Deadbeat Parents Face Reality Officers Shut Down Tavern Owner; Case Is First In State
A Grant County tavern owner who owes nearly $40,000 in overdue child support lost his liquor license Monday night, marking the first use of the state’s new authority to crack down on so-called “deadbeat” parents.
Leroy William Porter said two liquor agents and a police officer came into the Porter’s Place tavern in Warden on Monday evening and told him to shut down.
In addition to shutting down Porter’s Place, the state announced Tuesday that it is suspending the driver’s licenses of two parents in Lewis and Cowlitz counties. Altogether, the three owe more than $84,000, according to the state Division of Child Support.
The child-support division declined to identify any of the parents, citing confidentiality policies. But the Liquor Control Board confirmed that it suspended Porter’s liquor license at the request of the child-support office.
Porter is in the process of converting the tavern he’s owned for 14 years into a family restaurant in Warden, a town of about 2,100 people 15 miles southeast of Moses Lake.
He acknowledged in a telephone interview that he stopped paying child support to his ex-wife about 11 years ago because she wouldn’t let him see his son, who’s now 20.
Porter criticized the state for getting involved in what he views as a personal dispute, and noted that the state’s action put his six employees out of work.
“The boy was never on welfare. I don’t owe the state anything,” he said. “If they’re on welfare, that’s one thing. If they’re not on welfare, (then) this is private. The state shouldn’t be involved in it.”
The state’s action stems from the landmark welfare law established earlier this year by the Legislature and Gov. Gary Locke.
Under the license suspension program, which was required by Congress, the state now has the authority to suspend automotive, business and recreational licenses of parents who are at least six months in arrears. The Division of Child Support decides which licenses to go after.
xxxx What to do Parents in arrears who wish to avoid license suspension may contact the Division of Child Support at 1-800-457-6202.