DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part of
the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute part of
the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
CONFERENCE COMMI TTEE REPORT DIGEST
House Bill No. 629 by Representative Broadwater
Keyword and oneliner of the instrument as it left the House
REVENUE DEPARTMENT: Establishes the office of debt recovery at the Dept. of Revenue for
the collection of delinquent debts owed to certain governmental entities
Report adopts Senate amendments to:
1. Provide that the office of debt recovery and the office of the attorney general are to
"jointly serve" as collection entities to collect delinquent state debt.
2. Delete the Debt Recovery Fund and instead require that monies collected be paid to the
referring agency as self-generated revenue, except for monies recovered from tax debts
which shall be deposited into the state general fund and from which, beginning Fiscal
Year 2013-2014, and for four consecutive years thereafter, $5 million shall be
appropriated to the Office of State Police for a training academy class.
3. Regarding the collection fee of up to 25%, limit the imposition of the fee to those final
delinquent debts that have become final after the initial effective date of proposed law,
change provisions governing the distribution of the fee between the office and the
attorney general, and require that the fee be established by rule and that it be imposed
uniformly.
4. Change the date by which agencies without a contract with the attorney general for debt
collection must refer all 60-day delinquent debts to the office for collection from July 1,
2013 to January 1, 2014.
5. Require agencies to refer "non-final delinquent debts" to the attorney general for
collection when the debt has been delinquent for 60 days and defines "non-final
delinquent debt”.
6. Regarding the authority to suspend, revoke or deny a professional license for purposes
of proposed law, request the Louisiana Supreme Court to consider promulgating rules
relative to licenses to practice law. 7. Delete the authority of the office to garnish or seize payments of progressive slot
machine annuities and cash gaming winnings.
8. Authorize the secretary of DOR to furnish information to DHH's tax filing unit for the
purposes of complying with federal law.
Report rejects Senate amendments which would have:
1. Prohibited the authority from collecting healthcare debt on behalf of a political
subdivision.
Report amends the bill to:
1. Remove references to the authority collecting debt on behalf of political subdivisions.
Digest of the bill as proposed by the Conference Committee
Present law provides for the establishment and organization of the Department of Revenue
(DOR) and all of the offices that are part of the department.
Proposed law retains present law and adds the office of debt recovery, hereinafter "office",
within DOR which shall be responsible for the collection of tax payable to DOR and may be
responsible for the collection of delinquent debts, accounts, or claims due on behalf of all other
state agencies which refer delinquent debt to the office for collection.
Proposed law requires all debts owed to "agencies" [defined as entities which are authorized to
perform any function of state government in the executive branch] to be referred to either the
attorney general's office or to the office of debt recovery for collection. Requires all "agencies"
which do not have a contract with the attorney general's office for debt collection on or before
January 1, 2014, to refer all delinquent debts to the office for collection when the debt is final
and has been delinquent for 60 days.
Proposed law requires each agency to refer "non-final delinquent debts" requiring legal action
or legal proceedings, other than administrative proceedings within such agency, to the attorney
general’s office for collection when the debt has been delinquent for 60 days pursuant to
referral guidelines established by the attorney general or pursuant to rules promulgated by the
attorney general pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act.
"Delinquent debt" is defined as a "final" debt that is 60 days or more past due. "Final" means
the amount due is no longer negotiable and that the debtor has no further right of administrative
and judicial review.
"Non-final delinquent debt” is defined as any debt that an agency has notified a debtor is owed
but the debt remains unpaid, due, or negotiable for a period of 60 days or more, and such debt is not final, and the debtor has further administrative or judicial review rights to challenge the
validity of the debt or the amount owed.
"Debt" is defined as any legally collectible, liquidated sum due and owing an agency, or due
and owing a person and collectible by any agency, or a judgment, order of the court, or bond
forfeiture which is properly certified by a clerk of court and which orders the payment of a fine
or other court ordered penalty. Excludes debt due and owing to an agency pursuant to certain
federal programs, overpaid unemployment compensation benefits, or unpaid contributions or
reimbursements pursuant to Louisiana Employment Security Law.
Proposed law requires the department to charge the debtor a fee not to exceed 25% of the total
delinquent debt liability which becomes final after the initial effective date of the proposed law.
Fees collected according to the provisions of proposed law are to be retained by the office after
the debt is collected and be divided in accordance with an agreement between the office and the
attorney general after payment of costs set forth in the agreement.
Proposed law requires the money collected to be transferred to the referring agency within 30
days after the end of the month in which collected. Such monies shall be used by the agency in
the same manner as if it had been timely collected, except that any money collected for non-
payment of Title 47 tax liabilities shall be deposited into the state general fund and the first $5
million shall be appropriated, beginning in Fiscal Year 2013-2014 and for four consecutive
fiscal years thereafter, to the Office of State Police for a training academy class.
Proposed law requires that all debts be final and authenticated by the agency prior to being
referred for collection.
Proposed law authorizes the secretary of DOR to contract for outside "legal services" after first
having requested assistance from the office of the attorney general.
Proposed law authorizes the office to use a participating agency's statutory collection authority
to collect delinquent debts. The office may also use authority granted in present law regarding
offset from income tax refunds or other accounts payable by the state for any delinquent debt
transferred by state agencies.
Proposed law authorizes the office to submit a request for the suspension, revocation or denial
of any type of professional or other license, permit, or certification to the entity or body that
governs, regulates, or issues them and the office is authorized to "assume the obligation for the
payment of such services in order to collect delinquent debt." The Louisiana Supreme Court is
requested to consider rules and regulations relative to attorneys licensed to practice law for
purposes of proposed law.
Proposed law authorizes state agencies to transmit data to the office as necessary to aid in the
collection efforts of the office. Requires the secretary to establish and maintain a centralized
electronic debt registry to compile the information provided by state. The data compiled in
the registry shall be available to the office and the attorney general for cross-referencing and for the identification of debtors necessary for the collection of delinquent debt; however, all
data, records, and files utilized for debt collection shall be deemed confidential and privileged,
and no person shall disclose any information obtained from such records except in the
administration and enforcement of proposed law. However, except as provided for in tax law
confidentiality provisions or in "any other applicable provision of law", information
concerning the identity of a debtor, the amount of the debt owed, and the amount of any
collections or settlements shall be a public record subject to disclosure under the Public
Records Law.
Proposed law provides that compilation of tax data in the electronic registry by the department
shall not be a violation of present law relative to confidentiality of tax records, and any
information or data gathered by the department and the office may be used for purposes of
collecting tax and non-tax debt.
Proposed law authorizes the secretary of DOR to furnish in his discretion information to the
Louisiana Department of Health and Hospital's tax filing unit for the purposes of complying
with requirements of federal law.
Proposed law requires the department to promulgate rules and regulations in accordance with
the APA to implement the provisions of proposed law.
Proposed law authorizes the secretary to enter into reciprocal collection and offset of
indebtedness agreements with the federal government.
Proposed law requires the office to evaluate and recommend any uncollectible debt for sale or
securitization in accordance with present law after the office exercises and employs its
collection methods and tools.
Proposed law requires that the operations of the office be subject to annual review by the Cash
Management Review Board.
Proposed law authorizes the department to establish and use an electronic "financial institution
data match system" for comparison of certain account information held by financial
institutions with the department and office's databases of state tax and state non-tax debtors
against whom an assessment or judgment for debt owed to the state has become final.
Requires a financial institution or its processor to provide to the department or the office, the
name, record address, social security number or other taxpayer identification number, any
other identifying information, and an average daily account balance for the most recent 30 day
period, for each calendar quarter for each account owner who maintains an account at such
institution and who the office purports is a tax or non-tax debtor.
Requires the department to pay a participation fee to each financial institution that actually
receives a data match request file. The participation fee shall be for actual costs incurred for
conducting the data match. However, in order to receive the participation fee, the financial institution must be FDIC insured and the financial institution must show it has incurred costs
under present law and proposed law. The department may require a financial institution to
submit invoices and other documentation to substantiate the costs that have been incurred.
After actual costs are established by a financial institution, the office shall automatically remit
payment to the financial institution on a quarterly basis.
Provides that if a financial institution assesses a fee upon its customer for processing a state
tax or non-tax levy received from the office or the department, the fee shall be collected by the
financial institution from the proceeds of the customer’s account before any account proceeds
are remitted to the office or the department to satisfy the state tax or non–tax levy. Provides
that any fees paid according to the provisions of proposed law shall not be comprised of or
constitute any amounts due to a financial institution for its compliance with present law.
Provides that if a financial institution or its processor has a current data match system
developed or used to comply with the child support data match system, the financial
institution or its processor may use that system to comply with the provisions of proposed law.
Provides that for La. domiciled financial institutions having no branch offices outside the
state, the office or its data match vendor shall ensure that compliance with proposed law and
present law may be accomplished with a single data match file. Louisiana domiciled
institutions having no branch offices outside the state, or their processor, shall not be required
to process multiple data match files.
Provides that a financial institution may disclose to its account holders that the department or
the office has the authority to request and receive certain identifying information for state tax
and non-tax debt collection purposes.
Prohibits a financial institution, including its directors, officers, employees, or other agents,
from incurring liability to any person as a result of providing account information to the
department or office in compliance with a request that conforms to the provisions of proposed
law. Further prohibits a financial institution, including any of its directors, officers,
employees, or other agents, from incurring civil or criminal liability for any disclosure of
information made in accordance with proposed law.
Provides that the department shall be responsible for the reconciliation and tracking of data
and information regarding the number of sent data match request files, received completed
data match accounts, and amounts paid. The department shall also be responsible for tracking
and reporting all statistical information regarding financial data match activities to the
commissioner of administration or his designee every six months and to report the information
to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget every session prior to the last day of each
legislative session.
Proposed law requires the department, office, and their designated vendor for the data match
program, to keep all information received from financial institutions confidential, and any
employee, agent or representative of the department, office, and their designated vendor is prohibited from disclosing that information to any other third party.
Effective upon signature of governor or lapse of time for gubernatorial action.
(Amends R.S. 6:333(B)(intro. para.) and R.S. 36:451(C); Adds R.S. 6:333(F)(18), R.S.
36:458(H), and R.S. 47:1508(B)(33), 1676 and 1677)