City and County of San Francisco v. Garnett

Opinion

PARRILLI,

J. — Family Code section 4071.5 provides that if welfare payments are being made for a child, a parent’s child support obligation may not be reduced by the discretionary hardship deductions that would otherwise be available to the parent. In this case the trial court refused to apply section 4071.5, finding it unconstitutional on equal protection grounds. We reverse. The wisdom and fairness of the statute are debatable, but that debate belongs in the Legislature. Section 4071.5 is rationally related to the legitimate state purpose of recouping welfare payments from parents who…