Family law.

(1) Existing law provides for a "confidential marriage," whereby 2 unmarried people, not minors, who have been living together as spouses, may be married. Existing law requires a confidential marriage license to be issued by the county clerk, as specified, and then returned to the county clerk after the marriage has been solemnized. Under existing law, if a confidential marriage license is lost, damaged, or destroyed after the performance of the marriage, but before it is returned to the county clerk, the person solemnizing the marriage is required to obtain a duplicate marriage license by filing an affidavit setting forth the facts with the county clerk of the county in which the license was issued. Existing law requires the duplicate license to be issued by the county clerk no later than one year after the issuance of the original marriage license and returned to the clerk by the person solemnizing the marriage within one year of the date shown on the original marriage license. This bill would instead require the county clerk to issue a duplicate confidential marriage license within one year after the date of the marriage and would require the person solemnizing the marriage to return the license to the clerk within one year of the date of the marriage. (2) 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. There is a rebuttable presumption under existing law that the obligor is entitled to a low-income adjustment of the child support amount when the obligor's net disposable income per month is less than $1,500, adjusted annually for cost-of-living increases by the Judicial Council based on the change in the annual California Consumer Price Index, as specified. Commencing January 1, 2021, the net disposable income threshold is reduced to $1,000 per month without adjustment for cost-of-living increases. This bill would delete the provision that would become operative on January 1, 2021, thereby maintaining the net disposable income threshold at $1,500 per month, adjusted annually for cost-of-living increases, indefinitely. (3) Existing law establishes the Department of Child Support Services to administer all services and perform all functions necessary to establish, collect, and distribute child support. Existing law, except as specified, requires all files, applications, papers, documents, and records established or maintained by a public entity pursuant to the administration and implementation of the child and spousal support enforcement program to be confidential and not be open to examination or released for disclosure for any purpose not directly connected with the administration of the child and spousal support enforcement program. Existing law prohibits a public entity from disclosing any file, application, paper, document, or record, or the information contained therein, except as authorized. This bill would provide that a public entity does not include the court. The bill would state that these changes are declaratory of existing law. (4) Existing law requires the Judicial Council to establish a Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program, under which volunteers serve as a court-appointed special advocate to provide designated services and support to wards, dependents, and nonminor dependents in juvenile court proceedings. Existing law requires the council to establish a request-for-proposal process for grants to establish, maintain, or expand local CASA programs and to require funds or in-kind funds equal to the proposal request. This bill, instead, would authorize, but not require, the council to require matching funds for local programs to receive grants through this process and would authorize the council to require matching funds in an amount up to the proposal request amount.