Section 295.100  Foreward

This Part is adopted for the purpose of establishing procedures for remitting certified amounts delinquent to claimants in accordance with Articles 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 22 of the Illinois Pension Code.

Section 295.200  Definitions

As used in this Part, unless the context indicates otherwise, the following terms shall have the meanings specified:

"Act" means the "State Comptroller Act" [15 ILCS 405].

"Applicable Sections of the Code" means Code Sections 3-125, 4-118, 5-168, 6-165, 7-172.1, 8-173, 9-184.5, 10-107.5, 11-169, 12-149.5, 13-503.5 and 22-104.

"Certified Amount Delinquent" means the amount of delinquent payments certified by a claimant pursuant to applicable Sections of the Code and this Part.

"Chief Executive Officer" means the President of the Board of Trustees of the fund or retirement plan.

"Claimant" means a pension fund or retirement plan authorized by the Code (i.e., Chicago and downstate police, firefighters and municipal employees, Cook County employees, and various other local government employees) to certify amounts delinquent and claim remittance under applicable Sections of the Code.

"Claim Eligible to be Remitted" means an amount authorized by applicable Sections of the Code to be remitted by the Comptroller that represents fund contributions certified by a claimant as delinquent.

"Code" means the Illinois Pension Code [40 ILCS 5].

"Comptroller" means the Comptroller of the State of Illinois or any employee of the Office of the Comptroller authorized by the Comptroller to perform the functions and duties required by the Act, the Code or this Part.

"Gross Amount of the Warrant" means that amount of money for which a State agency has authorized the Comptroller to order the payment.

"Payee" means any person who will receive payment in the form of a warrant from the Comptroller, as identified by the Government Unit Code or Federal Employer's Identification Number (FEIN) within a statement of notification under Section 295.300.

"Payee Subject to the Remittance" means the payee of any warrant from which the Comptroller has reduced a claim eligible to be remitted.

"Person" means any individual, corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, society, joint stock company, unit of local government or any other organization.

"Received a Voucher" means that point in time when the Comptroller has physically received the voucher in-house and has date-stamped the voucher.

"Remittance" means a contrary claim or demand by which a given person's claim to a warrant of the Comptroller may be lessened or cancelled.

Section 295.300  Notification of a Fund's Claim Under Applicable Sections of the Code

a)         A claimant seeking remittance under applicable Sections of the Code shall notify the Comptroller in accordance with this Section.

b)         The Comptroller will not process a remittance under applicable Sections of the Code until the Comptroller has received a statement of notification from a claimant certifying that the certified amount delinquent has been established through notice and opportunity to be heard.

c)         For purposes of the applicable Sections of the Code and this Part, "statement of notification" of a claim eligible to be  remitted shall be deemed to occur when the claimant in favor of which the claim has arisen has certified and submitted to the Comptroller the following information:

1)         the name and FEIN or Government Unit Code for the person against whom the claim exists;

2)         the certified amount delinquent then due and payable to the fund;

3)         the reason why there is an amount due to the fund;

4)         the time period to which the claim is attributable;

5)         a description of the type of notification given to the person against whom the claim exists and the type of opportunity to be heard afforded that person;

6)         a statement as to the outcome of any hearings or other proceedings held to establish the claim, or a statement that no hearing was requested; and

7)         the date of the final determination of the claim.

d)         The statement of notification shall be certified by the claimant's Chief Executive Officer.  The authority to execute the statement of claim required by this Section may be delegated to a responsible person or persons.  This delegation of authority shall be made on forms provided by the Comptroller and shall contain a signature sample of the persons to whom the delegation is made.

e)         A claimant that has submitted a claim to be remitted must notify the Comptroller as soon as possible, but in no case later than 30 days, after receiving notice of a change in the status of a claim. A change in status may occur when payments are received through other collection methods.

Section 295.400  Warrants Subject to Remittance

a)         Except as prohibited by federal statute, federal regulation or State statute, the Comptroller shall remit the amount the claimant certifies as delinquent from any warrant payable to the payee subject to remittance. Warrants subject to remittance are either:

1)         from proportions of payments of State funds to the payee, when the claim is made pursuant to Code Section 3-125, 4-118, 7-172.1, 9-184.5, 10-107.5, 12-149.5, 13-503.5, or 22-104; or

2)         from proportions of grants of State funds to the payee, when the claim is made pursuant to Code Section 5-168, 6-165, 8-173, or 11-169.

b)         A settlement payment by the State or any of its agencies to release any pending or potential claim against the State is eligible to be remitted. Settlement payments subject to remittance are either: 

1)         from proportions of payments of State funds to the payee, when the claim is made pursuant to Code Section 3-125, 4-118, 7-172.1, 9-184.5, 10-107.5, 12-149.5, 13-503.5, or 22-104; or

2)         from proportions of grants of State funds to the payee, when the claim is made pursuant to Code Section 5-168, 6-165, 8-173, or 11-169.

Section 295.500  Processing a Certification Under Applicable Sections of the Code

This Section governs the processing of a certification under applicable Sections of the Code.

a)         Before making a remittance, the Comptroller shall review the statement of notification provided by the claimant notifying the Comptroller of the certified amounts delinquent.

b)         The Comptroller shall charge the State agency that submits a voucher against which a remittance is applied for the eligible  amount of the voucher submitted.  The Comptroller shall draw a warrant on the treasury or on other funds held by the State Treasurer in the amount of the claim eligible to be remitted and deposit that warrant into the State Offset Claims Fund.  The State Offset Claims Fund is a trust fund established and administered by the Comptroller for the deposit of monies from a person's warrant pursuant to an offset and the subsequent payment of monies back to either the State agency requesting the offset or the original payee.  The State Offset Claims Fund shall be used for the Comptroller's deposit of monies back to either the payee subject to the remittance or the claimant. If, after 60 days have elapsed from the date the Comptroller gives notice of the remittance as prescribed in Section 295.600(a), no protest is made by the payee subject to the remittance, the Comptroller shall issue a warrant on the State Offset Claims Fund for the amount of that deposit to the claimant entitled to the remittance.  If a protest conforming to the requirements of Section 295.600(b) is made, the Comptroller shall not issue the warrant to the claimant until the Comptroller ascertains the amount due and payable as provided in Section 295.600(c).

c)         If the Comptroller receives a proper statement of notification for a remittance after he or she has drawn a warrant, the Comptroller shall, if feasible, reprocess the warrant in order that the remittance provided for in this Part may be implemented.

d)         If the amount of the claim eligible to be remitted is less than the amount to which the payee is entitled, the Comptroller shall draw a warrant for the balance of the amount of the voucher against which the Comptroller has made the remittance and shall issue that warrant to the payee subject to the remittance.

Section 295.600  Ascertaining the Amount Due and Payable to the Claimant

a)         Upon processing a claim eligible to be remitted, the Comptroller shall, as soon as is practicable, give notice in writing to the payee subject to remittance.  The notice shall:

1)         state that a claimant has certified amounts delinquent and claims remittance under applicable Sections of the Code against a warrant on funds held by the State Treasurer that is now or that may become payable to the payee subject to remittance;

2)         identify the claimant seeking remittance and the reason for the remittance; and

3)         inform the payee that, if he or she does not owe any or all of the amount claimed to be due and payable to the claimant, the payee may, within 60 days after the Comptroller gives notice, make a written protest as prescribed in subsection (b).  The notice to the payee shall be deemed to have been given if the notice is enclosed in a envelope plainly addressed to the payee, United States postage fully prepaid, and deposited in the United States mail.  For purposes of this Section, the date "the Comptroller gives notice" shall mean the date of withholding, as indicated by the date on the written notice sent to the person subject to offset.

b)         Persons wishing to make a protest of the claim eligible to be remitted shall, within 60 days after the Comptroller gives notice as prescribed in subsection (a), notify the Comptroller in writing of:

1)         the reasons for contesting the claim;

2)         the amount, if any, that the payee acknowledges to be due and payable to the claimant; and

3)         any other information that will enable the Comptroller to determine the amount, if any, that is due and payable to the claimant.

c)         Upon receipt of a timely protest, the Comptroller shall determine the amount due and payable to the claimant.  This determination shall be made in light of all information relating to the transaction in the possession of the Comptroller and any other information the Comptroller may reasonably request and obtain from the claimant and the payee subject to remittance.

d)         If the Comptroller requests information from the claimant, the claimant shall respond within 90 days after the Comptroller's request.  The Comptroller may grant a claimant an additional 90 day extension of time to respond for the following reasons:

1)         the claimant is actively pursuing further investigation;

2)         the matter is in settlement negotiations; or

3)         other good cause shown by the claimant.

e)         From the deposit into the State Offset Claim Fund made pursuant to Section 295.500, the Comptroller shall issue a warrant to the claimant for the amount found due and payable to the claimant.  Any balance of that deposit shall be returned to the payee subject to remittance.

Section 295.700  Notification of the Comptroller's Exercise of Remittance

Whenever the Comptroller exercises her or his authority under the applicable sections of the Code and this Part, the payee subject to remittance and the agency that originated the voucher shall be sent a copy of the voucher against which the remittance was made, or a written statement obtaining all relevant information from the voucher.  The written statement shall include the reason for the remittance and shall indicate the amount of money deducted.  The payee subject to remittance and the agency originating the voucher shall receive a copy of the written statement; however, the agency may waive its right to receive the written statement and the voucher.  At the request of the claimant, the Comptroller shall notify the State agency, by letter or other means, of the remittance, including the amount of money remitted.

Section 295.800  Record Retention

The Comptroller shall retain a copy of the statement of notification prescribed in Section 295.600 in accordance with the State Records Act [5 ILCS 160] and the State Comptroller Act [15 ILCS 405].