| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: |
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| | Sec. 1. 19-A MRSA §1653, sub-§8, ¶B-1 is enacted to read: |
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| B-1.__After January 1, 2000, if the court orders either | parent to provide child support, the court order must | require that parent to contribute to the child's | postsecondary education costs.__The order must specify | either a set amount or a percentage of actual costs. |
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| | Sec. 2. 19-A MRSA §1653, sub-§12, ¶A, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 694, | Pt. B, §2 and affected by Pt. E, §2, is amended to read: |
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| A. Attains 18 years of age. For orders issued after | January 1, 1990, if the child attains 18 years of age while | attending secondary school as defined in Title 20-A, section | 1, the order remains in force until the child graduates, | withdraws or is expelled from secondary school or attains 19 | years of age, whichever occurs first.__For orders issued | after January 1, 2000, the order remains in force until the | child graduates, withdraws or is expelled from a | postsecondary educational institution or attains 23 years of | age, whichever occurs first; |
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| | Sec. 3. 19-A MRSA §1653, sub-§13, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. | B, §2 and as affected by Pt. E, §2, is amended to read: |
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| | 13. Automatic adjustments. The order of the court or hearing | officer may include automatic adjustments to the amount of money | paid for the support of a child when the child attains 12 or 18 | years of age; or when the child graduates, withdraws or is | expelled from secondary school, attains 19 years of age or is | otherwise emancipated, whichever occurs first; or when the child | graduates, withdraws or is expelled from a postsecondary | educational institution or attains 23 years of age, whichever | occurs first. |
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| | This bill requires a parent paying child support to contribute | to the costs of postsecondary education for the child until the | child graduates, withdraws or is expelled, or turns 23 years of | age, whichever occurs first. |
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