— Glenn Sacks has a nice column on one of my friend Assemblyman Wright’s child support bills, this one aimed at providing relief to child support debtors in prison:
Williams was crushed when he recently learned that he owes $12,000 in child support arrearages to reimburse the state for the benefits paid to his wife and kids while he was in prison. The support arrearages, which he never knew existed, will consume as much as half of Williams’ modest salary, virtually destroying the possibility of the new, stable life that the 42 year-old East Palo Alto resident had dreamed of behind bars.
We’ve tried to pass this kind of bill before, unsuccessfully. Legislators have very little compassion for men in prison, of course.