As a member of the 2023 Child Support Schedule Workgroup who directly worked on creating the new economic support tables, I urge everyone to oppose this bill. A public hearing is set for Thursday, March 27th at 10:30 a.m. and the link to testify (including remotely) is: https://app.leg.wa.gov/csi/Senate?selectedCommittee=17548&selectedMeeting=33111.
The main issue with EHB 1014 is that increasing the economic support tables without any provision for sharing that money (residential credit) will create significant conflict. The 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023 Child Support Workgroups have all recommended various ways to implement residential credit that the legislature continues to ignore.
Until residential credit is law or amended to this bill, the economic tables should not be increased. When approximately 60% of families significantly share custody at least 25% or more of the time but only 7% are ‘awarded’ residential credit by a court, that means that the 53% majority of all families have extremely unfair orders. This bill will make those unfair orders only worse.
Families will fight over significantly more child support money that only the judges and unelected commissioners in superior court (administrative judges cannot order residential credit) have the discretion to share but rarely do.
The additional stress and uncertainty this adds to separating and/or divorcing parents is a recipe for conflict, domestic violence, and expensive litigation that often lasts for years and many billable hours.
This bill is the biggest and best gift the divorce industry could hope for in 2025. It will increase conflict, domestic violence, and billable hours for attorneys as parents fight even more about money.
For the record, I created the economic tables in MS Excel with absolutely no research or guidance about what a family that earns $20,000, $30,000, $40,000 or $50,000 a month actually pays in expenses to raise a 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 children.
Washington State is rated an F by National Parents Organization. If these bills pass without significant amendments, NPO may have to adjust its ratings to F- or G next month when the latest 2025 state ratings are announced.