These debts and judgments include various taxes, fees and administrative penalties. A significant portion of the debt referred to the Attorney General's office is deemed uncollectible. Because the debtors of this type of tax tend to be imprisoned or judgment proof, the prognosis for collection is very poor. To date, there has been no statewide evaluation of the procedures used by agencies to determine if agency collection procedures are appropriate and if debts are reported to the Attorney General in accordance with the rider. Therefore, it is impossible to determine how successful the state is in its collection of debt.
Agencies often set their own procedures for debt collection, either by rule or policy.
These procedures could allow for internal collection efforts and resources to be expended for a considerable period of time before the agency would notify the Attorney General of the debt. The agency may also employ an outside collection firm if it chooses, even though the cost of such services could exceed the costs for the AG's office to conduct the same activity. Private firms may charge 25 to 40 percent of debt collected. In general, the longer a debt remains delinquent, the less the likelihood it will be collected. Therefore, timeliness of the collection process is one critical element of an effective program.