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S1108aa,aa.................................by LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND TAXATION PUBLIC DEBTS - COLLECTION AGENCIES - Adds to existing law to provide that representatives of counties may file civil actions in the small claims department of the magistrate's division for reimbursement for certain county jail expenses; to revise the filing time limitation; and to provide that public agencies may retain collection agencies to collect public debts. 02/10 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing 02/11 Rpt prt - to Loc Gov 02/18 Rpt out - to 14th Ord 02/21 Rpt out amen - to engros 02/24 Rpt engros - 1st rdg - to 2nd rdg as amen 02/25 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg as amen 03/03 3rd rdg as amen - Ret'd to 14th Ord 03/04 Rpt out amen - to engros 03/05 Rpt engros - 1st rdg - to 2nd rdg as amen 03/06 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg as amen 03/10 3rd rdg as amen - PASSED - 25-6-4 AYES -- Andreason, Bailey, Brandt, Burtenshaw, Calabretta, Cameron, Compton, Darrington, Gannon, Geddes, Goedde, Hill, Ingram, Kennedy, Little, Lodge, Malepeai, Marley, McKenzie, McWilliams, Pearce, Richardson, Stegner, Sweet, Williams NAYS -- Burkett, Keough, Noh, Schroeder, Stennett, Werk Absent and excused -- Bunderson, Davis, Noble, Sorensen Floor Sponsor - Goedde Title apvd - to House 03/11 House intro - 1st rdg - to Loc Gov 03/21 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg 03/24 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg 03/27 3rd rdg - PASSED - 62-7-1 AYES -- Andersen, Barraclough, Barrett, Bauer, Bedke, Bell, Bieter, Black, Block, Boe, Bolz, Bradford, Cannon, Collins, Cuddy, Deal, Denney, Douglas, Eberle, Edmunson, Ellsworth, Eskridge, Field(18), Field(23), Gagner, Garrett, Henbest(Bray), Jaquet, Jones, Kellogg, Lake, Langford, Langhorst, Martinez, McGeachin, McKague, Meyer, Miller, Moyle, Nielsen, Raybould, Ridinger, Ring, Ringo, Roberts, Robison, Rydalch, Sayler, Schaefer, Shepherd, Shirley, Skippen, Smith(30), Smith(24), Smylie, Snodgrass, Stevenson, Tilman, Trail, Wills, Wood, Mr. Speaker NAYS -- Campbell, Crow, Harwood, Kulczyk, Mitchell, Naccarato, Sali Absent and excused -- Clark Floor Sponsor - Smylie Title apvd - to Senate 03/28 To enrol 03/31 Rpt enrol - Pres signed 04/01 Sp signed 04/02 To Governor 04/08 Governor signed Session Law Chapter 245 Effective: 04/08/03
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO |||| Fifty-seventh Legislature First Regular Session - 2003IN THE SENATE SENATE BILL NO. 1108 BY LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND TAXATION COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO COLLECTION OF PUBLIC DEBTS; AMENDING SECTION 20-607, IDAHO CODE, 3 TO PROVIDE THAT REPRESENTATIVES OF COUNTIES MAY FILE CIVIL ACTIONS AND TO 4 REVISE A TIME LIMITATION; AMENDING CHAPTER 23, TITLE 67, IDAHO CODE, BY 5 THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION 67-2358, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE THAT PUBLIC 6 AGENCIES MAY RETAIN COLLECTION AGENCIES TO COLLECT PUBLIC DEBTS, TO PRO- 7 VIDE FOR COLLECTION FEES, TO REQUIRE NOTICE TO DEBTORS, TO LIMIT REMEDIES 8 AND POWERS OF COLLECTION AGENCIES AND TO CLARIFY THE TERM "DEBT"; AND 9 DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. 10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 11 SECTION 1. That Section 20-607, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 12 amended to read as follows: 13 20-607. PRISONER REIMBURSEMENT TO THE COUNTY. (1) The county sheriff 14 shall seek reimbursement for any expenses incurred by the county in relation 15 to the charge or charges for which a person was sentenced to a county jail as 16 follows: 17 (a) From each person who is or was a prisoner, not more than twenty-five 18 dollars ($25.00) per day for the expenses of maintaining that prisoner up 19 to a maximum of five hundred dollars ($500), whichever is less, for the 20 entire period of time the person was confined in the county jail, includ- 21 ing any period of pretrial detention; 22 (b) Any other expenses incurred by the county in order to collect pay- 23 ments under this section; 24 (c) In pursuing reimbursement under this section the county may investi- 25 gate the financial status of the person. 26 (d) The county where the person was sentenced shall charge the person a 27 daily maintenance cost according to paragraph (a) of this subsection and 28 shall seek reimbursement once the debt has been incurred. 29 (2) Before seeking any reimbursement under this section, the sheriff 30 shall develop a form to be used for determining the financial status of pris- 31 oners. The form shall provide for obtaining the age and marital status of the 32 prisoner, the number and ages of children of the prisoner, the number and ages 33 of other dependents, type and value of real estate, type and value of real and 34 personal property, type and value of investments, cash, bank accounts, pen- 35 sions, annuities, salary, wages and any other personal property of significant 36 cash value. The county shall use the form when investigating the financial 37 status of a prisoner and when seeking reimbursement. 38 (3) (a) A prisoner in a county jail shall provide accurate information 39 and cooperate with the county sheriff for purposes of satisfying subsec- 40 tion (2) of this section. 41 (b) A prisoner who willfully refuses to provide accurate information or 42 cooperate as provided in paragraph (a) of this subsection shall not 43 receive a reduction in his or her term under section 20-621, Idaho Code. 2 1 (4) At the request of the board of county commissioners, the sheriff of 2 the county shall forward to the board a list containing the name of each sen- 3 tenced prisoner, term of sentence and date of admission. 4 (5) (a) Withinsixone (61)monthsyear of the release of a person as a 5 sentenced prisoner from any county jail,an attorneya representative for 6 that county may file a civil action to seek reimbursement from that per- 7 son for the cost of incarceration. A civil action may be filed only after 8 determining from the financial status form, as required in subsection (2) 9 of this section, that sufficient assets are available to justify further 10 recovery efforts and that further action to collect the daily expense for 11 maintaining the sentenced person by the county will not cause the sen- 12 tenced person or his dependents to qualify for public assistance. 13 (b) A civil action brought under this section shall be instituted in the 14 name of the county in which the jail is located and shall state the dates 15 and places of sentence, the length of time set forth in the sentence, the 16 length of time actually served, and the amount or amounts due to the 17 county pursuant to this section. 18 (c) Before entering any order on behalf of the county against the defend- 19 ant, the court shall take into consideration any legal obligation of the 20 defendant to support a spouse, minor children, other dependents or provide 21 victim restitution and any moral obligation to support dependents to whom 22 the defendant is providing or has in fact provided support. 23 (6) The reimbursements secured under this section shall be credited to 24 the justice fund or current expense fund of the county to be available for 25 jail maintenance and operation purposes. 26 SECTION 2. That Chapter 23, Title 67, Idaho Code, be, and the same is 27 hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and des- 28 ignated as Section 67-2358, Idaho Code, and to read as follows: 29 67-2358. COLLECTION OF PUBLIC DEBTS -- FEES. 30 (1) (a) Public agencies, as defined in section 67-2327, Idaho Code, may 31 retain by written contract a collection agency that has a permit pursuant 32 to chapter 22, title 26, Idaho Code, for the purpose of collecting public 33 debts owed by any person, including any restitution that is being col- 34 lected on behalf of a crime victim. 35 (b) Any public agency using a collection agency as provided in this sec- 36 tion may add a reasonable fee, payable by the debtor, to the outstanding 37 debt for the collection agency fee incurred or to be incurred. The amount 38 to be paid for collection services shall be left to the agreement of the 39 public agency and its collection agency or agencies, but a contingent fee 40 of up to fifty percent (50%) of the first one hundred thousand dollars 41 ($100,000) of the unpaid debt per account and up to thirty-five percent 42 (35%) of the unpaid debt over one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) per 43 account is reasonable. Any fee agreement entered into by a public agency 44 is presumptively reasonable. 45 (2) (a) No debt may be assigned to a collection agency unless there has 46 been a reasonable attempt to advise the debtor of the debt and at least 47 thirty (30) days have elapsed from the time such notice was attempted. The 48 public agency shall maintain a record of all attempts to notify the debtor 49 of the existence of the debt. 50 (b) As used in this subsection, "reasonable attempt" means that the pub- 51 lic agency has notified the debtor, either by mail, electronic transac- 52 tion, telephone or in person, of the existence of the debt and that the 53 public agency is attempting to collect the debt and any information 54 obtained will be used for that purpose. Within ten (10) days of such ini- 3 1 tial communication, the public agency shall send a written notice to the 2 debtor stating: 3 (i) The amount of the debt; 4 (ii) That the debt will be assumed to be valid unless the debtor 5 disputes the validity of the debt within thirty (30) days; 6 (iii) That if the debt is disputed, the public agency will send a 7 copy of the verification of the debt to the debtor; and 8 (iv) That the public agency may employ a debt collection agency to 9 collect a debt, which may result in additional costs to the debtor if 10 the debtor fails to pay the debt. 11 (3) Collection agencies acting pursuant to this section shall have only 12 those remedies and powers which are available to them under chapter 22, title 13 26, Idaho Code. 14 (4) For purposes of this section, the term "debt" shall include all 15 debts, including the fee required under subsection (1)(b) of this section, 16 except as otherwise provided by law. 17 SECTION 3. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby 18 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after its 19 passage and approval.
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO |||| Fifty-seventh Legislature First Regular Session - 2003Moved by Goedde Seconded by Compton IN THE SENATE SENATE AMENDMENTS TO S.B. NO. 1108 1 AMENDMENT TO SECTION 1 2 On page 2 of the printed bill, in line 6, following "action" insert: "in 3 the small claims department of the magistrate's division pursuant to the pro- 4 visions of chapter 23, title 1, Idaho Code,". 5 AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 2 6 On page 2, in line 39, following "but" insert: "in no case shall"; in line 7 40, delete "of up to" and insert: "exceed"; in line 41, delete "and up to" and 8 insert: "or"; delete lines 43 and 44 and insert: "account."; in line 54, 9 delete "Within ten (10) days of such ini-"; on page 3, delete lines 1 and 2 10 and insert: "At least one (1) notice sent pursuant to this subsection shall be 11 in writing and shall state:"; and delete lines 4 through 7 and insert: 12 "(ii) That unless the debtor, within thirty (30) days after receipt 13 of notice, disputes the validity of the debt, or any portion thereof, 14 the debt will be assumed to be valid by the public agency; 15 (iii) That if the debtor notifies the public agency in writing within 16 the thirty (30) day period that the debt, or any portion thereof, is 17 disputed, the public agency will obtain verification of the debt and 18 a copy of such verification will be mailed to the consumer by the 19 public agency; and". 20 CORRECTION TO TITLE 21 On page 1, in line 3, following "ACTIONS" insert: "IN THE SMALL CLAIMS 22 DEPARTMENT OF THE MAGISTRATE'S DIVISION". Moved by Goedde Seconded by Gannon IN THE SENATE SENATE AMENDMENT TO S.B. NO. 1108, As Amended 23 AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 2 24 On page 2 of the engrossed bill, delete lines 43 through 46 and insert: "a 25 contingent fee exceed thirty-three percent (33%) of the unpaid debt per 26 account.".
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO |||| Fifty-seventh Legislature First Regular Session - 2003IN THE SENATE SENATE BILL NO. 1108, As Amended BY LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND TAXATION COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO COLLECTION OF PUBLIC DEBTS; AMENDING SECTION 20-607, IDAHO CODE, 3 TO PROVIDE THAT REPRESENTATIVES OF COUNTIES MAY FILE CIVIL ACTIONS IN THE 4 SMALL CLAIMS DEPARTMENT OF THE MAGISTRATE'S DIVISION AND TO REVISE A TIME 5 LIMITATION; AMENDING CHAPTER 23, TITLE 67, IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDITION OF 6 A NEW SECTION 67-2358, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE THAT PUBLIC AGENCIES MAY 7 RETAIN COLLECTION AGENCIES TO COLLECT PUBLIC DEBTS, TO PROVIDE FOR COLLEC- 8 TION FEES, TO REQUIRE NOTICE TO DEBTORS, TO LIMIT REMEDIES AND POWERS OF 9 COLLECTION AGENCIES AND TO CLARIFY THE TERM "DEBT"; AND DECLARING AN EMER- 10 GENCY. 11 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 12 SECTION 1. That Section 20-607, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 13 amended to read as follows: 14 20-607. PRISONER REIMBURSEMENT TO THE COUNTY. (1) The county sheriff 15 shall seek reimbursement for any expenses incurred by the county in relation 16 to the charge or charges for which a person was sentenced to a county jail as 17 follows: 18 (a) From each person who is or was a prisoner, not more than twenty-five 19 dollars ($25.00) per day for the expenses of maintaining that prisoner up 20 to a maximum of five hundred dollars ($500), whichever is less, for the 21 entire period of time the person was confined in the county jail, includ- 22 ing any period of pretrial detention; 23 (b) Any other expenses incurred by the county in order to collect pay- 24 ments under this section; 25 (c) In pursuing reimbursement under this section the county may investi- 26 gate the financial status of the person. 27 (d) The county where the person was sentenced shall charge the person a 28 daily maintenance cost according to paragraph (a) of this subsection and 29 shall seek reimbursement once the debt has been incurred. 30 (2) Before seeking any reimbursement under this section, the sheriff 31 shall develop a form to be used for determining the financial status of pris- 32 oners. The form shall provide for obtaining the age and marital status of the 33 prisoner, the number and ages of children of the prisoner, the number and ages 34 of other dependents, type and value of real estate, type and value of real and 35 personal property, type and value of investments, cash, bank accounts, pen- 36 sions, annuities, salary, wages and any other personal property of significant 37 cash value. The county shall use the form when investigating the financial 38 status of a prisoner and when seeking reimbursement. 39 (3) (a) A prisoner in a county jail shall provide accurate information 40 and cooperate with the county sheriff for purposes of satisfying subsec- 41 tion (2) of this section. 42 (b) A prisoner who willfully refuses to provide accurate information or 43 cooperate as provided in paragraph (a) of this subsection shall not 2 1 receive a reduction in his or her term under section 20-621, Idaho Code. 2 (4) At the request of the board of county commissioners, the sheriff of 3 the county shall forward to the board a list containing the name of each sen- 4 tenced prisoner, term of sentence and date of admission. 5 (5) (a) Withinsixone (61)monthsyear of the release of a person as a 6 sentenced prisoner from any county jail,an attorneya representative for 7 that county may file a civil action in the small claims department of the 8 magistrate's division pursuant to the provisions of chapter 23, title 1, 9 Idaho Code, to seek reimbursement from that person for the cost of incar- 10 ceration. A civil action may be filed only after determining from the 11 financial status form, as required in subsection (2) of this section, that 12 sufficient assets are available to justify further recovery efforts and 13 that further action to collect the daily expense for maintaining the sen- 14 tenced person by the county will not cause the sentenced person or his 15 dependents to qualify for public assistance. 16 (b) A civil action brought under this section shall be instituted in the 17 name of the county in which the jail is located and shall state the dates 18 and places of sentence, the length of time set forth in the sentence, the 19 length of time actually served, and the amount or amounts due to the 20 county pursuant to this section. 21 (c) Before entering any order on behalf of the county against the defend- 22 ant, the court shall take into consideration any legal obligation of the 23 defendant to support a spouse, minor children, other dependents or provide 24 victim restitution and any moral obligation to support dependents to whom 25 the defendant is providing or has in fact provided support. 26 (6) The reimbursements secured under this section shall be credited to 27 the justice fund or current expense fund of the county to be available for 28 jail maintenance and operation purposes. 29 SECTION 2. That Chapter 23, Title 67, Idaho Code, be, and the same is 30 hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and des- 31 ignated as Section 67-2358, Idaho Code, and to read as follows: 32 67-2358. COLLECTION OF PUBLIC DEBTS -- FEES. 33 (1) (a) Public agencies, as defined in section 67-2327, Idaho Code, may 34 retain by written contract a collection agency that has a permit pursuant 35 to chapter 22, title 26, Idaho Code, for the purpose of collecting public 36 debts owed by any person, including any restitution that is being col- 37 lected on behalf of a crime victim. 38 (b) Any public agency using a collection agency as provided in this sec- 39 tion may add a reasonable fee, payable by the debtor, to the outstanding 40 debt for the collection agency fee incurred or to be incurred. The amount 41 to be paid for collection services shall be left to the agreement of the 42 public agency and its collection agency or agencies, but in no case shall 43 a contingent fee exceed fifty percent (50%) of the first one hundred thou- 44 sand dollars ($100,000) of the unpaid debt per account or thirty-five per- 45 cent (35%) of the unpaid debt over one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) 46 per account. 47 (2) (a) No debt may be assigned to a collection agency unless there has 48 been a reasonable attempt to advise the debtor of the debt and at least 49 thirty (30) days have elapsed from the time such notice was attempted. The 50 public agency shall maintain a record of all attempts to notify the debtor 51 of the existence of the debt. 52 (b) As used in this subsection, "reasonable attempt" means that the pub- 53 lic agency has notified the debtor, either by mail, electronic transac- 54 tion, telephone or in person, of the existence of the debt and that the 3 1 public agency is attempting to collect the debt and any information 2 obtained will be used for that purpose. At least one (1) notice sent pur- 3 suant to this subsection shall be in writing and shall state: 4 (i) The amount of the debt; 5 (ii) That unless the debtor, within thirty (30) days after receipt 6 of notice, disputes the validity of the debt, or any portion thereof, 7 the debt will be assumed to be valid by the public agency; 8 (iii) That if the debtor notifies the public agency in writing within 9 the thirty (30) day period that the debt, or any portion thereof, is 10 disputed, the public agency will obtain verification of the debt and 11 a copy of such verification will be mailed to the consumer by the 12 public agency; and 13 (iv) That the public agency may employ a debt collection agency to 14 collect a debt, which may result in additional costs to the debtor if 15 the debtor fails to pay the debt. 16 (3) Collection agencies acting pursuant to this section shall have only 17 those remedies and powers which are available to them under chapter 22, title 18 26, Idaho Code. 19 (4) For purposes of this section, the term "debt" shall include all 20 debts, including the fee required under subsection (1)(b) of this section, 21 except as otherwise provided by law. 22 SECTION 3. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby 23 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after its 24 passage and approval. IN THE SENATE SENATE BILL NO. 1108, As Amended, As Amended BY LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND TAXATION COMMITTEE 25 AN ACT 26 RELATING TO COLLECTION OF PUBLIC DEBTS; AMENDING SECTION 20-607, IDAHO CODE, 27 TO PROVIDE THAT REPRESENTATIVES OF COUNTIES MAY FILE CIVIL ACTIONS IN THE 28 SMALL CLAIMS DEPARTMENT OF THE MAGISTRATE'S DIVISION AND TO REVISE A TIME 29 LIMITATION; AMENDING CHAPTER 23, TITLE 67, IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDITION OF 30 A NEW SECTION 67-2358, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE THAT PUBLIC AGENCIES MAY 31 RETAIN COLLECTION AGENCIES TO COLLECT PUBLIC DEBTS, TO PROVIDE FOR COLLEC- 32 TION FEES, TO REQUIRE NOTICE TO DEBTORS, TO LIMIT REMEDIES AND POWERS OF 33 COLLECTION AGENCIES AND TO CLARIFY THE TERM "DEBT"; AND DECLARING AN EMER- 34 GENCY. 35 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 36 SECTION 4. That Section 20-607, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 37 amended to read as follows: 38 20-607. PRISONER REIMBURSEMENT TO THE COUNTY. (1) The county sheriff 39 shall seek reimbursement for any expenses incurred by the county in relation 40 to the charge or charges for which a person was sentenced to a county jail as 41 follows: 42 (a) From each person who is or was a prisoner, not more than twenty-five 43 dollars ($25.00) per day for the expenses of maintaining that prisoner up 44 to a maximum of five hundred dollars ($500), whichever is less, for the 45 entire period of time the person was confined in the county jail, includ- 46 ing any period of pretrial detention; 4 1 (b) Any other expenses incurred by the county in order to collect pay- 2 ments under this section; 3 (c) In pursuing reimbursement under this section the county may investi- 4 gate the financial status of the person. 5 (d) The county where the person was sentenced shall charge the person a 6 daily maintenance cost according to paragraph (a) of this subsection and 7 shall seek reimbursement once the debt has been incurred. 8 (2) Before seeking any reimbursement under this section, the sheriff 9 shall develop a form to be used for determining the financial status of pris- 10 oners. The form shall provide for obtaining the age and marital status of the 11 prisoner, the number and ages of children of the prisoner, the number and ages 12 of other dependents, type and value of real estate, type and value of real and 13 personal property, type and value of investments, cash, bank accounts, pen- 14 sions, annuities, salary, wages and any other personal property of significant 15 cash value. The county shall use the form when investigating the financial 16 status of a prisoner and when seeking reimbursement. 17 (3) (a) A prisoner in a county jail shall provide accurate information 18 and cooperate with the county sheriff for purposes of satisfying subsec- 19 tion (2) of this section. 20 (b) A prisoner who willfully refuses to provide accurate information or 21 cooperate as provided in paragraph (a) of this subsection shall not 22 receive a reduction in his or her term under section 20-621, Idaho Code. 23 (4) At the request of the board of county commissioners, the sheriff of 24 the county shall forward to the board a list containing the name of each sen- 25 tenced prisoner, term of sentence and date of admission. 26 (5) (a) Withinsixone (61)monthsyear of the release of a person as a 27 sentenced prisoner from any county jail,an attorneya representative for 28 that county may file a civil action in the small claims department of the 29 magistrate's division pursuant to the provisions of chapter 23, title 1, 30 Idaho Code, to seek reimbursement from that person for the cost of incar- 31 ceration. A civil action may be filed only after determining from the 32 financial status form, as required in subsection (2) of this section, that 33 sufficient assets are available to justify further recovery efforts and 34 that further action to collect the daily expense for maintaining the sen- 35 tenced person by the county will not cause the sentenced person or his 36 dependents to qualify for public assistance. 37 (b) A civil action brought under this section shall be instituted in the 38 name of the county in which the jail is located and shall state the dates 39 and places of sentence, the length of time set forth in the sentence, the 40 length of time actually served, and the amount or amounts due to the 41 county pursuant to this section. 42 (c) Before entering any order on behalf of the county against the defend- 43 ant, the court shall take into consideration any legal obligation of the 44 defendant to support a spouse, minor children, other dependents or provide 45 victim restitution and any moral obligation to support dependents to whom 46 the defendant is providing or has in fact provided support. 47 (6) The reimbursements secured under this section shall be credited to 48 the justice fund or current expense fund of the county to be available for 49 jail maintenance and operation purposes. 50 SECTION 5. That Chapter 23, Title 67, Idaho Code, be, and the same is 51 hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and des- 52 ignated as Section 67-2358, Idaho Code, and to read as follows: 53 67-2358. COLLECTION OF PUBLIC DEBTS -- FEES. 54 (1) (a) Public agencies, as defined in section 67-2327, Idaho Code, may 5 1 retain by written contract a collection agency that has a permit pursuant 2 to chapter 22, title 26, Idaho Code, for the purpose of collecting public 3 debts owed by any person, including any restitution that is being col- 4 lected on behalf of a crime victim. 5 (b) Any public agency using a collection agency as provided in this sec- 6 tion may add a reasonable fee, payable by the debtor, to the outstanding 7 debt for the collection agency fee incurred or to be incurred. The amount 8 to be paid for collection services shall be left to the agreement of the 9 public agency and its collection agency or agencies, but in no case shall 10 a contingent fee exceed thirty-three percent (33%) of the unpaid debt per 11 account. 12 (2) (a) No debt may be assigned to a collection agency unless there has 13 been a reasonable attempt to advise the debtor of the debt and at least 14 thirty (30) days have elapsed from the time such notice was attempted. The 15 public agency shall maintain a record of all attempts to notify the debtor 16 of the existence of the debt. 17 (b) As used in this subsection, "reasonable attempt" means that the pub- 18 lic agency has notified the debtor, either by mail, electronic transac- 19 tion, telephone or in person, of the existence of the debt and that the 20 public agency is attempting to collect the debt and any information 21 obtained will be used for that purpose. At least one (1) notice sent pur- 22 suant to this subsection shall be in writing and shall state: 23 (i) The amount of the debt; 24 (ii) That unless the debtor, within thirty (30) days after receipt 25 of notice, disputes the validity of the debt, or any portion thereof, 26 the debt will be assumed to be valid by the public agency; 27 (iii) That if the debtor notifies the public agency in writing within 28 the thirty (30) day period that the debt, or any portion thereof, is 29 disputed, the public agency will obtain verification of the debt and 30 a copy of such verification will be mailed to the consumer by the 31 public agency; and 32 (iv) That the public agency may employ a debt collection agency to 33 collect a debt, which may result in additional costs to the debtor if 34 the debtor fails to pay the debt. 35 (3) Collection agencies acting pursuant to this section shall have only 36 those remedies and powers which are available to them under chapter 22, title 37 26, Idaho Code. 38 (4) For purposes of this section, the term "debt" shall include all 39 debts, including the fee required under subsection (1)(b) of this section, 40 except as otherwise provided by law. 41 SECTION 6. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby 42 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after its 43 passage and approval.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE RS 12988 This bill amends the prisoner reimbursement statute to provide that a representative of the county can initiate civil action and extends the collection window from six months to one year. It adds a new code section allowing public debt collection fees to be in addition to the amount owing and sets provisions for charging fees for collection. This legislation would allow the state and local government entities to collect debt that may not be currently collectable. Such debts may include ambulance service fees, civil fines, solid waste services, prisoner reimbursement where the inmate is not indigent, and other fees charged by such entities. FISCAL IMPACT There is approximately eight to ten million dollars that may be collectable by cities and counties. Contact Name: Senator John Goedde Phone: 345-9129 Dan Chadwick, Tony Poinelli, Maggie Mahoney STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE S 1108