Information From Financial Institutions

1. Law
2. Georgia Code
3. Domestic Relations
4. Enforcement of Duty of Support
5. Child Support Recovery Act
6. Information From Financial Institutions

1. As used in this Code section, the term "for cause" means that the department has reason to believe that an individual has opened an account at a financial institution.
2. The department shall, pursuant to the provisions of subsection (f) of this Code section, request from each financial institution, not more frequently than on a quarterly basis, the name, record address, social security number, and other identifying data for each person listed in such request who maintains an account at such financial institution. The data provided shall be sent to the Department of Human Services Bank Match Registry. Such registry shall include only identifying information for obligors whom the child support enforcement agency believes owe child support and who are not under a child support order, and for obligors who are delinquent in an amount equal to or in excess of their support payment for one month. The department shall update such listing every calendar quarter by removing the names of all persons who have had no prior matches in the two immediately preceding quarters.
3. The department may continue to request account matches on such removed names once a year for the two calendar years immediately following the year in which the names are removed or for cause.
4. All requests made by the department pursuant to subsection (b) or (c) of this Code section shall be in machine readable form unless a financial institution expressly requests the department to submit the request in writing. The financial institution shall furnish all such information in machine readable form, which meets criteria established by the department, within 30 days of such request. Each financial institution shall furnish all such information on those persons whose accounts bear a residential address within the state at the time such request is processed by the financial institution.
5. In no event shall a request for identifying information be made to a financial institution on anyone other than an obligor whom the Department of Human Services has a good reason to believe owes child support and who is not under a child support order, or an obligor who is delinquent in an amount equal to or in excess of his or her support payment for one month.
6. The Department of Human Services shall enter into agreements with financial institutions doing business in this state to develop and operate a data match system to the maximum extent feasible for the providing of the needed information to the department by the financial institution. At a minimum, the department shall identify the obligor by name and social security number or other taxpayer identification number. If the geographic region of an obligor is known by the Department of Human Services, and that department shall make an effort to determine the geographic region of an obligor, the department shall initially limit its request to the financial institution or institutions within that geographic region prior to making additional requests to other financial institutions in other geographic regions of the state. The department may pay a reasonable fee to the financial institution for conducting the searches required herein not to exceed the actual costs incurred by the financial institution.

(Code 1981, §19-11-30.2, enacted by Ga. L. 1997, p. 1613, § 30; Ga. L. 1999, p. 81, § 19; Ga. L. 2002, p. 1247, § 11; Ga. L. 2009, p. 453, § 2-2/HB 228; Ga. L. 2014, p. 457, § 11/SB 282; Ga. L. 2014, p. 866, § 19/SB 340; Ga. L. 2017, p. 646, § 2-3/SB 137.)

The 2017 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, substituted "child support enforcement agency" for "IV-D agency" in the third sentence of subsection (b).

Law reviews.

- For article on the 1997 enactment of this Code section, see 14 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 121 (1997).

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