Why It Matters
State and tribal child support agencies will see 25 federal regulatory sections removed from the books starting Nov. 30 under a final rule the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) published Oct. 29.
The removed sections span nine parts of the Child Support Enforcement regulations and ACF characterizes them as duplicative of statute, obsolete, or better handled through subregulatory guidance. The proposed rule published June 18 would have removed 29 sections; the final rule removes 25 after ACF agreed to retain four that commenters defended.
ACF says the rule is consistent with Executive Order 14219, Ensuring Lawful Governance and Implementing the President's "Department of Government Efficiency" Deregulatory Initiative, and Executive Order 14192, Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation, which directs agencies to identify at least 10 existing regulations for repeal for every new regulation issued.
The Big Picture
ACF received 31 comments, with state child support agencies, 12 of the 31 commenters, forming the largest single group. Four sections the proposal would have removed, §§ 302.32, 302.33, 302.38, and 304.20, were retained after commenters argued their removal "could lead to confusion, uneven implementation across States, and misinterpretation of key responsibilities." ACF agreed, finding those sections "offer clarity that supports consistent and accurate program operations."
The sharpest dispute centered on the National Medical Support Notice regulation. Multiple commenters urged ACF to keep 45 C.F.R. § 303.32, citing three operational procedures not fully stated in statute: contesting withholding based on a mistake of fact, employer notification when a medical support order is no longer in effect, and plan selection when multiple options are available. Commenters warned that removing the section could produce inconsistent practices among states, employers, and plan administrators and potentially delay or disrupt children's health coverage. ACF disagreed, stating that the section restates 42 U.S.C. 666(a)(19) and that forms and instructions maintained through the Paperwork Reduction Act process will preserve operational procedures.
Two commenters argued that 45 C.F.R. § 302.15 consolidates reporting requirements and that sub-regulatory guidance "does not have the same legal weight" for audit defense. ACF maintained that other existing regulations comprehensively govern those obligations and that removing duplicative regulatory text improves the organization of the Code of Federal Regulations while preserving the department's authority to enforce statutory and regulatory requirements.
The 25 removed sections fall into several categories:
- Introductory and scope provisions — §§ 301.0, 301.10, 302.0, 302.1, 303.0, 303.1, 305.0, 307.0, 308.0, 309.01, 309.55 and 310.0 — containing definitions, descriptions or overview material that ACF says is addressed elsewhere in regulation or statute.
- State plan and program requirements — §§ 302.11, 302.14, 302.15, 302.17, 302.30, 302.34 and 302.36 — that ACF considers duplicative of statutory requirements or existing regulations governing financial participation, recordkeeping, publicizing services and cooperation with other jurisdictions.
- § 303.32 (National Medical Support Notice), removed in favor of the requirements in 42 U.S.C. 666(a)(19) and federally maintained forms and instructions.
- § 304.12 (Incentive Payments), superseded Oct. 1, 2001, when the Child Support Performance and Incentive Act of 1998's replacement incentive system became fully applicable.
- § 305.42 (Penalty Phase-In), which governed fiscal year 2001 performance calculations and, ACF says, "has long expired."
- §§ 305.62, 308.3 and 309.165, covering technical penalty failures, optional state self-assessment reporting and tribal grant appeals, respectively, which ACF considers unnecessary given existing statutory and regulatory frameworks.
ACF states that the rule "does not alter the underlying statutory obligations applicable to State or Tribal child support agencies."
Cross-references throughout the chapter are updated: § 302.55 now cites Section 458 of the Social Security Act instead of § 304.12, while §§ 303.7, 304.20 and 308.2 now cite 42 U.S.C. 666(a)(19) instead of § 303.32. Other cross-references are also revised to reflect the removed sections. One cross-reference was not fixed: § 305.63(a)(2) still points to the now-removed § 302.15, and ACF said it intends to correct that in future rulemaking.
The rule takes effect Nov. 30.
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