State of Kansas v. U.S.

• Citation: 24 F.Supp.2d 1192
• Decision Date: 09 October 1998
• Docket Number: No. 97-4256-RDR.,97-4256-RDR.
• Parties: STATE OF KANSAS, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES of America, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Kansas

Page 1192

24 F.Supp.2d 1192

STATE OF KANSAS, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES of America, et al., Defendants.

No. 97-4256-RDR.

United States District Court, D. Kansas.

October 9, 1998.

M.J. Willoughby, John W. Campbell, Office of Attorney General, Topeka, KS, for State of Kansas, plaintiff.

Jackie A. Rapstine, Office of United States Attorney, Topeka, KS, Sheila M Lieber, U.S. Department of Justice, Frank W Hunger, U.S. Department of Justice, Victoria J. Rosenthal, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for United States of America, HHS Dept of, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Donna Shalala, in her official capacity as Secretary of Health & Human Services, defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

ROGERS, District Judge.

Plaintiff, the State of Kansas, challenges the constitutionality of amendments to the Child Support Enforcement Program, 42 U.S.C. §§ 651-669b, enacted as part of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996, Pub.L. No. 104-193, 110 Stat. 2105 (1996). Plaintiff contends that these provisions of PRWORA are unconstitutional as exceeding Congress' authority under Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution, and as violating dual sovereignty and the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The defendant seeks dismissal on two grounds. First, the defendant argues that the State of Kansas lacks standing to bring this action. Second, the defendant asserts that the State of Kansas cannot prevail on the merits. Having heard oral argument on the defendant's motion to dismiss, the court is now prepared to rule.

BACKGROUND

The federal government and the states have been involved in a cooperative effort to make monetary payments to financially needy families, including children deprived of parental support, since 1950. As the years have passed, the federal government has increased the requirements imposed upon the states.

In 1975, the federal government became a major player in child support programs with the passage of the Child Support Enforcement (CSE) Program. See 42 U.S.C. §§ 651-669. The Program was enacted to locate absent parents, establish paternity, and enforce child and spousal support. 42 U.S.C. § 651. The Office of Child Support Enforcement within the United States Department of Health and Human Services oversees the CSE program. The federal government funds 66 percent of state CSE program operating costs, 42 U.S.C. § 655(a)(2), and 90 percent of state expenditures relating to the planning, design, development installation or enhancement of an automatic data processing information retrieval system. 42 U.S.C. § 655(a)(3).

PRWORA, popularly known as "welfare reform," made sweeping changes in the laws regulating the poor. It abolished Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and created the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. AFDC had provided cash payments to indigent families based upon national eligibility standards and a uniform federal definition which created an entitlement for recipients. TANF eliminated national eligibility standards and abolished the national entitlement to aid. Under the new TANF program, states are given federal block grant money with the authority to design their own public assistance programs. In exchange, the states must fulfill certain requirements, including meeting specific goals in moving welfare recipients into work and toward self-sufficiency. In addition, the states are required to comply with a variety of federal regulations.

Title III of the PRWORA details a mandatory child support collection structure that must be established and operated if a state is to remain eligible for the full TANF grant. Key features of Title III include the creation of automated state systems for entry of all support orders and of employees who obtain new jobs; authority for income withholding; a requirement that states cooperate with the federal government and with other states in matching employees to outstanding support orders; mechanisms for speedy enforcement of support orders; and the enactment of certain laws and legal conditions, including the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act and the conferral of statewide jurisdiction on agencies and courts empowered to act in paternity and support proceedings. See 42 U.S.C. § 666.

The amendments contained in PRWORA were made with the intent of "establishing uniform State tracking procedures; taking strong measures to establish paternity and funding; and ensuring tough child support enforcement." H.R.Rep. No. 104-651 at 1324. The amendments were effective July 1, 1997, except that changes that had to be approved by state legislatures become effective no later than the first day of the first calendar quarter beginning after the close of the first regular session of the state legislature subsequent to August 22, 1996. 42 U.S.C. § 654 note.

A state is not required to participate in the CSE program. However, pursuant to PRWORA, a state that elects to receive the federally-funded block grant under the TANF program must comply with the statutory requirements and the regulations promulgated by the Secretary of HHS. 42 U.S.C. §§ 602(a)(2), 603. A state that operates a CSE program risks the loss of CSE funding if it fails to conform to the requirements established by the Secretary. 42 U.S.C. §§ 609(a)(5) and (a)(8).

Within the federal mandates, states have broad discretion to establish the specific rules and procedures for the operation of their child support enforcement programs. Federal law may require adoption of laws on particular topics, but states generally determine the specific procedures used. For example, states maintain the responsibility for establishing any guidelines on the amount of support to be awarded, 42 U.S.C. § 667, or the amount of an individual's salary that may be garnished to meet support obligations, 42 U.S.C. § 666(b). In addition, if a state demonstrates to the Secretary that the enactment of any law or procedure required under 42 U.S.C. § 666 will not increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the state CSE program, the Secretary may exempt the state from such requirement. 42 U.S.C. § 666(d).

STANDING

The defendant contends that the court lacks jurisdiction because the State of Kansas does not have standing to bring this action. In the complaint, the State alleges the following concerning the issue of standing:

The State of Kansas has standing to bring this declaratory judgment action because of the injury to its sovereignty as a State caused by the challenged federal statute. Further, any State, including the State of Kansas, which is deemed by the federal defendants to be not in compliance with the provisions of Title III of [PRWORA] is subject to federal withholding of approximately $29 million, representing nearly the entire budget for State-provided child support enforcement services for State citizens, and funds in excess of $101 million, representing aid to Kansas children and families in need, causing injury to the State and its interests.

The question of standing involves both constitutional limitations on federal court jurisdiction and prudential limitations on its exercise. Bennett v. Spear, 520 U.S. 154, 162, 117 S.Ct. 1154, 137 L.Ed.2d 281 (1997). To satisfy the standing requirements of Article III to the United States Constitution, plaintiff must show (1) that it has suffered an "injury in fact" — an invasion of a judicially cognizable interest which is (a) concrete and particularized and (b) actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical; (2) that there is a causal connection between the injury and the conduct complained of — the injury must be fairly traceable to the challenged action of the defendant; and (3) that it be likely, as opposed to merely speculative, that the injury will be redressed by a favorable decision. Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560-61, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992). The burden of demonstrating standing rests with the party invoking federal jurisdiction. Id. at 561, 112 S.Ct. 2130.

In considering the issue of standing on a motion to dismiss, the court "must accept as true all material allegations of the complaint, and must construe the complaint in favor of the complaining party." State of Utah v. Babbitt, 137 F.3d 1193, 1204 (10th Cir.1998) (quoting Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 501, 95 S.Ct. 2197, 45 L.Ed.2d 343 (1975)). In addition, the court must presume that general allegations embrace those specific facts that are necessary to support the claim. Id.

The defendant limits its standing argument to a claim that plaintiff has not met the causation requirement. The defendant points out that the plaintiff is challenging Congress' enactment of the amendments to the CSE program, but that these amendments do not constitute the cause of plaintiff's alleged injury because plaintiff is subject to the challenged federal mandates only as a result of the State of Kansas' decision to participate in, and receive federal funding pursuant to, the TANF program. Thus, the defendant asserts that standing is lacking because the plaintiff's injury is self-inflicted.

Neither side was able to provide any cases that had considered this precise issue, despite the fact that there are dozens of cases where states have challenged the constitutionality of various federal laws under the Tenth Amendment and the Spending Clause. The court is persuaded that the circumstances of this case indicate that the State has standing to pursue this action. The purpose of the causal connection requirement is to insure that the injury alleged by plaintiff is attributable to the defendant. Duke Power Co. v. Carolina Environmental Study Group, Inc., 438 U.S. 59, 72, 98 S.Ct. 2620, 57 L.Ed.2d 595 (1978). The injury noted by the defendant — the potential loss of funds and the other costs of complying with PRWORA — appears to be directly traceable to the challenged action of the...