400,000 adults and children in Idaho. The governor had to call a special legislative session to put things right.
That was last spring, when a federal law change in how cross-border child support judgments are enforced ran into resistance in the Statehouse from those who thought local jurisdictions might have to abide by support rulings from “foreign tribunals,” regardless of whether those rulings met American legal standards.
The issue became a cause célèbre for those worried about state sovereignty in the face of federal “coercion.” After all, here was the U.S. government forcing the state to adopt the change or be excluded from the federal support-payment system — cutting off the flow of payments into and out of Idaho.
For those who saw it for what it was — a routine rule change — the opposition became a bit of an embarrassment, with Idaho taking another turn in the national role of mildly rogue state with a habit of picking fights with the feds. The governor convened the special session, the Legislature approved the change and adjourned. Crisis averted.
Read more here: www.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article57573183.html
That was last spring, when a federal law change in how cross-border child support judgments are enforced ran into resistance in the Statehouse from those who thought local jurisdictions might have to abide by support rulings from “foreign tribunals,” regardless of whether those rulings met American legal standards.
The issue became a cause célèbre for those worried about state sovereignty in the face of federal “coercion.” After all, here was the U.S. government forcing the state to adopt the change or be excluded from the federal support-payment system — cutting off the flow of payments into and out of Idaho.
For those who saw it for what it was — a routine rule change — the opposition became a bit of an embarrassment, with Idaho taking another turn in the national role of mildly rogue state with a habit of picking fights with the feds. The governor convened the special session, the Legislature approved the change and adjourned. Crisis averted.
Read more here: www.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article57573183.html