093_HB0166

 
                                     LRB093 02358 JAM 02366 b

 1        AN ACT concerning debt collection.

 2        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section  5.  The Illinois State Collection Act of 1986 is
 5    amended by changing Section 8 as follows:

 6        (30 ILCS 210/8) (from Ch. 15, par. 158)
 7        Sec. 8.  Debt Collection Board.   There is created a Debt
 8    Collection  Board  consisting  of  the  Director  of  Central
 9    Management Services as chairman, the State  Comptroller,  and
10    the  Attorney  General,  or  their respective designees.  The
11    Board shall establish a centralized  collections  service  to
12    undertake  further  collection efforts on delinquent accounts
13    or claims of the State that which  have  not  been  collected
14    through  the  reasonable  efforts  of  the  respective  State
15    agencies.    The Board shall promulgate rules and regulations
16    pursuant to the Illinois Administrative  Procedure  Act  with
17    regard  to the establishment of timetables and the assumption
18    of responsibility for agency accounts  receivable  that  have
19    not  been  collected  by  the  agency,  are  not subject to a
20    current  repayment  plan,  or  have  not  been  certified  as
21    uncollectible as of the date specified  by  the  Board.   The
22    Board  shall  make  a  final evaluation of those accounts and
23    either (i) direct or conduct  further  collection  activities
24    when  further  collection  efforts  are  in the best economic
25    interest of the State or (ii) in accordance with Section 2 of
26    the Uncollected State Claims Act, certify the  receivable  as
27    uncollectible  or  submit the account to the Attorney General
28    for that certification.
29        The Board is empowered to  adopt  rules  and  regulations
30    subject  to  the  provisions  of  the Illinois Administrative
31    Procedure Act.
 
                            -2-      LRB093 02358 JAM 02366 b
 1        The  Board  is  empowered  to  enter  into  one  or  more
 2    contracts with outside vendors with demonstrated capabilities
 3    in the area of account collection.  The  contracts  shall  be
 4    let  on  the  basis  of  competitive  proposals  secured from
 5    responsible proposers.  The Board may require that vendors be
 6    prequalified.  All contracts shall provide for  a  contingent
 7    fee  based on the age, nature, amount, and type of delinquent
 8    account.  The Board may  adopt  a  reasonable  classification
 9    schedule  for  the various receivables.  The contractor shall
10    remit the amount collected, net of the contingent fee, to the
11    respective State agency which shall deposit  the  net  amount
12    received  into  the fund that would have received the receipt
13    had it been collected by the State agency.  No portion of the
14    collections shall be deposited into  an  Accounts  Receivable
15    Fund  established  under  Section  6 of this Act.   The Board
16    shall act only upon the unanimous vote of its members.
17    (Source: P.A. 89-511, eff. 1-1-97.)