Bill Text: IA SF2316 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Enrolled


Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to the collection of delinquent court debt and associated installment agreements. (Formerly SSB 3182.)

Sponsorship: Committee Bill

Status: (Enrolled - Dead) 2016-04-29 - Sent to Governor. S.J. 0. [SF2316 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2015-SF2316-Enrolled.html
Senate File 2316 - Enrolled




                              SENATE FILE       
                              BY  COMMITTEE ON
                                  APPROPRIATIONS

                              (SUCCESSOR TO SSB
                                  3182)
 \5
                                   A BILL FOR
 \1
                                       Senate File 2316

                             AN ACT
 RELATING TO THE COLLECTION OF DELINQUENT COURT DEBT AND
    ASSOCIATED INSTALLMENT AGREEMENTS.

 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
    Section 1.  Section 321.210B, subsection 1, Code 2016, is
 amended to read as follows:
    1.  a.  If a person's fine, penalty, surcharge, or court
 cost is deemed delinquent as provided in section 602.8107,
 subsection 2, and the person's driver's license has been
 suspended pursuant to section 321.210A, or the clerk of the
 district court has reported the delinquency to the department
 as required by section 321.210A, the person may execute an
 installment agreement as defined in section 602.8107 with
 the county attorney, the county attorney's designee, or the
 private collection designee under contract with the judicial
 branch pursuant to section 602.8107, subsection 5, to pay the
 delinquent amount and the civil penalty assessed in subsection
 7 in installments. Prior to execution of the installment
 agreement, the person shall provide the county attorney, the
 county attorney's designee, or the private collection designee
 with a financial statement in order for the parties to the
 agreement to determine the amount of the installment payments.
    b.  Cases involving court debt assigned to a county attorney,
 a county attorney's designee, or the private collection
 designee shall remain so assigned.
    Sec. 2.  Section 321.210B, subsection 5, Code 2016, is
 amended to read as follows:
    5.  Upon receipt of the report from the clerk of the
 district court and payment of the reinstatement fee as
 provided in section 321.191, the department shall terminate
 the suspension if the suspension has not yet become effective.
 If the suspension has become effective, the department shall
 immediately reinstate the driver's license of the person unless
 the driver's license of the person is otherwise suspended,
 revoked, denied, or barred under another provision of law.
    Sec. 3.  Section 321.210B, subsection 8, Code 2016, is
 amended to read as follows:
    8.  a.  Upon Except as provided in paragraph "b", upon
  determination by the county attorney, the county attorney's
 designee, or the private collection designee that the person
 is in default, the county attorney, the county attorney's
 designee, or the private collection designee shall notify the
 clerk of the district court.
    b.  (1)  If the person is in default and the person
 provides a new financial statement within fifteen days of
 the determination made pursuant to paragraph "a" indicating
 that the person's financial condition has changed to such an
 extent that lower installment payments would have been required
 prior to the execution of the initial installment agreement
 under subsection 1, the county attorney, the county attorney's
 designee, or the private collection designee shall not notify
 the clerk of the district court, and the person shall not be
 considered in default.  The new installment payments shall be
 based upon the new financial statement filed in compliance with
 this subparagraph.
    (2)  A person making new installment payments after
 complying with the provisions of subparagraph (1) shall not be
 considered executing a new installment agreement for purposes
 of calculating the number of installment agreements a person
 may  execute in a person's lifetime under subsection 13.
    Sec. 4.  Section 321.210B, subsection 12, Code 2016, is
 amended by striking the subsection.
    Sec. 5.  Section 602.8107, subsection 3, paragraphs a and c,
 Code 2016, are amended to read as follows:
    a.  Thirty days after court debt has been assessed and full
 payment has not been received, or if an installment payment is
 not received within thirty days after the date it is due, the
 judicial branch shall assign a case to the private collection
 designee under contract with the judicial branch pursuant to
 subsection 5 to collect debts owed to the clerk of the district
 court, unless the case has been assigned to the county attorney
 under paragraph "c".
    c.  If Thirty days after court debt has been assessed and
 full payment has not been received, or if an installment
 payment is not received within thirty days after the date it
 is due, and if a county attorney has filed with the clerk
 of the district court a notice of full commitment to collect
 delinquent court debt pursuant to subsection 4, the court
 debt in a case shall be assigned after sixty days to the
 county attorney as provided in subsection 4, if the court debt
 in a case is not part of an installment agreement with the
 private collection designee under contract with the judicial
 branch pursuant to subsection 5. The judicial branch shall
 assign cases with delinquent court debt to a county attorney
 in the same format and with the same frequency as cases with
 delinquent court debt are assigned to the private collection
 designee under paragraph "a", and a county attorney shall not
 be required to file an individual notice of full commitment
 to collect delinquent court debt for each assigned case. If
 the county attorney or the county attorney's designee, while
 collecting delinquent court debt pursuant to subsection 4,
 determines that a person owes additional court debt for which a
 case has not been assigned by the judicial branch, the county
 attorney or the county attorney's designee shall notify the
 clerk of the district court of the appropriate case numbers
 and the judicial branch shall assign these cases to the
 county attorney for collection if the additional court debt is
 delinquent.
    Sec. 6.  Section 602.8107, subsection 4, Code 2016, is
 amended to read as follows:
    4.  County attorney collection.  The county attorney or
 the county attorney's designee may collect court debt sixty
 days after the court debt is deemed delinquent pursuant to
 subsection 2. In order to receive a percentage of the amounts
 collected pursuant to this subsection, the county attorney
 must first file annually with the clerk of the district court
 on or before July 1 of the first year the county attorney
 collects court debt under this subsection, a notice of full
 commitment to collect delinquent court debt, and a memorandum
 of understanding with the state court administrator for all
 cases assigned to the county for collection by the court. The
 annual notice shall contain a list of procedures which will
 be initiated by the county attorney.  For a county attorney
 filing a notice of full commitment for the first time, the
 cases involving delinquent court debt previously assigned to
 the private collection designee shall remain assigned to the
 private collection designee.  Cases involving delinquent court
 debt assigned to the county attorney after the filing of a
 notice of full commitment by the county attorney shall remain
 assigned to the county attorney. A county attorney who chooses
 to discontinue collection of delinquent court debt shall file
 with the clerk of the district court on or before May 15 a
 notice of the intent to cease collection of delinquent court
 debt at the start of the next fiscal year. If a county attorney
 ceases collection efforts, or if the state court administrator
 deems that a county attorney collections program has become
 ineligible to collect as specified in paragraph "f", all cases
 involving delinquent court debt assigned to the county attorney
 shall be transferred on July 1 to the private collection
 designee for collection, except that debt associated with any
 existing installment agreement shall remain assigned to the
 county for collection unless an installment payment becomes
 delinquent, after which the delinquent debt associated with
 the installment agreement shall be transferred promptly to the
 private collection designee for collection.
    a.  This subsection does not apply to amounts collected for
 victim restitution, the victim compensation fund, the criminal
 penalty surcharge, sex offender civil penalty, drug abuse
 resistance education surcharge, the law enforcement initiative
 surcharge, county enforcement surcharge, amounts collected as
 a result of procedures initiated under subsection 5 or under
 section 8A.504, or fees charged pursuant to section 356.7.
    b.  Amounts collected by the county attorney or the county
 attorney's designee shall be distributed in accordance with
 paragraphs "c" and "d".
    c.  (1)  Forty Twenty=eight percent of the amounts collected
 by the county attorney or the person procured or designated by
 the county attorney shall be deposited in the general fund of
 the county if the county attorney has filed the notice required
 by this subsection, unless the county attorney has discontinued
 collection efforts on a particular delinquent amount.
    (2)  The remaining sixty seventy=two percent shall be
 paid to the clerk of the district court each fiscal year for
 distribution under section 602.8108. However, if such amount,
 when added to the amount deposited into the general fund of
 the county pursuant to subparagraph (1), exceeds the following
 applicable threshold amount, the excess shall be distributed
 as provided in paragraph "d":
    (a)  For a county with a population greater than one hundred
 fifty thousand, an amount up to five hundred thousand one
 million dollars.
    (b)  For a county with a population greater than one hundred
 thousand but not more than one hundred fifty thousand, an
 amount up to four six hundred thousand dollars.
    (c)  For a county with a population greater than fifty
 thousand but not more than one hundred thousand, an amount up
 to two hundred fifty three hundred thousand dollars.
    (d)  For a county with a population greater than twenty=six
 thousand but not more than fifty thousand, an amount up to one
 hundred thousand dollars.
    (e)  For a county with a population greater than fifteen
 thousand but not more than twenty=six thousand, an amount up to
 fifty thousand dollars.
    (f)  For a county with a population equal to or less than
 fifteen thousand, an amount up to twenty=five thousand dollars.
    d.  Any additional moneys collected by an individual county
 after the distributions in paragraph "c" shall be distributed
 by the state court administrator as follows:  forty percent of
 any additional moneys collected by the county attorney or the
 person procured or designated by the county attorney shall be
 deposited in the general fund of the county where the moneys
 were collected; twenty percent of the remaining sixty percent
 collected by the county attorney or the person procured or
 designated by the county attorney After the total collected by
 a county attorney exceeds the threshold amount set in paragraph
 "c", and for the remainder of the fiscal year, five percent
 of the additional moneys collected shall be deposited with
 the office of the county attorney that collected the moneys;
 twenty=eight percent of the additional moneys collected shall
 be deposited in the general fund of the county where the moneys
 were collected; and the remainder remaining sixty=seven percent
 of the additional moneys shall be paid to the clerk of the
 district court for distribution under section 602.8108 or the
 state court administrator may distribute the remainder under
 section 602.8108 if the additional moneys have already been
 received by the state court administrator.
    e.  (1)  A county may enter into an agreement pursuant to
 chapter 28E with one or more other counties for the purpose of
 collecting delinquent court debt pursuant to this subsection.
    (2)  Notwithstanding paragraph "c", if a county subject
 to the threshold amount in paragraph "c", subparagraph (2),
 subparagraph division (e) or (f) enters into such an agreement
 exclusively with a county or counties subject to the threshold
 amount in paragraph "c", subparagraph (2), subparagraph
 division (e) or (f), the threshold amount applicable to all
 of the counties combined shall be a single threshold amount,
 equal to the threshold amount attributable to the county with
 the largest population When a county enters into a chapter 28E
 agreement with another county or counties to collect delinquent
 court debt, the county or the county debt collection designee
 must collect an amount of delinquent court debt that originated
 in the county and that is equal to the applicable threshold
 amount under paragraph "c" in order for the county to qualify
 for distribution of moneys collected by county attorneys under
 paragraph "d".
    f.  Beginning July 1, 2010 2017, and every fiscal year
 thereafter, amounts collected and distributed pursuant to
 this subsection shall be equal to or greater than twenty=five
 thousand dollars for each county or twenty=five thousand
 dollars in the aggregate for counties that have entered into an
 agreement pursuant to chapter 28E.  If a county, or counties
 that have entered into a chapter 28E agreement, fails to meet
 the minimum threshold established in this paragraph, the
 county, or counties under the chapter 28E agreement, shall
 be within two years of beginning to collect delinquent court
 debt, a county attorney shall be required to collect one
 hundred percent of the applicable threshold amount specified
 in paragraph "c". If a county attorney collects more than
 eighty percent but less than one hundred percent of the
 applicable threshold amount, the state court administrator
 shall provide notice to the county attorney specifying that in
 order to remain eligible to participate in the county attorney
 collection program, the county attorney must collect at least
 one hundred twenty=five percent of the applicable threshold
 amount by the end of the next fiscal year.  If a county attorney
 who has been given such a notice fails to collect one hundred
 twenty=five percent of the applicable threshold amount, the
 state court administrator shall provide notice to the county
 attorney that the county is ineligible to participate in the
 county attorney collection program for the following next two
  fiscal year years and all existing and future court cases
 with delinquent court debt shall be assigned to the private
 collection designee. In the event a county is ineligible to
 collect under this program, the county may apply to the state
 debt coordinator established in section 421C.1 to reenter
 the program following the fiscal year of ineligibility.  The
 provisions of this paragraph apply to all counties, including
 those counties where delinquent court debt is collected
 pursuant to a chapter 28E agreement with one or more counties.
    Sec. 7.  STATE AUDITOR == REPORT.  The state auditor shall
 review the collection rate for each county that has filed a
 notice of full commitment to collect delinquent court debt, and
 file a report of the results of the review with the general
 assembly by January 1, 2018.  Additionally, the state auditor
 shall distribute the report to the judicial branch and to each
 county attorney who has filed a notice of full commitment to
 collect delinquent court debt.
    Sec. 8.  TEMPORARY PROVISION FOR COUNTY COLLECTION
 PROGRAMS.  Notwithstanding the amendment to section 602.8107,
 subsection 4, paragraph "f", in this Act, the provisions of
 section 602.8107, subsection 4, paragraph "f", Code 2016, apply
 to individual counties or counties entering into a chapter 28E
 agreement until June 30, 2017.


                                                             
                               PAM JOCHUM
                               President of the Senate


                                                             
                               LINDA UPMEYER
                               Speaker of the House
    I hereby certify that this bill originated in the Senate and
 is known as Senate File 2316, Eighty=sixth General Assembly.


                                                             
                               MICHAEL E. MARSHALL
                               Secretary of the Senate
 Approved                , 2016


                                                             
                               TERRY E. BRANSTAD
                               Governor

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