State Codes and Statutes
Statutes > Utah > Title-63a > Chapter-08 > 63a-8-20163A-8-201. Office of State Debt Collection created -- Duties.
(1) The state and each state agency shall comply with the requirements of this chapterand any rules established by the Office of State Debt Collection.
(2) There is created the Office of State Debt Collection in the Department ofAdministrative Services.
(3) The office shall:
(a) have overall responsibility for collecting and managing state receivables;
(b) develop consistent policies governing the collection and management of statereceivables;
(c) oversee and monitor state receivables to ensure that state agencies are:
(i) implementing all appropriate collection methods;
(ii) following established receivables guidelines; and
(iii) accounting for and reporting receivables in the appropriate manner;
(d) develop policies, procedures, and guidelines for accounting, reporting, and collectingmoney owed to the state;
(e) provide information, training, and technical assistance to all state agencies on variouscollection-related topics;
(f) write an inclusive receivables management and collection manual for use by all stateagencies;
(g) prepare quarterly and annual reports of the state's receivables;
(h) create or coordinate a state accounts receivable database;
(i) develop reasonable criteria to gauge state agencies' efforts in maintaining an effectiveaccounts receivable program;
(j) identify those state agencies that are not making satisfactory progress towardimplementing collection techniques and improving accounts receivable collections;
(k) coordinate information, systems, and procedures between state agencies to maximizethe collection of past-due accounts receivable;
(l) establish an automated cash receipt process between state agencies;
(m) establish procedures for writing off accounts receivable for accounting and collectionpurposes;
(n) establish standard time limits after which an agency will delegate responsibility tocollect state receivables to the office or its designee;
(o) be a real party in interest for an account receivable referred to the office by any stateagency; and
(p) allocate money collected for judgments registered under Section 77-18-6 inaccordance with Sections 51-9-402, 63A-8-302, and 78A-5-110.
(4) The office may:
(a) recommend to the Legislature new laws to enhance collection of past-due accounts bystate agencies;
(b) collect accounts receivables for higher education entities, if the higher education entity agrees;
(c) prepare a request for proposal for consulting services to:
(i) analyze the state's receivable management and collection efforts; and
(ii) identify improvements needed to further enhance the state's effectiveness incollecting its receivables;
(d) contract with private or state agencies to collect past-due accounts;
(e) perform other appropriate and cost-effective coordinating work directly related tocollection of state receivables;
(f) obtain access to records of any state agency that are necessary to the duties of theoffice by following the procedures and requirements of Section 63G-2-206;
(g) collect interest and fees related to the collection of receivables under this chapter, andestablish, by following the procedures and requirements of Section 63J-1-504:
(i) a fee to cover the administrative costs of collection, on accounts administered by theoffice;
(ii) a late penalty fee that may not be more than 10% of the account receivable onaccounts administered by the office;
(iii) an interest charge that is:
(A) the postjudgment interest rate established by Section 15-1-4 in judgments establishedby the courts; or
(B) not more than 2% above the prime rate as of July 1 of each fiscal year for accountsreceivable for which no court judgment has been entered; and
(iv) fees to collect accounts receivable for higher education;
(h) collect reasonable attorney fees and reasonable costs of collection that are related tothe collection of receivables under this chapter;
(i) make rules that allow accounts receivable to be collected over a reasonable period oftime and under certain conditions with credit cards;
(j) file a satisfaction of judgment in the district court by following the procedures andrequirements of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure;
(k) ensure that judgments for which the office is the judgment creditor are renewed, asnecessary; and
(l) notwithstanding Section 63G-2-206, share records obtained under Subsection (4)(f)with private sector vendors under contract with the state to assist state agencies in collectingdebts owed to the state agencies without changing the classification of any private, controlled, orprotected record into a public record.
(5) The office shall ensure that:
(a) a record obtained by the office or a private sector vendor as referred to in Subsection(4)(l):
(i) is used only for the limited purpose of collecting accounts receivable; and
(ii) is subject to federal, state, and local agency records restrictions; and
(b) any person employed by, or formerly employed by, the office or a private sectorvendor as referred to in Subsection (4)(l) is subject to:
(i) the same duty of confidentiality with respect to the record imposed by law on officersand employees of the state agency from which the record was obtained; and
(ii) any civil or criminal penalties imposed by law for violations of lawful access to aprivate, controlled, or protected record.
(6) (a) The office shall collect accounts receivable ordered by the district court as a resultof prosecution for a criminal offense that have been transferred to the office under Subsection76-3-201.1(5)(h) or (8).
(b) The office may not assess the interest charge established by the office underSubsection (4) on an account receivable subject to the postjudgment interest rate established by
Section 15-1-4.
(7) The office shall require state agencies to:
(a) transfer collection responsibilities to the office or its designee according to time limitsestablished by the office;
(b) make annual progress towards implementing collection techniques and improvedaccounts receivable collections;
(c) use the state's accounts receivable system or develop systems that are adequate toproperly account for and report their receivables;
(d) develop and implement internal policies and procedures that comply with thecollections policies and guidelines established by the office;
(e) provide internal accounts receivable training to staff involved in their managementand collection of receivables as a supplement to statewide training;
(f) bill for and make initial collection efforts of its receivables up to the time the accountsmust be transferred; and
(g) submit quarterly receivable reports to the office that identify the age, collectionstatus, and funding source of each receivable.
(8) The office shall use the information provided by the agencies and any additionalinformation from the office's records to compile a one-page summary report of each agency.
(9) The summary shall include:
(a) the type of revenue that is owed to the agency;
(b) any attempted collection activity; and
(c) any costs incurred in the collection process.
(10) The office shall annually provide copies of each agency's summary to the governorand to the Legislature.
Amended by Chapter 183, 2009 General Session
