Sec. 13. 19-A MRSA §3004, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 and affected by Pt. E, §2, is repealed.

Sec. 14. 19-A MRSA §3004-A is enacted to read:

§3004-A.__Duties of initiating tribunal

1.__Forward petition and accompanying documents.__Upon the filing of a petition authorized by this chapter, an initiating tribunal of this State shall forward the petition and its accompanying documents:

A.__To the responding tribunal or appropriate support enforcement agency in the responding state; or

B.__If the identity of the responding tribunal is unknown, to the state information agency of the responding state with a request that they be forwarded to the appropriate tribunal and that receipt be acknowledged.

2.__Issue certificate or document; make findings; specify amount.__If requested by the responding tribunal, a tribunal of this State shall issue a certificate or other document and make findings required by the law of the responding state. If the responding state is a foreign country or political subdivision, upon request the tribunal shall specify the amount of support sought, convert that amount into the equivalent amount in the foreign currency under the applicable official or market exchange rate as publicly reported and provide any other documents necessary to satisfy the requirements of the responding state.

Uniform Comment

(This is Section 304 of the Uniform Act.)

Under UIFSA the role of the initiating tribunal consists of the ministerial function of forwarding the documents to the appropriate entity in the responding State for action. The initiating tribunal has no substantive legal task to perform.

Subsection (b) was designed primarily to facilitate interstate enforcement between UIFSA States and URESA and RURESA States, with some applicability to cases involving foreign jurisdictions. After the nationwide enactment of UIFSA by 1998, see Prefatory Note, supra, the subsection retains its utility only with regard to support orders of foreign nations. Supplying documentation