AMENDMENT 588

Amendment: The Commentary to §2C1.4 captioned "Background" is amended by striking the last sentence as follows:

" Both offenses are misdemeanors for which the maximum term of imprisonment authorized by statute is one year.".

The Commentary to §2J1.1 captioned "Application Notes" is amended in Note 2 in the third sentence by inserting "(a)(1) and to any offense under 18 U.S.C. § 228(a)(2) and (3)" after “228"; and in the fourth sentence by inserting "(a)(1)" after "228".

Reason for Amendment: This is a two-part amendment. First, this amendment amends the commentary in the contempt guideline, §2J1.1, pertaining to offenses under 18 U.S.C. § 228 involving the willful failure to pay court-ordered child support. The commentary notes that the contempt guideline applies to second and subsequent offenses under 18 U.S.C. § 228 because a first offense is a Class B misdemeanor not covered by the guidelines.

However, in the Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act of 1998, Pub. L. 105–187, Congress amended 18 U.S.C. § 228 to add two new violations of that section (found at 18 U.S.C. § 228(a)(2) and (3)) and to make even the first offense under those new violations a felony that would be subject to the guidelines. Accordingly, the commentary in the contempt guideline is amended to reflect that it is only the first offense under a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 228(a)(1) that is not covered by the guideline.

Second, this amendment updates and corrects the background commentary of §2C1.4, the guideline that covers offenses involving unlawful compensation for federal employees and bank officials. Currently the background commentary states that 18 U.S.C. § 209 (involving the unlawful supplementation of the salary of various federal employees) and 18 U.S.C. §1909 (prohibiting bank examiners from performing any service for compensation for banks or bank officials) both are misdemeanors for which the maximum term of imprisonment is one year. In fact, however, as a result of enacted legislation, the maximum term of imprisonment for violations of 18 U.S.C. § 209 is now five years if the conduct is willful.

The amendment deletes the sentence of the commentary that describes the maximum term of imprisonment for these offenses.

Effective Date: The effective date of this amendment is November 1, 1998.