Child support guidelines: low-income adjustments.

Existing law imposes a general obligation on both parents of a minor child to support their child in the manner suitable to the child's circumstances. Existing law establishes the statewide uniform guidelines for calculating court-ordered child support, based on the income of both parents and the time each parent spends with the child. Existing law establishes a rebuttable presumption that an obligor with a net disposable income, as defined, of a specified amount per month is entitled to a low-income adjustment to his or her child support obligation. Until January 1, 2018, the net disposable income threshold is $1,500 per month, and is requested to be adjusted annually for cost-of-living increases. Existing law requires the Judicial Council to determine the adjustment amount based on the change in the annual California Consumer Price Index, as specified. Effective January 1, 2018, the net disposable income threshold is $1,000 per month and is not requested to be annually adjusted for cost-of-living increases. This bill would extend the January 1, 2018, date of repeal to January 1, 2021, for the version of existing law that is currently operative, thereby maintaining the net disposable income threshold at $1,500 per month, adjusted annually for cost-of-living increases, until January 1, 2021, and would change the operative date of the successor version of that law to January 1, 2021.