Senate Bill No. 40

Introduced By gage

By Request of the Department of Administration



A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act providing that for debt collection purposes, the term "agency" includes the internal revenue service; eliminating the requirement that the department of administration transfer any fund balance in excess of $10,000 from the debt collection internal service fund to the general fund at the end of each biennium; eliminating the requirement that the department report canceling and writing off of accounts receivable to the budget director; amending sections 17-4-101, 17-4-106, 17-4-107, and 17-4-108, MCA; and providing an immediate effective date."



Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Montana:



Section 1.  Section 17-4-101, MCA, is amended to read:

"17-4-101.   Definitions. In this part, the:

(1)  term "agency" includes:

(a)  all state offices, departments, divisions, boards, commissions, councils, committees, institutions, university units, and other entities or instrumentalities of state government; and

(b)  with respect to delinquent taxes that the state auditor department is requested to collect, state and local entities whose personal property taxes are collected by the county treasurer; and

(c) the internal revenue service;

(2)  word "department" means the department of administration."



Section 2.  Section 17-4-106, MCA, is amended to read:

"17-4-106.   Agency owed debt to receive all money collected -- exception. (1)  All money collected by the department on debts transferred to the department by the various agencies, except funds collected under 17-4-103(3), must be deposited to the account or fund of the agency to which the debt was originally owed. A county shall apply a delinquent personal property tax collection by the department to the payment of the taxpayer's most delinquent personal property taxes or portion thereof of the taxes.

(2)  Funds collected under 17-4-103(3) must be deposited in an account in the internal service fund for the cost of assistance of debt collection by the department. Funds deposited in excess of the amount appropriated for operation of the debt collection program must be carried forward into the next fiscal year for operation of the debt collection program. Any excess carried forward into the next fiscal year must be used to reduce the designated percentage of the collected proceeds charged to the various agencies. At the end of each biennium, any fund balance in excess of $10,000 must be transferred to the general fund."



Section 3.  Section 17-4-107, MCA, is amended to read:

"17-4-107.   Writeoff procedures. (1) The department may establish procedures for canceling and writing off accounts receivable carried on the books of the various state agencies that have been transferred to the department pursuant to 17-4-104 and that are uncollectible or the continued pursuance of the collection of accounts would cost the state more than the amount collected. The procedures must be established in accordance with subsection (2).

(2)  The department may establish procedures for canceling and writing off accounts receivable carried on the books of various state agencies that are uncollectible or the continued pursuance of the collection would cost the state more than the amount collected. The procedures must include the reporting to the budget director of any canceling and writing off of accounts receivable."



Section 4.  Section 17-4-108, MCA, is amended to read:

"17-4-108.   Circumstances under which previously written-off debt may be collected. If a debt previously written off under 17-4-107(1) 17-4-107 subsequently becomes collectible, the department shall proceed to collect the money due pursuant to 17-4-105(1) and 17-4-106."



NEW SECTION. Section 5.  Effective date. [This act] is effective on passage and approval.

-END-