DENIAL OF PASSPORTS FOR NONPAYMENT OF CHILD SUPPORT.

SEC. 370. DENIAL OF PASSPORTS FOR NONPAYMENT OF CHILD SUPPORT. (a) HHS Certification Procedure.— (1) Secretarial responsibility.—Section 452 (42 U.S.C. 652), as amended by section 345 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: “(k)(1) If the Secretary receives a certification by a State agency in accordance with the requirements of section 454(31) that an individual owes arrearages of child support in an amount exceeding $5,000, the Secretary shall transmit such certification to the Secretary of State for action (with respect to denial, revocation, or limitation of passports) pursuant to paragraph (2). “(2) The Secretary of State shall, upon certification by the Secretary transmitted under paragraph (1), refuse to issue a passport to such individual, and may revoke, restrict, or limit a passport issued previously to such individual. “(3) The Secretary and the Secretary of State shall not be liable to an individual for any action with respect to a certification by a State agency under this section.” . (2) State agency responsibility.—Section 454 (42 U.S.C. 654), as amended by sections 301(b), 303(a), 312(b), 313(a), 333, and 343(b) of this Act, is amended— (A) by striking “and” at the end of paragraph (29); (B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (30) and inserting “; and”; and (C) by adding after paragraph (30) the following new paragraph: “(31) provide that the State agency will have in effect a procedure for certifying to the Secretary, for purposes of the procedure under section 452(k), determinations that individuals owe arrearages of child support in an amount exceeding $5,000, under which procedure— “(A) each individual concerned is afforded notice of such determination and the consequences thereof, and an opportunity to contest the determination; and “(B) the certification by the State agency is furnished to the Secretary in such format, and accompanied by such supporting documentation, as the Secretary may require.” . (b) [42 U.S.C. 652 note] Effective Date.—This section and the amendments made by this section shall become effective October 1, 1997.