Public Act 097-0444
 
HB0466 EnrolledLRB097 03293 PJG 43330 b



    AN ACT concerning finance.

 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 
represented in the General Assembly: 




 
 
    Section 5. The Uncollected State Claims Act is amended  by 
changing Sections 2 and 2.1 as follows:
 



    (30 ILCS 205/2)  (from Ch. 15, par. 102)



    Sec. 2. 
(a) When any State agency is unable to collect any 
claim or
account receivable of $1,000 or more due the agency 
after having pursued
the procedure prescribed by law or 
applicable rules and regulations for the
collection thereof or, 
if no procedure is so prescribed, then after having
undertaken 
all reasonable and appropriate procedures available to the 
agency
to effectuate collection, the State agency shall request 
the Attorney General
to certify the claim or account receivable 
to be uncollectible.

    (b) Each request to the Attorney General asking that a 
claim or account
receivable of $1,000 or more be declared 
uncollectible shall be in a format
prescribed by the Attorney 
General and shall include at a minimum the
following 
information:  debtor's name, debtor's social security number or

comparable identifying number, debtor's last known address, 
nature of the
debt, efforts made to collect the debt and the 
time period covered by those
efforts, the age of the debt, the 
age of the debtor and the specific reason
the State agency 
believes the debt to be uncollectible.  Nothing in this

provision should be interpreted as a limitation on the 
authority of the
Attorney General to require additional 
information that he may find to be
necessary to evaluate 
requests sent him pursuant to this provision.

    (c) Claims or accounts receivable of less than $1,000 may 
be
certified as uncollectible by the agency when the agency 
determines that
further collection efforts are not in the best 
economic interest of the
State.  Such determination shall be 
made in accordance with rules of the
Comptroller.

    (d) If any item of information required by this provision 
or any item
of additional information required by the Attorney 
General is not
available, the State agency shall specifically 
so state in its request to
the Attorney General asking that the 
debt be declared uncollectible.

    (e) A State agency participating in a federal student loan 
program may
remove student loans from its records by assigning 
or referring such student
loans to the federal government for 
collection pursuant to the procedures
prescribed by federal 
laws and regulations.

    (f) Claims and receivables due from another State agency 
may be written off
if the agency has pursued all reasonable 
means of collection and if the amount
(1) is payable from an 
appropriation which has lapsed; (2) may not properly be
charged 
against a current appropriation; and (3) was not originally 
payable
from federal funds, a trust fund or locally held funds.  
Each agency which
writes off claims or receivables pursuant to 
this subparagraph shall submit a
listing of all such write-offs 
to the Comptroller within 60 days of taking such
action.

    (g) Debts certified as uncollectible may be reopened for 
collection by
an agency upon the approval of the Attorney 
General.

    (h) Agencies shall submit a list of debts certified as 
uncollectible to
the Comptroller in the form and manner 
specified by the Comptroller.  The
Comptroller shall take 
reasonable steps to accept information on
agency computer 
tapes.

    (i) After compliance with all provisions of this Section, 
an agency may
delete from its records debts certified as 
uncollectible as follows:


        (1) When the debt is less than $1,000, immediately upon 
    certification by
the agency;


        (2) For debts of $1,000 or more that are less than 5 
    years old, when the
agency determines pursuant to rules and 
    regulations promulgated by the
Comptroller that such 
    deletion is in the best economic interest of the State;


        (3) For debts of $1,000 or more, when, the debt is more 
    than 5 years old or, in the case of a public university, 
    more than 8 years old.

    (j) The Attorney General shall report to the General 
Assembly by
February 1 of each year the following:


        (1) the total number and dollar amount of debts 
    referred to him for
collection in the preceding calendar 
    year;


        (2) the total amount actually collected;


        (3) the number of cases by agency.

    (k) Each State agency shall report in its annual report the 
total amount
and the number of claims due and payable to the 
State.  Each agency shall
also describe in its annual report the 
method used in collecting debts,
whether by a private 
collection service or by the Attorney General.

    (l) The provisions of Section 2505-250 of the Department of 
Revenue Law
(20 ILCS 2505/2505-250) take precedence over the 
provisions of this Section.

(Source: P.A. 91-239, eff. 1-1-00.)

 
    (30 ILCS 205/2.1)
    Sec. 2.1. Sale of debts certified as uncollectible. After 
accounts have been certified by the Attorney General, or the 
State agency for accounts of less than $1,000, as uncollectible 
pursuant to this Act, the Department of Revenue may sell the 
debts to one or more outside private vendors. Sales shall be 
conducted under rules adopted by the Department of Revenue 
using a request for proposals procedure similar to that 
procedure under the Illinois Procurement Code. The outside 
private vendors shall remit to the Department of Revenue the 
purchase price for debts sold under this Section. The 
Department of Revenue shall deposit the money received under 
this Section into the General Revenue Fund. The State 
Comptroller shall provide the Department of Revenue with any 
information that the  Department requests for the purpose of 
administering this Section. This Section does not apply to any 
tax debt owing to the Department of Revenue. This Section does 
not apply to (i) debts, in the case of a public university, 
when the debt is less than 8 years old; (ii) child support 
debts enforced by the Department of Healthcare and Family 
Services pursuant to Title IV-D of the federal Social Security 
Act and Article X of the Illinois Public Aid Code; and (iii) 
debts that are enforced by the Department of Employment 
Security and owed to any federal account, including but not 
limited to the Unemployment Trust Fund, and penalties and 
interest assessed under the Unemployment Insurance Act.

(Source: P.A. 96-1435, eff. 8-16-10.)
 
    Section 10. The Illinois State Collection Act of 1986 is 
amended  by renumbering and changing Section 9  added by Public 
Act 96-1383 and Section 9 added by Public Act 96-1435 as 
follows:
 
    (30 ILCS 210/10.1)
    Sec. 10.1 9. Collection agency fees. Except where 
prohibited by federal law or regulation, in the case of any 
liability referred to a collection agency on or after July 1, 
2010, any fee charged to the State by the collection agency (i) 
may not exceed 25% for a first placement of the underlying 
liability referred to the collection agency unless the 
liability is for a tax debt, (ii) is considered an additional 
liability owed to the State, (iii) is immediately subject to 
all collection procedures applicable to the liability referred 
to the collection agency, and (iv) must be separately stated in 
any statement or notice of the liability issued by the 
collection agency to the debtor. The fee limitations of this

Section do not apply to a second, third, or subsequent

placement or to litigation activities. 

(Source: P.A. 96-1383, eff. 1-1-11; revised 9-7-10.)
 
 

    (30 ILCS 210/10.2)

 
    Sec. 10.2 9. Deferral and compromise of  past due debt.
    (a) In this Section, "past due debt" means any debt owed to 
the State that has been outstanding for more than 12 months. 
"Past due debt" does not include any debt if any of the actions 
required under this Section would violate federal law or 
regulation.
    (b) State agencies may enter into a deferred payment plan 
for the purpose of satisfying a past due debt. Except for a 
deferred payment plan entered into by any Illinois public 
university, as defined in Section 10 of the Illinois Prepaid 
Tuition Act, or by the Illinois Department of Transportation or 
for debts owed to the Illinois Department of Transportation for 
deposit into the Road Fund, the The deferred payment plan must 
meet the following requirements:
        (1) The term of the deferred payment plan may not 
    exceed 2 years.
        (2) The first payment of the deferred payment plan must 
    be at least 10% of the total amount due.
        (3) All subsequent monthly payments for the deferred 
    payment plan must be assessed as equal monthly principal 
    payments, together with interest.
        (4) The deferred payment plan must include interest at 
    a rate that is the same as the interest required under the 
    State Prompt Payment Act.
        (5) The deferred payment plan must be approved by the 
    Secretary or Director of the State agency. 
    (c) State agencies may compromise past due debts. Any 
action taken by a State agency to compromise a past due debt, 
other than an action taken by an Illinois public university, as 
defined in Section 10 of the Illinois Prepaid Tuition Act, to 
compromise past due debt, must meet the following requirements:
        (1) The amount of the compromised debt shall be no less 
    than 80% of the total of the past due debt.
        (2) Once a past due debt has been compromised, the 
    debtor must remit to the State agency the total amount of 
    the compromised debt. However, the State agency may collect 
    the compromised debt through a payment plan not to exceed 6 
    months. If the State agency accepts the compromised debt 
    through a payment plan, then the compromised debt shall be 
    subject to the same rate of interest as required under the 
    State Prompt Payment Act. 
        (3) Before a State agency accepts a compromised debt, 
    the amount of the compromised debt must be approved by the 
    Secretary or Director of the agency Department of Revenue. 
    (d) State agencies may sell a past due debt to one or more 
outside private vendors. Sales shall be conducted under rules 
adopted by the Department of Revenue using a request for 
proposals procedure similar to that procedure under the 
Illinois Procurement Code. The outside private vendors shall 
remit to the State agency the purchase price for debts sold 
under this subsection.
    (e) The State agency shall deposit all amounts received 
under this Section into the General Revenue Fund. For Illinois 
public universities, as defined in Section 10 of the Illinois 
Prepaid Tuition Act, the requirement of this subsection (e) 
applies to amounts received from the sale of past due debt and 
does not apply to amounts received under a deferred payment 
plan or a compromised debt payment plan.
    (f) This Section does not apply to any tax debt owing to 
the Department of Revenue. 

    (g) This Section does not apply to child support debts 
enforced by the Department of Healthcare and Family Services 
pursuant to Title IV-D of the federal Social Security Act and 
Article X of the Illinois Public Aid Code.
    (h) This Section does not apply to debts that are enforced 
by the Department of Employment Security and owed to any 
federal account, including but not limited to the Unemployment 
Trust Fund, and penalties and interest assessed under the 
Unemployment Insurance Act.
(Source: P.A. 96-1435, eff. 8-16-10; revised 9-7-10.)
  
 
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.