ORS 293.250: Collections Unit; assistance in collection of amounts due to certain entities; rules; charges; setoff of sums due debtor; warrants.

(1) There is created a Collections Unit in the Department of Revenue. (2) The Department of Revenue may render assistance in the collection of any delinquent account owing to any of the following entities, if the account is assigned by the entity to the department for collection: (a) A state agency; (b) A public university listed in ORS 352.002, notwithstanding ORS 352.138; (c) The Oregon Health and Science University, notwithstanding ORS 353.100; (d) A community college or community college district; (e) A county, for debts arising pursuant to a judgment obtained under ORS 169.151; or (f) The Oregon State Bar, notwithstanding ORS 9.010, for the purpose of collecting assignments to a client security fund established under ORS 9.625. (3) The Department of Revenue may render assistance in the collection of any delinquent account owing to any of the following entities, if the account is assigned to the department for the limited purpose of collection through setoff against any refunds or sums due to a debtor from the department or any other state agency: (a) Any local government, as defined in ORS 174.116; or (b) Any special government body, as defined in ORS 174.117. (4)(a) The Department of Revenue may prescribe criteria for the kinds of accounts for which the department will render assistance under subsections (2) and (3) of this section, including a minimum dollar amount owed. (b) Nothing in this section requires the department to render assistance in the collection of any delinquent account. (5)(a) Subject to rules prescribed by the Oregon Department of Administrative Services for collection of delinquent accounts owing to entities listed in subsections (2) and (3) of this section, the Department of Revenue may render assistance in the collection and shall charge the entities separately for the cost of assistance. The charges may not exceed the proceeds of collection credited to the entity for the same biennium. The Department of Revenue may designate a single percentage to retain from the proceeds of collection as a charge for the cost of assistance. If the Department of Revenue finds that accounts assigned to the department for collection by a particular entity lack sufficient information to properly and efficiently identify the debtor or that the account information must be put into a form usable by the department in order to efficiently provide collection services, the department may establish a separate percentage charge to be retained from collections for that entity. The charge must reflect the average of the actual cost to provide collection services for all accounts assigned by the entity. (b) In providing assistance, the Department of Revenue shall make all reasonable efforts to collect the delinquent accounts. The department may offset any refunds or sums due to the debtor from the department or any other state agency against delinquent accounts assigned to the department for collection under this section. (c) No setoff may be made by the Department of Revenue unless the debt is in a liquidated amount. (d) At the time any setoff is made, the Department of Revenue shall notify the debtor of the sums due to the debtor from a state agency that are applied against the debtor’s delinquent account. The notice must provide that the debtor may, within 30 days and in a manner prescribed by the department, contest the setoff and request a hearing before the department. No issues may be considered at the hearing that were previously litigated or that the debtor failed to raise timely after being given due notice of rights of appeal. (e) All moneys received by the Department of Revenue in payment of charges made under paragraph (a) of this subsection shall be paid into the State Treasury and deposited in a miscellaneous receipts account for the department. (f) Net proceeds of collections of delinquent accounts shall be credited to the account or fund of the entity to which the debt was originally owing. (6)(a) In providing assistance in the collection of any delinquent account under subsection (2) of this section, the Department of Revenue may issue a warrant for the collection of the delinquent account. The warrant may be recorded in the County Clerk Lien Record maintained under ORS 205.130. (b) A warrant may not be issued under this subsection unless the debt is in a liquidated amount. (c) The amount of any warrant issued under this subsection shall include the amount of the debt, any added penalties or interest attributable to the delinquent account and any costs associated with recording, indexing or service of the warrant and any satisfaction or release thereof. (d) A warrant may not be issued under this subsection before the debtor has been notified that the department intends to issue the warrant and of the collection action that may be taken under the warrant. (7) Except as prohibited by federal law and notwithstanding any provision of state law, for purposes of collecting debts assigned to the Department of Revenue under ORS 293.231, the Collections Unit created under subsection (1) of this section has access to all data and other information available to the department for any purpose allowed by law. (8) Nothing in this section prohibits the collection of: (a) A child or spousal support obligation as provided in ORS 25.610; or (b) Criminal judgments that impose monetary obligations, including judgments requiring the payment of fines, costs, assessments, compensatory fines, attorney fees, forfeitures or restitution. (9)(a) As used in this section, “state agency” means any state officer, board, commission, corporation, institution, department or other state organization. (b) Notwithstanding ORS 182.460, 284.118, 284.375, 377.836, 421.352, 656.753 and 757.552, “state agency” includes semi-independent state agencies listed in ORS 182.454, the Oregon Tourism Commission, the Oregon Film and Video Office, the Travel Information Council, the Children’s Trust Fund of Oregon Foundation, Oregon Corrections Enterprises, the State Accident Insurance Fund Corporation and the Oregon Utility Notification Center. [1971 c.604 §2; 1977 c.603 §1; 1979 c.442 §1; 1987 c.758 §14; 1989 c.519 §7; 1995 c.512 §1; 2001 c.641 §2; 2015 c.766 §5; 2017 c.746 §16; 2019 c.359 §1]