Bill Text: MS HB980 | 2015 | Regular Session | Introduced

Mississippi House Bill 980 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Cities and counties; establish procedure for collection of certain debts through setoff against debtor's MS income tax refund.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Failed) 2015-02-03 - Died In Committee [HB980 Detail]

Download: Mississippi-2015-HB980-Introduced.html

MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2015 Regular Session

To: Municipalities; Ways and Means

By: Representative Campbell

House Bill 980

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A PROCEDURE BY WHICH A MUNICIPALITY OR COUNTY THAT HAS MONEY OWED TO IT AS A RESULT OF AN ADMINISTRATIVE OR JUDICIAL PROCEEDING MAY COLLECT THE DEBT THROUGH SETOFF AGAINST THE DEBTOR'S MISSISSIPPI INCOME TAX REFUND; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. (1) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the respective meanings ascribed by this section:

(a) "Claimant" means a municipality or county that has money owed to it by a debtor as a result of any administrative or judicial proceeding.

(b) "Debtor" means any individual owing money to a municipality or county as a result of any administrative or judicial proceeding.

(c) "Debt" means any sum due and owing any claimant as a result of any administrative or judicial proceeding that is legally collectible and for which a collection effort has been or is being made.

(d) "Department" means the Department of Revenue of the State of Mississippi.

(e) "Refund" means the Mississippi income tax refund that the department determines to be due any individual taxpayer.

(2) The collection remedy authorized by this section is in addition to and is not substitution for any other remedy available by law.

(3) (a) A claimant may submit debts in excess of Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) owed to it to the department for collection through setoff, under the procedure established by this section, except in cases where the validity of the debt is legitimately in dispute, an alternate means of collection is pending and believed to be adequate, or such collection would result in a loss of federal funds or federal assistance.

(b) Upon the request of a claimant, the department shall setoff any refund against the sum certified by the claimant as provided in this section.

(4) (a) Within the time frame specified by the department, a claimant seeking to collect a debt through setoff shall supply the information necessary to identify each debtor whose refund is sought to be set off and certify the amount of debt or debts owed by each such debtor.

(b) If a debtor identified by a claimant is determined by the department to be entitled to a refund of at least Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00), the department shall transfer an amount equal to the refund owed, not to exceed the amount of the claimed debt certified, to the claimant. The department shall send the excess amount to the debtor within a reasonable time after the excess is determined. At the time of the transfer of funds to a claimant under this paragraph (b), the department shall notify the taxpayer or taxpayers whose refund is sought to be setoff that the transfer has been made. The notice shall clearly set forth the name of the debtor, the manner in which the debt arose, the amount of the claimed debt, the transfer of funds to the claimant under this paragraph (b) and the intention to set off the refund against the debt, the amount of the refund in excess of the claimed debt, the taxpayer's opportunity to give written notice to contest the setoff within thirty (30) days of the date of mailing of the notice, the name and mailing address of the claimant to which the application for such a hearing must be sent, and the fact that the failure to apply for such a hearing, in writing, within the thirty-day period will be deemed a waiver of the opportunity to contest the setoff. In the case of a joint return or a joint refund, the notice shall also state the name of the taxpayer named in the return, if any, against whom no debt is claimed, the fact that a debt is not claimed against such taxpayer, the fact that such taxpayer is entitled to receive a refund if it is due him or her regardless of the debt asserted against his or her spouse, and that in order to obtain a refund due him or her, such taxpayer must apply in writing for a hearing with the claimant named in the notice within thirty (30) days of the date of the mailing of the notice. If a taxpayer fails to apply in writing for such a hearing within thirty (30) days of the mailing of such notice, the taxpayer will have waived his or her opportunity to contest the setoff.

(c) Upon receipt of funds transferred from the department under paragraph (b) of this subsection, the claimant shall deposit and hold the funds in an escrow account until a final determination of the validity of the debt.

(d) The claimant shall pay the department a fee, not to exceed Seventeen Dollars ($17.00) in each case in which a tax refund is identified as being available for offset. Those fees shall be deposited by the department into a special fund that is created in the State Treasury, out of which the Legislature shall appropriate monies to defray expenses of the department in employing personnel to administer the provisions of this section.

(5) (a) When the claimant receives a protest or an application in writing from a taxpayer within thirty (30) days of the notice issued by the department, the claimant shall set a date to hear the protest and give notice to the taxpayer through the United States Postal Service or electronic digital transfer of the date so set. The time and place of the hearing shall be designated in the notice and the date set shall not be less than fifteen (15) days from the date of the notice. If, at the hearing, the sum asserted as due and owing is found not to be correct, an adjustment to the claim may be made. The claimant shall give notice to the debtor of its final determination as provided in paragraph (c) of this subsection.

(b) No issues shall be reconsidered at the hearing that have been previously litigated.

(c) If any debtor is dissatisfied with the final determination made at the hearing by the claimant, he or she may appeal the final determination to the circuit court of the county in which the claimant is located by filing notice of appeal with the clerk of the claimant and with the clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the appeal will be taken within thirty (30) days from the date the notice of final determination was given by the claimant.

(6) (a) Upon final determination of the amount of the debt due and owing by means of hearing or by the taxpayer's default through failure to comply with timely request for review, the claimant shall remove the amount of the debt due and owing from the escrow account and credit the amount to the debtor's obligation.

(b) Upon transfer of the debt due and owing from the escrow account to the credit of the debtor's account, the claimant shall notify the debtor in writing of the finalization of the setoff. The notice shall include a final accounting if the refund which was setoff, including the amount of the refund to which the debtor was entitled before the setoff, the amount of the debt due and owing, the amount of the collection fee paid to the department, the amount of the refund in excess of the debt that was returned to the debtor by the department, and the amount of the funds transferred to the claimant in excess of the debt determined to be due and owing at a hearing, if such a hearing was held. At that time, the claimant shall refund to the debtor the amount of the claimed debt originally certified and transferred to it by the department in excess of the amount of debt finally found to be due and owing.

(7) (a) Notwithstanding the provision that prohibits disclosure by the department of the contents of taxpayer records or information and notwithstanding any other confidentiality statute, the department may provide to a claimant all information necessary to accomplish and effectuate the intent of the section.

(b) The information obtained by claimant from the department in accordance with the provisions of this section shall retain its confidentiality and shall only be used by a claimant in the pursuit of its debt collection duties and practices; and any employee or prior employee of any claimant who unlawfully discloses any such information for any other purpose, except as specifically authorized by law, shall be subject to the same penalties specified by law for unauthorized confidential information by an agent or employee of the department.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015.