Section 161-C:3-a Confidentiality of Records and Information; Information From Financial Institutions.
I. Notwithstanding the provisions of RSA 359-C or any other law to the contrary, the commissioner is hereby authorized to request, on an individually-named basis, and receive, on the same basis, from any bank, trust company, savings and loan association, credit union, or other financial institution doing business in this state information with respect to the transactions with any institution and the assets of any delinquent obligor or individual against whom the department is seeking to establish or enforce an obligation of support. The institution shall furnish the information within 15 days of the department's request. After such time, an institution which fails to comply with these provisions shall be liable for an administrative fine of $50 per day.
II. The commissioner is hereby authorized to request and receive from any former or current employer, including for-profit, nonprofit, and governmental employers, information necessary to the establishment or enforcement of child support orders, including, but not limited to, the dates of employment, number of hours worked, rate of pay, date of birth, available health insurance, current address, payroll deductions, and social security number of any delinquent obligor or individual against whom the department is seeking to establish or enforce an obligation of support. The institution shall furnish the information within 15 days of the department's request. After such time, an employer who fails to comply with these provisions shall be liable for an administrative fine of $50 per day.
III. The department and any financial institution or employer who discloses financial or employment records under this section shall not be subject to civil liability or criminal prosecution which is based upon its disclosure under this section, or for any other action taken in good faith to comply with the requirements of this section. A financial institution shall not be liable under federal or state law to any person for encumbering or surrendering any assets held by such financial institution in response to a notice of lien or levy issued by the department.
IV. Any records established or information collected pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be made available only to the commissioner and the attorney general and their authorized designees, attorneys employed by the office of child support, attorneys responsible for the administration of RSA 546-B, attorneys employed by the department in RSA 169-C proceedings, the client or the client's authorized representative and courts or agencies in other states engaged in the enforcement of support of minor children as authorized by the rules of the department. Such records and information shall be available and used only for purposes directly connected with the establishment, enforcement, or modification of child support, the location and notification of parents in RSA 169-C proceedings, and the administration of this chapter. The records and information made available to the client or the client's authorized representative shall not include information provided to the department that is prohibited from release by federal law, state statute, state case law, or by contract or agreement between the department and another entity if such contract or agreement prohibits release of such information.
IV-a. Notwithstanding paragraph IV or any other provision of law, custodial parents, guardians, and caretakers are authorized to request and receive from any responsible parent's former or current employer doing business in this state health insurance information necessary for the enforcement and establishment of medical support orders, including the availability of coverage.
V. Any financial institution or employer who does not comply with the requirements under this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
VI. The department is authorized to obtain access to certain records held by public utilities and cable television companies with respect to individuals who owe or are owed support, or against or with respect to whom a support obligation is sought, consisting of the names and addresses of such individuals and the names and addresses of the employers of such individuals, pursuant to an administrative subpoena issued by the commissioner.
VII. The department is authorized to enter into agreements with financial institutions doing business in the state:
(a) To develop and operate, in coordination with such financial institutions, a data match system, using automated data exchanges to the maximum extent feasible, in which each financial institution is required to provide for each calendar quarter the name, record address, social security number or other taxpayer identification number, and other identifying information for each obligor who maintains an account at the financial institution and who owes past-due support, as identified by the state by name and social security number or other taxpayer identification number.
(b) In response to a notice of lien or levy, to encumber or surrender, as the case may be, assets held by such institution on behalf of any obligor who is subject to a child support lien pursuant to RSA 161-C.
VIII. The department shall pay a reasonable fee to a financial institution for conducting the data match provided for in paragraph VII(a), not to exceed actual costs incurred by such financial institution.
Source. 1985, 344:4. 1989, 360:3. 1992, 270:3. 1994, 214:2, 3. 1995, 310:23, 175, 183. 1997, 263:12-14, eff. Aug. 18, 1997. 2003, 198:1, eff. Aug. 29, 2003.