Full Text of SB3141 93rd General Assembly
SB3141 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004 SB3141
Introduced 2/6/2004, by Jacqueline Y. Collins SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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30 ILCS 210/5 |
from Ch. 15, par. 155 |
30 ILCS 210/10 |
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Amends the Illinois State Collection Act of 1986. Exempts the Department of Human Services from the requirement of referring debts for collection to the Department of Revenue Debt Collection Bureau. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
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SB3141 |
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LRB093 21203 RCE 47291 b |
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| AN ACT concerning collection of debts.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Illinois State Collection Act of 1986 is | 5 |
| amended by changing Sections 5 and 10 as follows:
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| (30 ILCS 210/5) (from Ch. 15, par. 155)
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| Sec. 5. Rules; payment plans; offsets.
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| (a) Until July 1, 2004 for the Department of Public
Aid
and | 9 |
| July 1, 2005 for Universities and all other State agencies,
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| State agencies shall adopt rules establishing formal due
dates | 11 |
| for amounts owing to the State and for the referral of
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| seriously past due accounts to private collection agencies, | 13 |
| unless
otherwise expressly provided by law or rule, except that | 14 |
| on and after July 1,
2005, the Department of Employment | 15 |
| Security may continue to refer to private
collection agencies | 16 |
| past due amounts that are exempt from subsection (g).
Such | 17 |
| procedures shall be
established in accord with sound business | 18 |
| practices.
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| (b) Until July 1, 2004 for the Department of
Public Aid and | 20 |
| July 1, 2005 for Universities and all other State agencies,
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| agencies may enter deferred payment plans for debtors of the | 22 |
| agency
and documentation of this fact retained by the agency, | 23 |
| where the deferred
payment plan is likely to increase the net | 24 |
| amount collected by the State,
except that, on and after July | 25 |
| 1, 2005, the Department of Employment Security
may continue to | 26 |
| enter deferred payment plans for debts that are exempt from
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| subsection (g).
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| (c) Until July 1, 2004 for the Department of
Public Aid
and | 29 |
| July 1, 2005 for Universities and all other State agencies,
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| State agencies may use the Comptroller's Offset
System provided | 31 |
| in
Section 10.05 of the State Comptroller Act for the | 32 |
| collection of debts owed
to the agency, except that, on and |
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LRB093 21203 RCE 47291 b |
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| after July 1, 2005, the Department of
Employment Security and | 2 |
| the Department of Human Services may continue to use the | 3 |
| Comptroller's offset system to
collect amounts that are exempt | 4 |
| from subsection (g). All debts that exceed
$1,000 and are more | 5 |
| than 90 days past
due shall be placed in the Comptroller's | 6 |
| Offset System, unless the State
agency shall have entered into | 7 |
| a deferred payment plan or demonstrates to
the Comptroller's | 8 |
| satisfaction that referral for offset is not cost effective.
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| (d) State agencies shall develop internal procedures | 10 |
| whereby
agency initiated payments to its debtors may be offset | 11 |
| without referral to
the Comptroller's Offset System.
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| (e) State agencies or the Comptroller may remove claims | 13 |
| from the
Comptroller's Offset System, where such claims have | 14 |
| been inactive for more
than one year.
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| (f) State agencies may use the Comptroller's Offset System | 16 |
| to determine if
any State agency is attempting to collect debt | 17 |
| from a contractor, bidder, or
other proposed contracting party.
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| (g) Beginning July 1, 2004 for the Departments of Public | 19 |
| Aid and
Employment Security and July 1, 2005 for Universities | 20 |
| and other State agencies,
State agencies shall refer to the | 21 |
| Department of Revenue Debt Collection Bureau
(the Bureau) all | 22 |
| debt to the State, provided that the debt satisfies the
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| requirements
for referral of delinquent debt as established by | 24 |
| rule by the Department of
Revenue.
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| (h) The Department of Public Aid shall be exempt from the | 26 |
| requirements of
this Section with regard to child support | 27 |
| debts, the collection of which is
governed by the requirements | 28 |
| of Title IV, Part D of the federal Social Security
Act. The | 29 |
| Department of Public Aid may refer child support debts to the | 30 |
| Bureau,
provided that the debt satisfies the requirements for | 31 |
| referral of delinquent
debt as
established by rule by the | 32 |
| Department of Revenue. The Bureau shall use all
legal means | 33 |
| available to collect child support debt, including those
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| authorizing the Department of Revenue to collect debt and those | 35 |
| authorizing the
Department of Public Aid to collect debt. All | 36 |
| such referred debt shall remain
an obligation under the |
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| Department of Public Aid's Child
Support Enforcement Program | 2 |
| subject to the requirements of Title IV, Part D of
the federal | 3 |
| Social Security Act, including the continued use of federally
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| mandated enforcement remedies and techniques by the Department | 5 |
| of Public Aid.
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| (h-1) The Department of Employment Security is exempt from | 7 |
| subsection (g)
with regard to debts to any federal account, | 8 |
| including but not limited to the
Unemployment Trust Fund, and | 9 |
| penalties and interest assessed under the
Unemployment | 10 |
| Insurance Act. The Department of Employment Security may refer
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| those debts to the Bureau, provided the debt satisfies the | 12 |
| requirements for
referral of delinquent debt as established by | 13 |
| rule by the Department of
Revenue. The Bureau shall use all | 14 |
| legal means available to collect the debts,
including those | 15 |
| authorizing the Department of Revenue to collect debt and those
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| authorizing the Department of Employment Security to collect | 17 |
| debt. All
referred debt shall remain an obligation to the | 18 |
| account to which it is owed.
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| (h-2) The Department of Human Services is exempt from | 20 |
| subsection (g)
with regard to all debts. The Department of | 21 |
| Human Services may refer
those debts to the Bureau, provided | 22 |
| the debt satisfies the requirements for
referral of delinquent | 23 |
| debt as established by rule by the Department of
Revenue. The | 24 |
| Bureau shall use all legal means available to collect the | 25 |
| debts,
including those authorizing the Department of Revenue to | 26 |
| collect debt and those
authorizing the Department of Human | 27 |
| Services to collect debt. All
referred debt shall remain an | 28 |
| obligation to the account to which it is owed.
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| (i) All debt referred to the Bureau for collection shall | 30 |
| remain the property
of the referring agency. The Bureau shall | 31 |
| collect debt on behalf of the
referring agency using all legal | 32 |
| means available, including those authorizing
the Department of | 33 |
| Revenue to collect debt and those authorizing the referring
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| agency to collect debt.
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| (j) No debt secured by an interest in real property granted | 36 |
| by the debtor in
exchange for the creation of the debt shall be |
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| referred to the Bureau. The
Bureau shall have no obligation to | 2 |
| collect debts secured by an interest in real
property.
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| (k) Beginning July 1, 2003, each agency shall collect and | 4 |
| provide the Bureau
information regarding the nature and details | 5 |
| of its debt in such form and
manner as the Department of | 6 |
| Revenue shall require.
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| (l) For all debt accruing after July 1, 2003, each agency | 8 |
| shall collect and
transmit such debtor identification | 9 |
| information as the Department of Revenue
shall require.
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| (Source: P.A. 92-404, eff. 7-1-02; 93-570, eff. 8-20-03.)
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| (30 ILCS 210/10)
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| Sec. 10. Department of Revenue Debt Collection Bureau to | 13 |
| assume
collection duties.
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| (a) The Department of Revenue's Debt Collection Bureau | 15 |
| shall serve as the
primary debt
collecting entity for the State | 16 |
| and in that role shall collect debts on behalf
of agencies of | 17 |
| the State. All debts owed the State of Illinois shall be
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| referred to the Bureau, subject to such limitations as the | 19 |
| Department of
Revenue shall by rule establish. The Bureau shall | 20 |
| utilize the Comptroller's
offset system and private collection | 21 |
| agencies, as well as its own collections
personnel. The Bureau | 22 |
| shall collect debt using all legal authority available to
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| Department of Revenue to collect debt and all legal authority | 24 |
| available to
the referring agency.
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| (b) The Bureau shall have the sole authority to let | 26 |
| contracts with persons
specializing in debt collection for the | 27 |
| collection of debt referred to and
accepted by the Bureau. Any | 28 |
| contract with the debt
collector shall specify that the | 29 |
| collector's fee shall be on a contingency
basis and that the | 30 |
| debt collector shall not be entitled to collect a
contingency | 31 |
| fee for any debt collected through the efforts of any State | 32 |
| offset
system.
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| (c) The Department of Revenue shall adopt rules for the | 34 |
| certification of
debt from referring agencies and shall adopt | 35 |
| rules for the certification of
collection specialists to be |
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| employed by the Bureau.
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| (d) The Department of Revenue shall adopt rules for | 3 |
| determining when a debt
referred by an agency shall be deemed | 4 |
| by the Bureau to be uncollectible.
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| (e) Once an agency's debt is deemed by the Bureau to be | 6 |
| uncollectible, the
Bureau shall return the debt to the | 7 |
| referring agency which shall then write the
debt off as | 8 |
| uncollectible or return the debt to the Bureau for additional
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| collection efforts. The Bureau shall refuse to accept debt that | 10 |
| has been deemed
uncollectible absent factual assertions from | 11 |
| the referring agency that due to
circumstances not known at the | 12 |
| time the debt was deemed uncollectible that the
debt is worthy | 13 |
| of additional collection efforts.
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| (f) For each debt referred, the State agency shall retain | 15 |
| all documents and
records relating to or supporting the debt. | 16 |
| In the event a debtor shall raise a
reasonable doubt as to the | 17 |
| validity of the debt, the Bureau may in its
discretion refer | 18 |
| the debt back to the referring agency for further review and
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| recommendation.
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| (g) The Department of Public Aid shall be exempt from the | 21 |
| requirements of
this Section
with regard to child support | 22 |
| debts, the collection of which is governed by the
requirements | 23 |
| of Title IV, Part D of the federal Social Security Act. The
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| Department of Public Aid may refer child support debts to the | 25 |
| Bureau, provided
that the debt satisfies the requirements for | 26 |
| referral of delinquent debt as
established by rule by the | 27 |
| Department of Revenue. The Bureau shall use all
legal means | 28 |
| available to collect child support debt, including those
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| authorizing the Department of Revenue to collect debt and those | 30 |
| authorizing the
Department of Public Aid to collect debt. All | 31 |
| such referred debt shall remain
an obligation under the | 32 |
| Department of Public Aid's Child Support Enforcement
Program | 33 |
| subject to the requirements of Title IV, Part D of the federal | 34 |
| Social
Security Act, including the continued use of federally | 35 |
| mandated enforcement
remedies and techniques by the Department | 36 |
| of Public Aid.
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LRB093 21203 RCE 47291 b |
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| (g-1) The Department of Employment Security is exempt from | 2 |
| subsection (a)
with regard to debts to any federal account, | 3 |
| including but not limited to the
Unemployment Trust Fund, and | 4 |
| penalties and interest assessed under the
Unemployment | 5 |
| Insurance Act. The Department of Employment Security may refer
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| those debts to the Bureau, provided the debt satisfies the | 7 |
| requirements for
referral of delinquent debt as established by | 8 |
| rule by the Department of
Revenue. The Bureau shall use all | 9 |
| legal means available to collect the debts,
including those | 10 |
| authorizing the Department of Revenue to collect debt and those
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| authorizing the Department of Employment Security to collect | 12 |
| debt. All
referred debt shall remain an obligation to the | 13 |
| account to which it is owed.
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| (g-2) The Department of Human Services is exempt from | 15 |
| subsection (a)
with regard to all debts. The Department of | 16 |
| Human Services may refer
those debts to the Bureau, provided | 17 |
| the debt satisfies the requirements for
referral of delinquent | 18 |
| debt as established by rule by the Department of
Revenue. The | 19 |
| Bureau shall use all legal means available to collect the | 20 |
| debts,
including those authorizing the Department of Revenue to | 21 |
| collect debt and those
authorizing the Department of Human | 22 |
| Services to collect debt. All
referred debt shall remain an | 23 |
| obligation to the account to which it is owed.
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| (h) The Debt Collection Fund is created as a special fund | 25 |
| in the State
treasury. Debt collection contractors under this | 26 |
| Act shall receive a
contingency fee as provided by the terms of | 27 |
| their contracts with the Department
of Revenue. Thereafter, 20% | 28 |
| of all amounts collected by the
Bureau, excluding amounts | 29 |
| collected on behalf of the Departments of Public Aid
and | 30 |
| Revenue,
shall be deposited into the Debt Collection Fund. All | 31 |
| remaining amounts
collected shall be deposited into the General | 32 |
| Revenue Fund unless the funds are
owed to any State fund or | 33 |
| funds other than the General Revenue Fund. Moneys in
the Debt | 34 |
| Collection Fund shall be appropriated only for the | 35 |
| administrative
costs of the Bureau. On the last day of each | 36 |
| fiscal year, unappropriated moneys
and moneys otherwise deemed |
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| unneeded for the next fiscal year remaining in the
Debt | 2 |
| Collection Fund may be transferred into the General Revenue | 3 |
| Fund at the
Governor's reasonable discretion. The provisions of | 4 |
| this subsection do not
apply to debt that is exempt from | 5 |
| subsection (a) pursuant to subsection (g-1)
or child support | 6 |
| debt referred to the Bureau by the Department of Public
Aid | 7 |
| pursuant to this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly. | 8 |
| Collections
arising from referrals from
the Department of | 9 |
| Public Aid shall be deposited into such fund or funds as the
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| Department of Public Aid shall direct, in accordance with the | 11 |
| requirements of
Title IV, Part D of the federal Social Security | 12 |
| Act, applicable provisions of
State law, and the rules of the | 13 |
| Department of Public Aid. Collections arising
from referrals | 14 |
| from the Department of Employment Security shall be deposited
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| into the fund or funds that the Department of Employment | 16 |
| Security shall direct,
in accordance with the requirements of | 17 |
| Section 3304(a)(3) of the federal
Unemployment Tax Act, Section | 18 |
| 303(a)(4) of the federal Social Security Act, and
the | 19 |
| Unemployment Insurance Act.
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| (i) The Attorney General and the State Comptroller may | 21 |
| assist in the debt
collection efforts of the Bureau, as | 22 |
| requested by the Department of Revenue.
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| (j) The Director of Revenue shall report annually to the | 24 |
| General Assembly
and State Comptroller upon the debt collection | 25 |
| efforts of the Bureau. Each
report shall include an analysis of | 26 |
| the overdue debts owed to the State.
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| (k) The Department of Revenue shall adopt rules and | 28 |
| procedures for the
administration of this amendatory Act of the | 29 |
| 93rd General Assembly. The rules
shall be adopted under the
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| Department of Revenue's emergency rulemaking authority within | 31 |
| 90 days following
the effective date of this amendatory Act of | 32 |
| the 93rd General Assembly due to
the budget crisis threatening | 33 |
| the public interest.
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| (l) The Department of Revenue's Debt Collection Bureau's | 35 |
| obligations under
this
Section 10 shall be subject to | 36 |
| appropriation by the General Assembly.
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| (Source: P.A. 93-570, eff. 8-20-03.)
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 3 |
| becoming law.
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