§576E-1  Definitions.  As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

     "Administrative order" means the order resulting from an administrative adjudication by a hearings officer or the attorney general, through the agency, of the final disposition of a matter before the agency.

     "Agency" means the child support enforcement agency established by section 576D-2.

     "Arrearage" means past due child support under an existing court or administrative order.

     "Child support" means payment for the necessary support and maintenance of a child as required by law that includes but is not limited to spousal support when being enforced in conjunction with child support or medical support when a court or administrative order requires the debtor parent to pay an amount in lieu of providing medical insurance coverage or to reimburse for maternity and delivery expenses incurred when the debtor parent's child was born.

     "Compliance with an order of support" means that an obligor:

     (1)  Is not delinquent in payments in an amount equal to or greater than the sum of payments which would become due for child support, for a three-month period with regard to driver's and recreational licenses and for a six-month period with regard to professional and vocational licenses;

     (2)  Is not delinquent in making periodic payments on a support arrearage pursuant to a written agreement with the child support enforcement agency under section 576D-13(d); or

     (3)  Has obtained or maintained health insurance coverage as required by a child support order.

     "Court" means the family courts of this State and, when the context requires, a court or agency of any other state having jurisdiction to establish, modify, and enforce support obligations.

     "Custodial parent" means a parent, guardian, or other person having physical custody of the child.

     "Department" means the department of the attorney general.

     "Dependent child" means any person to whom a duty of support is owed.

     "Duty of support" means any duty of support imposed or imposable by law, or by any court order, decree, or judgment, whether interlocutory or final or whether incidental to a proceeding for divorce, judicial separation, separate maintenance, or otherwise, and includes the duty to pay arrearages of support past due and unpaid.

     "Employee" means any person working for another for hire, including but not limited to, an individual employed in domestic service or at a family's or person's home or any individual employed by the individual's parent or spouse, or independent contractors.

     "Employer" means any person who uses or engages the services of any person in exchange for the payment of wages or other means of exchange, including the United States government, the State, and any political subdivision thereof, and anyone who is or shall become obligated for payment of income.

     "Hearings officer" means a public official appointed and commissioned pursuant to section 576E-10.

     "License" means any license, certification, registration, or permit issued by a licensing authority for recreational purposes, or to conduct a trade or business, including a license to practice a profession or vocation, or a license to operate any motor vehicle, boat, airplane, or helicopter.

     "Licensing authority" means any unit of the State or county government, including agencies, departments, boards, commissions, or authorities, or any other entity within the State or county authorized by statute to grant or deny licenses.

     "Obligee" means any person to whom payments are required to be made under the terms of a court or administrative order for child support, or child support and spousal support.

     "Obligor" means a responsible parent obligated by court or administrative order to pay child support.

     "Office" means the office of child support hearings established pursuant to section 576E-10.

     "Order of support" means a judgment, decree, or order, whether temporary, final, or subject to modification, issued by a court or an administrative agency of competent jurisdiction, for the support and maintenance of a child, including a child who has attained the age of majority under the law of the issuing state, or a child and the parent with whom the child is living, which provides for monetary support, health care, arrearages, or reimbursement, and which may include related costs and fees, interest and penalties, income withholding, attorney's fees, and other relief.  An order of support may include spousal support when ordered to be paid in conjunction with the support and maintenance of a child; provided that the spousal support provision in an order of support shall only be enforced by the agency when the support and maintenance of a child is being enforced.  An order of support may also include medical support when the debtor parent is ordered to pay an amount in lieu of providing medical insurance coverage or to reimburse for maternity and delivery expenses incurred when the debtor parent's child was born.

     "Party" means each person or agency named or admitted as a party, or properly seeking and entitled as of right to be admitted as a party, including but not limited to the custodial parent and the responsible parent.

     "Public assistance" means any cash paid or medical assistance provided by the department of human services to or for the benefit of any dependent child, including amounts paid to or on behalf of the child's custodian.

     "Responsible parent" means any person who does not have physical custody of the child and who has a legal duty of support.

     "Spousal support" means a legally enforceable obligation assessed against an individual for the support of a spouse or a former spouse who is living with a child or children for whom the individual also owes support.

     "Support order" means an obligation determined by a court or duly authorized administrative agency, for the maintenance of a dependent child, which is owed to or on behalf of the child, or to the parent or custodian with whom the child is living.

     "Uniform statewide procedures" means a written set of instructions prepared by the agency which describe step by step actions to be taken by agency personnel in the performance of duties under this chapter. [L 1988, c 154, pt of §2; am L 1990, c 176, §8; am L 1993, c 251, §§1, 2; am L 1994, c 105, §§1, 2; am L 1997, c 293, §32; am L 1998, c 83, §7 and c 153, §8; am L 2002, c 72, §8 and c 84, §6; am L 2003, c 3, §21]