[Accounts-receivable-news] SB 1067 Debt Collection Highlights

[SWARM * DAS]

Good morning.

Senate Bill (SB) 1067<https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2017R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB1067/Enrolled> consists of several cost containment measures identified by members of the 2017 Legislative Assembly. Included in the bill, was the debt collection centralization concept originally proposed by the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) via SB 89.
Below are highlights of the statutory changes referenced in the Debt Collection section of SB 1067:

Account assignment:

*        All liquidated and delinquent accounts are required to be assigned to the Department of Revenue (DOR) not later than:

o   90 days from the date the account was liquidated if no payment has been received on the account within the 90- day period; or

o   90 days from the date of receipt of the most recent payment on the account.

(Executive Department agencies are still subject to the 60 day assignment requirement under Executive Order 17-09 until June 30, 2019.)

*        Agencies may assign liquidated and delinquent accounts to DOR prior to the 90 day time requirement.

*        DOR has six months from the date the account was assigned to collect a payment. If DOR does not collect a payment within six months, or if six months have elapsed since the date of receipt of the most recent payment on the account, DOR shall immediately assign the account to a private collection firm (PCF) and notify the state agency of the assignment.

*        DOR may assign accounts to PCFs within the six month time period.

*        DOR may add a fee to the amount of the liquidated and delinquent account to cover DORs cost of collections as well as PCFs costs of collection, if the debtor was provided notice in advance.

*        DOR-Other Agency Accounts (OAA) has access to all data and other information available to DOR for any purpose allowed by law.

*        At the time any setoff is made, DOR shall notify the debtor of the sums due to the debtor from a state agency that are applied against the debtor's delinquent account. The debtor may contest the setoff and request a hearing within 30 days from the date of the setoff notice.
Social Security Numbers:

*        State agencies may request that a person voluntarily supply the person's Social Security Number (SSN) for use in collecting debts owed to the state of Oregon; the state agency must provide a disclosure notice.

*        DAS shall adopt rules specifying the SSN disclosure notice format and setting procedures for sharing the SSN between state agencies and DOR and PCFs.

*        State agencies that require a person to provide their SSN under federal or state law for purposes other than collecting a debt owed to the state of Oregon may not use the SSN for debt collection purposes unless the agency also requests the person to voluntarily provide their SSN and the agency provides notice as per rules adopted by DAS.
Reporting:

*        State agencies with liquidated and delinquent account ending balances of $50 million or greater (as reported to the Legislative Fiscal Office) shall submit an additional report to the committees or interim committees of the Legislative Assembly related to ways and means. The report shall include:

o   A description of major categories of liquidated and delinquent accounts held by the state agency;

o   A description of circumstances under which the state agency writes off or adjusts liquidated and delinquent amounts or removes an account from liquidated and delinquent status;

o   A description of actions undertaken by the state agency to reduce the amount of liquidated and delinquent debt owed to the state agency at the end of each fiscal year; and

o   A plan for future actions that will reduce the amount of liquidated and delinquent debt owed to the state agency at the end of each fiscal year and describes any additional resources that are necessary to carry out the plan.
Write-off:

*        Removes requirement for accounts to be relinquished by a PCF to be eligible for write-off.
Operative date:

*        All elements within the Debt Collection section of SB 1067 become operative July 1, 2018.

Please let us know if you have any questions about debt centralization in Oregon or if you would like to participate in the Centralization Workgroup. Thank you.


Sincerely,

Gerold Floyd (503) 378-2709

Stacey Chase (503) 947-8567

Statewide Accounts Receivable Management
Chief Financial Office
Department of Administrative Services
www.oregon.gov/das/Financial/Acctng/Pages/AR.aspx<http://www.oregon.gov/das/Financial/Acctng/Pages/AR.aspx>

Data Classification: Level 1 - Published





-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://omls.oregon.gov/pipermail/accounts-receivable-news/attachments/20170726/29ccbeb0/attachment.html>