ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 4339
(By Delegates H. White and Campbell)
[Passed March 13, 2010; in effect from passage.]
AN ACT to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §14-1-37, relating to
collecting debts through the United States Treasury Offset
Program; authorizing the State Auditor to enter into
agreements with the United States Treasury's Financial
Management Service; specifying reduction and offset of
payments for collection of debt; authorizing rules; specifying
cost-effective actions to aggressively collect; and
authorizing interagency agreements.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §14-1-37, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 1 CLAIMS DUE THE STATE.
§14-1-37. United States Treasury offset program authorized; setoff
of federal debts.
(a) The auditor is authorized to enter into an agreement with
the Secretary of the Treasury to participate in the Treasury Offset
Program pursuant to 31 U.S.C. §3716 for the collection of any debts
owed to the state or to state agencies from federal payments to
vendors, contractors and taxpayers. The agreement may provide for
the United States to submit nontax debts owed to federal agencies
for offset against state payments otherwise due and owing to
taxpayers, vendors and contractors providing goods or services to
the state, its departments, agencies or institutions.
(b) For purposes of this section the following words have the
meanings indicated.
(1) "Federal official" means a unit or official of the
federal government charged with the collection of nontax
liabilities payable to the federal government and with the
authority to enter into the offset agreement.
(2) "Offset agreement" is the agreement authorized by this
section.
(3) "Person" means an individual, vendor, contractor,
partnership, society, association, joint stock company, limited
liability company, corporation, estate, receiver, trustee,
assignee, and any other person acting in a fiduciary or
representative capacity whether appointed by a court or otherwise,
or any combination of the foregoing.
(4) "State payments" shall include tax refunds pursuant to
the Tax Procedure and Administration Act, article ten, chapter
eleven of this code, and vendor or contractor payments made by the state to any person including expense reimbursements to an employee
of the state:
Provided, That "state payments" do not include
salary, wages, pension and any other type, class or amount of
payment as the auditor determines to impact the health or welfare
of the citizens of the state.
(c) Pursuant to the agreement authorized herein, a federal
official may:
(1) Certify to the auditor the existence of a person's
delinquent, nontax debt owed by the person to the federal
government by providing:
(A) The name of the person;
(B) The social security number or federal tax identification
number;
(C) The amount of the nontax debt; and
(D) Any other information pursuant to the agreement authorized
herein;
(2) Request the auditor to withhold any state payment to
which the person is entitled; and
(3) Retain a portion of the proceeds of any federal
administrative setoff pursuant to 31 CSR 285.6.
(d) As required or permitted by state law, federal law or the
offset agreement, the State Auditor:
(1) Shall determine if a person for whom a certification is
received is due a state payment;
(2) Shall withhold a state payment that is due a person whose
name has been certified by a federal official;
(3) Shall notify the person of the amount withheld in
accordance with the offset agreement;
(4) Shall pay to the federal official the lesser of:
(A) The entire state payment; or
(B) The amount certified; and
(C) Pay any refund or state payment in excess of the
certified amount to the person less any fee pursuant to subsection
(e);
(5) May certify to a federal official a person's delinquent
debt owed to the state by providing the federal official:
(A) The name of the person;
(B) The social security number or tax identification number;
(C) The amount of the debt due the state; and
(D) Any other information required by the offset agreement;
and
(6) May request that the federal official withhold any
federal vendor or other federal payment pursuant to the offset
agreement to which the person is entitled.
(e) The auditor may, by rule, establish a reasonable
administrative fee to be charged to the person for the provision of
state offset of federal debt. The fee is a separate debt and may
be withheld from any refund, reimbursement or other monies held for
the person. The auditor may charge the person who is the subject
of federal offset of a state debt, a fee equal to the fee
authorized in subsection (c).
(f) Each state agency and institution shall take all appropriate and cost-effective actions to aggressively collect its
accounts receivable. Each agency and institution may participate in
the Treasury Offset program of the United States under 31 U.S.C.
§3716.
(g) The auditor may propose rules for legislative approval in
accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-
nine-a of this code to administer and implement this section and
the offset agreement.
(h) The auditor and the chief administrators of the various
state agencies are authorized by this section to enter into
interagency agreements for the purpose of protecting a person's
return information as defined in section ten, article five-d,
chapter eleven of this code and collecting debts, fees and
penalties due the state, its departments, agencies or institutions.