§48-15-209 Hearing on denial, nonrenewal, suspension or restriction of license. - West Virginia Statutes

§48-15-209. Hearing on denial, nonrenewal, suspension or restriction of license.
(a) The court shall order a licensing authority to deny, refuse to renew, suspend or restrict a license if it finds that:

(1) All appropriate enforcement methods have been exhausted or are not available;

(2) The person is the holder of a license or has an application pending for a license;

(3) The requisite amount of child support or medical support arrearage exists or health insurance for the child has not been provided as ordered, or the person has failed to comply with a subpoena or warrant relating to a paternity or child support proceeding;

(4) No motion to modify the child support order, filed prior to the date that the notice was sent by the bureau for child support enforcement, is pending before the court; and

(5) There is no equitable reason, such as involuntary unemployment, disability, or compliance with a court-ordered plan for the periodic payment of the child support arrearage amount, for the person's noncompliance with the child support order.

(b) If the court is satisfied that the conditions described in subsection (a) of this section exist, it shall first consider suspending or restricting a driver's license prior to professional license. If the person fails to appear at the hearing after being properly served with notice, the court shall order the suspension of all licenses held by the person.

(c) If the court finds that a license suspension will result in a significant hardship to the person, to the person's legal dependents under eighteen years of age living in the person's household, to the person's employees, or to persons, businesses or entities to whom the person provides goods or services, the court may allow the person to pay a percentage of the past-due child support amount as an initial payment, and establish a payment schedule to satisfy the remainder of the arrearage within one year, and require that the person comply with any current child support obligation. If the person agrees to this arrangement, no suspension or restriction of any licenses shall be ordered. Compliance with the payment agreement shall be monitored by the bureau for child support enforcement.

(d) If a person has good cause for not complying with the payment agreement within the time permitted, the person shall immediately file a motion with the court and the bureau for child support enforcement requesting an extension of the payment plan. The court may extend the payment plan if it is satisfied that the person has made a good faith effort to comply with the plan and is unable to satisfy the full amount of past-due support within the time permitted due to circumstances beyond the person's control. If the person fails to comply with the court-ordered payment schedule, the court shall, upon receipt of a certification of noncompliance from the bureau for child support enforcement, and without further hearing, order the immediate suspension or restriction of all licenses held by the person.