Public Act 096-0493
 
SB2289 Enrolled LRB096 08765 JAM 18897 b

    AN ACT concerning finance.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois State Collection Act of 1986 is
amended by changing Section 10 as follows:
 
    (30 ILCS 210/10)
    Sec. 10. Department of Revenue Debt Collection Bureau to
assume collection duties.
    (a) The Department of Revenue's Debt Collection Bureau
shall serve as the primary debt collecting entity for the State
and in that role shall collect debts on behalf of agencies of
the State. All debts owed the State of Illinois shall be
referred to the Bureau, subject to such limitations as the
Department of Revenue shall by rule establish. The Bureau shall
utilize the Comptroller's offset system and private collection
agencies, as well as its own collections personnel. The Bureau
shall collect debt using all legal authority available to the
Department of Revenue to collect debt and all legal authority
available to the referring agency.
    (b) The Bureau shall have the sole authority to let
contracts with persons specializing in debt collection for the
collection of debt referred to and accepted by the Bureau. Any
contract with the debt collector shall specify that the
collector's fee shall be on a contingency basis and that the
debt collector shall not be entitled to collect a contingency
fee for any debt collected through the efforts of any State
offset system.
    (c) The Department of Revenue shall adopt rules for the
certification of debt from referring agencies and shall adopt
rules for the certification of collection specialists to be
employed by the Bureau.
    (d) The Department of Revenue shall adopt rules for
determining when a debt referred by an agency shall be deemed
by the Bureau to be uncollectible.
    (e) Once an agency's debt is deemed by the Bureau to be
uncollectible, the Bureau shall return the debt to the
referring agency which shall then write the debt off as
uncollectible in accordance with the requirements of the
Uncollected State Claims Act or return the debt to the Bureau
for additional collection efforts. The Bureau shall refuse to
accept debt that has been deemed uncollectible absent factual
assertions from the referring agency that due to circumstances
not known at the time the debt was deemed uncollectible that
the debt is worthy of additional collection efforts.
    (f) For each debt referred, the State agency shall retain
all documents and records relating to or supporting the debt.
In the event a debtor shall raise a reasonable doubt as to the
validity of the debt, the Bureau may in its discretion refer
the debt back to the referring agency for further review and
recommendation.
    (g) The Department of Healthcare and Family Services shall
be exempt from the requirements of this Section with regard to
child support debts, the collection of which is governed by the
requirements of Title IV, Part D of the federal Social Security
Act. The Department of Healthcare and Family Services may refer
child support debts to the Bureau, provided that the debt
satisfies the requirements for referral of delinquent debt as
established by rule by the Department of Revenue. The Bureau
shall use all legal means available to collect child support
debt, including those authorizing the Department of Revenue to
collect debt and those authorizing the Department of Healthcare
and Family Services to collect debt. All such referred debt
shall remain an obligation under the Department of Healthcare
and Family Services' Child Support Enforcement Program subject
to the requirements of Title IV, Part D of the federal Social
Security Act, including the continued use of federally mandated
enforcement remedies and techniques by the Department of
Healthcare and Family Services.
    (g-1) The Department of Employment Security is exempt from
subsection (a) with regard to debts to any federal account,
including but not limited to the Unemployment Trust Fund, and
penalties and interest assessed under the Unemployment
Insurance Act. The Department of Employment Security may refer
those debts to the Bureau, provided the debt satisfies the
requirements for referral of delinquent debt as established by
rule by the Department of Revenue. The Bureau shall use all
legal means available to collect the debts, including those
authorizing the Department of Revenue to collect debt and those
authorizing the Department of Employment Security to collect
debt. All referred debt shall remain an obligation to the
account to which it is owed.
    (h) The Debt Collection Fund is created as a special fund
in the State treasury. Debt collection contractors under this
Act shall receive a contingency fee as provided by the terms of
their contracts with the Department of Revenue. Thereafter, 20%
of all amounts collected by the Bureau, excluding amounts
collected on behalf of the Departments of Healthcare and Family
Services (formerly Public Aid) and Revenue, shall be deposited
into the Debt Collection Fund, except that the Bureau shall not
impose the 20% collection fee on any accounts referred by the
General Assembly, the Supreme Court and several courts of this
State, and the State executive branch constitutional officers.
All remaining amounts collected shall be deposited into the
General Revenue Fund unless the funds are owed to any State
fund or funds other than the General Revenue Fund. Moneys in
the Debt Collection Fund shall be appropriated only for the
administrative costs of the Bureau. On the last day of each
fiscal year, unappropriated moneys and moneys otherwise deemed
unneeded for the next fiscal year remaining in the Debt
Collection Fund may be transferred into the General Revenue
Fund at the Governor's reasonable discretion. The provisions of
this subsection do not apply to debt that is exempt from
subsection (a) pursuant to subsection (g-1) or child support
debt referred to the Bureau by the Department of Healthcare and
Family Services (formerly Department of Public Aid) pursuant to
this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly. Collections
arising from referrals from the Department of Healthcare and
Family Services (formerly Department of Public Aid) shall be
deposited into such fund or funds as the Department of
Healthcare and Family Services shall direct, in accordance with
the requirements of Title IV, Part D of the federal Social
Security Act, applicable provisions of State law, and the rules
of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services.
Collections arising from referrals from the Department of
Employment Security shall be deposited into the fund or funds
that the Department of Employment Security shall direct, in
accordance with the requirements of Section 3304(a)(3) of the
federal Unemployment Tax Act, Section 303(a)(4) of the federal
Social Security Act, and the Unemployment Insurance Act.
    (i) The Attorney General and the State Comptroller may
assist in the debt collection efforts of the Bureau, as
requested by the Department of Revenue.
    (j) The Director of Revenue shall report annually to the
General Assembly and State Comptroller upon the debt collection
efforts of the Bureau. Each report shall include an analysis of
the overdue debts owed to the State.
    (k) The Department of Revenue shall adopt rules and
procedures for the administration of this amendatory Act of the
93rd General Assembly. The rules shall be adopted under the
Department of Revenue's emergency rulemaking authority within
90 days following the effective date of this amendatory Act of
the 93rd General Assembly due to the budget crisis threatening
the public interest.
    (l) The Department of Revenue's Debt Collection Bureau's
obligations under this Section 10 shall be subject to
appropriation by the General Assembly.
(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)
 
    (30 ILCS 210/8 rep.)
    Section 10. The Illinois State Collection Act of 1986 is
amended by repealing Section 8.
 
    Section 15. The Illinois Procurement Code is amended by
changing Sections 50-11 and 50-60 as follows:
 
    (30 ILCS 500/50-11)
    Sec. 50-11. Debt delinquency.
    (a) No person shall submit a bid for or enter into a
contract with a State agency under this Code if that person
knows or should know that he or she or any affiliate is
delinquent in the payment of any debt to the State, unless the
person or affiliate has entered into a deferred payment plan to
pay off the debt. For purposes of this Section, the phrase
"delinquent in the payment of any debt" shall be determined by
the Debt Collection Bureau Board. For purposes of this Section,
the term "affiliate" means any entity that (1) directly,
indirectly, or constructively controls another entity, (2) is
directly, indirectly, or constructively controlled by another
entity, or (3) is subject to the control of a common entity.
For purposes of this subsection (a), a person controls an
entity if the person owns, directly or individually, more than
10% of the voting securities of that entity. As used in this
subsection (a), the term "voting security" means a security
that (1) confers upon the holder the right to vote for the
election of members of the board of directors or similar
governing body of the business or (2) is convertible into, or
entitles the holder to receive upon its exercise, a security
that confers such a right to vote. A general partnership
interest is a voting security.
    (b) Every bid submitted to and contract executed by the
State shall contain a certification by the bidder or contractor
that the contractor and its affiliate is not barred from being
awarded a contract under this Section and that the contractor
acknowledges that the contracting State agency may declare the
contract void if the certification completed pursuant to this
subsection (b) is false.
(Source: P.A. 92-404, eff. 7-1-02; 93-25, eff. 6-20-03.)
 
    (30 ILCS 500/50-60)
    Sec. 50-60. Voidable contracts.
    (a) If any contract is entered into or purchase or
expenditure of funds is made in violation of this Code or any
other law, the contract may be declared void by the chief
procurement officer or may be ratified and affirmed, provided
the chief procurement officer determines that ratification is
in the best interests of the State. If the contract is ratified
and affirmed, it shall be without prejudice to the State's
rights to any appropriate damages.
    (b) If, during the term of a contract, the contracting
agency determines that the contractor is delinquent in the
payment of debt as set forth in Section 50-11 of this Code, the
State agency may declare the contract void if it determines
that voiding the contract is in the best interests of the
State. The Debt Collection Bureau Board shall adopt rules for
the implementation of this subsection (b).
    (c) If, during the term of a contract, the contracting
agency determines that the contractor is in violation of
Section 50-10.5 of this Code, the contracting agency shall
declare the contract void.
(Source: P.A. 92-404, eff. 7-1-02; 93-600, eff. 1-1-04.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2010