Sen. Debbie DeFrancesco Halvorson
Filed: 5/6/2004
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1 | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4393
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2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4393 by replacing | ||||||
3 | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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4 | "Section 5. The Collection Agency Act is amended by | ||||||
5 | changing Section 2.04 as follows:
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6 | (225 ILCS 425/2.04) (from Ch. 111, par. 2005.1)
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7 | (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2006)
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8 | Sec. 2.04. Child support indebtedness.
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9 | (a) Persons, associations, partnerships, or corporations | ||||||
10 | engaged in the
business of collecting child support | ||||||
11 | indebtedness owing under a court order
as provided under the | ||||||
12 | Illinois Public Aid Code, the Illinois Marriage and
Dissolution | ||||||
13 | of Marriage Act, the Non-Support of Spouse and Children Act,
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14 | the Non-Support Punishment Act, the Illinois Parentage Act of | ||||||
15 | 1984, or
similar laws of other states
are not
restricted (i) in | ||||||
16 | the frequency of contact with an obligor who is in arrears,
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17 | whether by phone, mail, or other means, (ii) from contacting | ||||||
18 | the employer of an
obligor who is in arrears, (iii) from | ||||||
19 | publishing or threatening to publish a
list of obligors in | ||||||
20 | arrears, (iv) from disclosing or threatening to disclose an
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21 | arrearage that the obligor disputes, but for which a verified | ||||||
22 | notice of
delinquency has been served under the Income | ||||||
23 | Withholding for Support Act (or
any of its predecessors, | ||||||
24 | Section 10-16.2 of the Illinois Public Aid
Code, Section 706.1 |
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1 | of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act,
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2 | Section 4.1 of the Non-Support of Spouse and Children Act, | ||||||
3 | Section 26.1 of the
Revised Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of | ||||||
4 | Support Act, or Section 20 of the
Illinois Parentage Act of | ||||||
5 | 1984), or (v) from engaging in conduct that would
not
cause a | ||||||
6 | reasonable person mental or physical illness. For purposes of | ||||||
7 | this
subsection, "obligor" means an individual who owes a duty | ||||||
8 | to make periodic
payments, under a court order, for the support | ||||||
9 | of a child. "Arrearage" means
the total amount of an obligor's | ||||||
10 | unpaid child support obligations.
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11 | (a-5) A collection agency may not impose a fee or charge, | ||||||
12 | including costs, for any child support payments collected | ||||||
13 | through the efforts of a federal, State, or local government | ||||||
14 | agency, including but not limited to child support collected | ||||||
15 | from federal or State tax refunds, unemployment insurance | ||||||
16 | benefits, or Social Security benefits. | ||||||
17 | If the client has received one or more payments during the | ||||||
18 | 12 months prior to execution of the contract with a collection | ||||||
19 | agency, that collection agency may not impose a fee or charge | ||||||
20 | on a current payment of an obligor. | ||||||
21 | As to any fees or charges retained by the collection | ||||||
22 | agency, the agency shall provide documentation to the client | ||||||
23 | demonstrating that the child support payments resulted from the | ||||||
24 | actions of the agency. | ||||||
25 | After collection of the total amount of arrearage, | ||||||
26 | including statutory interest, due on or before the date of | ||||||
27 | execution of the collection contract, no further fees may be | ||||||
28 | charged. | ||||||
29 | (a-6) The Department of Professional Regulation shall | ||||||
30 | determine a fee rate of not less than 25% but not greater than | ||||||
31 | 35% based upon presentation by the licensee as to costs to | ||||||
32 | provide the service and a fair rate of return. This rate shall | ||||||
33 | be established by administrative rule. | ||||||
34 | Without prejudice to the determination by the Department of |
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1 | the appropriate rate through administrative rule, a collection | ||||||
2 | agency shall impose a fee of not more than 29% of the amount of | ||||||
3 | child support actually collected by the collection agency | ||||||
4 | subject to the provisions of subsection (a-5). This interim | ||||||
5 | rate is based upon the March 2002 General Accounting Office | ||||||
6 | report "Child Support Enforcement", GAO-02-349. This rate | ||||||
7 | shall apply until a fee rate is established by administrative | ||||||
8 | rule. | ||||||
9 | (a-7) A collection agency shall execute a written | ||||||
10 | contract for the enforcement of child support for each client | ||||||
11 | of the agency. The contract required under this Section must: | ||||||
12 | (1) be in writing, dated, and signed by both parties to | ||||||
13 | the contract; | ||||||
14 | (2) specify its terms in clear language, including: | ||||||
15 | (A) the nature of the services to be provided the | ||||||
16 | client; | ||||||
17 | (B) all fees and charges for services provided by | ||||||
18 | the agency; | ||||||
19 | (C) the opportunities available to the client or | ||||||
20 | the agency to terminate the contract or other | ||||||
21 | conditions under which the contract terminates; | ||||||
22 | (D) the expected duration of the contract, stated | ||||||
23 | as a length of time or as an amount to be collected by | ||||||
24 | the agency as determined on the basis of official | ||||||
25 | government payment records or on the basis of an | ||||||
26 | affidavit of arrears by the client if official | ||||||
27 | government payment records requested by the registered | ||||||
28 | agency on behalf of the client are not made available | ||||||
29 | to the registered agency; | ||||||
30 | (E) the mailing address, telephone numbers, | ||||||
31 | facsimile numbers, and internet address or location of | ||||||
32 | the agency for the purpose of communications between | ||||||
33 | the registered agency and the client or any authorized | ||||||
34 | agent of the client; and |
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1 | (F) a statement that all inquiries that cannot be | ||||||
2 | resolved with the agency should be directed to the | ||||||
3 | Department of Professional Regulation and provides an | ||||||
4 | address, telephone number, and internet address. | ||||||
5 | (3) be reviewed for clarity by an attorney with the | ||||||
6 | Department of Professional Regulation and approved by the | ||||||
7 | Department. | ||||||
8 | (4) contain a provision in a font at least as large as | ||||||
9 | the other provisions of the contract, but no smaller than | ||||||
10 | 10-point size, informing the client that, subject to the | ||||||
11 | limitation in subsection (a-5), fees will be assessed on | ||||||
12 | all amounts collected regardless of whether they are | ||||||
13 | designated as current support or arrears. | ||||||
14 | (a-8) A registered agency shall maintain records of all | ||||||
15 | child support collections made on behalf of, and disbursed to, | ||||||
16 | a client who is an obligee, including: | ||||||
17 | (1) the name of and other identifying information | ||||||
18 | relating to any obligor who made child support payments | ||||||
19 | collected by the agency; | ||||||
20 | (2) the amount of support collected by the agency for | ||||||
21 | each client, including: | ||||||
22 | (A) the date on which the amount was collected; and | ||||||
23 | (B) the date on which each amount due the client by | ||||||
24 | the obligor was paid to the client; | ||||||
25 | (3) a copy of the order establishing the child support | ||||||
26 | obligation under which a collection was made by the agency; | ||||||
27 | (4) any other pertinent information relating to the | ||||||
28 | child support obligation, including any case, cause, or | ||||||
29 | docket number of the court having jurisdiction over the | ||||||
30 | matter and official government payment records obtained by | ||||||
31 | the agency on behalf of and at the request of the client; | ||||||
32 | (5) records of all correspondence between the agency | ||||||
33 | and a client or obligor in a case. | ||||||
34 | The records required under this Section must be updated at |
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1 | least monthly and must be maintained by the agency for a period | ||||||
2 | of 4 years from the date of the last support payment collected | ||||||
3 | by the agency on behalf of an obligee. | ||||||
4 | An agency must safeguard case records in a manner | ||||||
5 | reasonably expected to prevent intentional or accidental | ||||||
6 | disclosure of confidential client information, including | ||||||
7 | restricting access to authorized individuals within the agency | ||||||
8 | and providing necessary protections for records maintained in | ||||||
9 | an automated system. | ||||||
10 | A registered agency must timely inform clients of all legal | ||||||
11 | orders, hearings and notices intended for the client that have | ||||||
12 | been sent to the agency by a government child support | ||||||
13 | enforcement agency. | ||||||
14 | (a-9) All information contained in the files of an agency, | ||||||
15 | including information concerning the identity and location of | ||||||
16 | an obligee, an obligor, or any child, is confidential and may | ||||||
17 | not be disclosed to any person, except to the extent permitted | ||||||
18 | under applicable federal and state law to: | ||||||
19 | (1) the Department as required for the purpose of an | ||||||
20 | investigation of a complaint under Article 29 of this Act; | ||||||
21 | (2) a court or administrative tribunal having | ||||||
22 | jurisdiction in the enforcement of a child support | ||||||
23 | obligation; or | ||||||
24 | (3) a government agency authorized by law to enforce | ||||||
25 | child support obligations. | ||||||
26 | (b) The Department shall adopt rules necessary to | ||||||
27 | administer and enforce
the provisions of this Section.
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28 | (Source: P.A. 90-673, eff. 1-1-99; 91-613, eff. 10-1-99.)".
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