Source: https://development.code.dccouncil.us/dc/council/code/titles/1/chapters/3/subchapters/XVII/
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 13:01:43+00:00

Document:
D.C. Law Library - Subchapter XVII. Delinquent Debt Recovery.
↪ Subchapter XVII. Delinquent Debt Recovery.
Subchapter XVI. Divestment, Prohibition on Investment of Certain Public Funds.
Chapter 4. Delegate to the House of Representatives.
Subchapter XVII. Delinquent Debt Recovery.
§ 1–350.02. Responsibility of District agencies to transfer and refer delinquent debt to the Central Collection Unit for collection.
§ 1–350.02a. Collection on behalf of the University of the District of Columbia.
§ 1–350.03. Imposition of costs and fees.
§ 1–350.04. Delinquent Debt Fund.
§ 1–350.05. Lien for delinquent debt.
§ 1–350.06. Payment plans; discharge of delinquent debt; sale of delinquent debt; report to credit agencies.
§ 1–350.07. Suspension of licenses and permits.
§ 1–350.09. Offset of delinquent debt against District employee pay and against contractual obligations to District contractors.
§ 1–350.11. Report to the Council.
(1) “Central Collection Unit” means the Central Collection Unit established within the Office of Finance and Treasury of the Office of the Chief Financial Officer to implement this subchapter.
(2) “Delinquent debt” means any financial obligation owed by a person to a District agency that remains unpaid more than 90 days after it was due; provided, that the term shall not include tax debts or child-support debts.
(3) “Delinquent Debt Fund” or “Fund” means the Delinquent Debt Fund established by § 1-350.04.
(4) “District agency” means any District office, department, or agency, including independent agencies, but not including the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority.
(5) “Person” means any natural person, trust, corporation, limited liability corporation, partnership, limited liability partnership, or any other business organization.
This section is referenced in § 38-1251.01.
For temporary addition of subchapter, see §§ 1042-1053 of the Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2012 (D.C. Act 19-413, July 25, 2012, 59 DCR 9290).
(a) Except as provided in subsections (a-1) and (a-2) of this section, notwithstanding any other provision of law, regulation, or Mayor’s order, each District agency shall transfer and refer delinquent debts to the Central Collection Unit within 60 days after a financial obligation owed by a person to the District becomes a delinquent debt.
(a-1) The University of the District of Columbia shall transfer and refer unpaid student tuition, student fees, and student loans to the Central Collection Unit within one year after the end of the semester in which the student tuition, student fees, and student loans were incurred.
(a-2) Beginning in fiscal year 2014 and for each fiscal year thereafter, funds collected and recovered by the Central Collection Unit arising out of delinquent debts transferred and referred to the Central Collection Unit by the Not-For-Profit Hospital Corporation for collection, net of costs and fees, shall be deposited into the Not-For-Profit Hospital Corporation Fund by the Central Collection Unit within 60 days following the then current fiscal year.
(3) Any notices issued to the delinquent debtor demanding payment.
(c) The procedure for transfer and referral of delinquent debt by each District agency to the Central Collection Unit, including the format and means of delivery of the information, shall be established by the Central Collection Unit within 120 days of September 20, 2012.
This section is referenced in § 1-350.04.
The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 20-61 added “Except as provided in subsections (a-1) and (a-2) of this section” in (a); and added (a-1) and (a-2).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7032(a) of the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-130, July 30, 2013, 60 DCR 11384, 20 DCSTAT 1827).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7032(a) of the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-204, October 17, 2013, 60 DCR 15341, 20 DCSTAT 2311).
Section 7031 of D.C. Law 20-61 provided that Subtitle C of Title VII of the act may be cited as the “Delinquent Debt Recovery Amendment Act of 2013”.
Funds collected and recovered by the Central Collection Unit, beginning in fiscal year 2014 and continuing in the following fiscal years, arising out of delinquent debts transferred and referred to the Central Collection Unit by the University of the District of Columbia for collection, net of cost and fees, shall be deposited into the University of the District of Columbia Debt Collection Fund established pursuant to § 38-1251.01, by the Central Collection Unit within 60 days following the then current fiscal year.
University of the District of Columbia Debt Collection Fund, § 38-1251.01.
For temporary (90 days) addition of this section, see § 7032(b) of the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-130, July 30, 2013, 60 DCR 11384, 20 DCSTAT 1827).
For temporary (90 days) addition of this section, see § 7032(b) of the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-204, October 17, 2013, 60 DCR 15341, 20 DCSTAT 2311).
(a) The Central Collection Unit may prescribe, impose, and collect fees from debtors to cover actual costs or expenses associated with the collection of delinquent debt.
(b) In addition to the authority to impose and collect fees to cover actual costs or expenses associated with the collection of delinquent debt, the Central Collection Unit may prescribe and impose a fee to be paid by each person who tenders in payment of a financial obligation owed to the District, including a tax, assessment, fee, citation, or charge, a check that is subsequently dishonored or not duly paid, or whose delinquent debt is transferred and referred to the Central Collection Unit for action. The amount of the fee shall be set by regulations established by the Central Collection Unit.
(a) There is established within the General Fund of the District of Columbia a special fund known as the Delinquent Debt Fund ("Fund"), which shall be administered by the Central Collection Unit in accordance with subsections (c) and (d) of this section.
(3) All fees authorized by § 1-350.03.
(c) Money in the Fund shall be used to conduct the authorized activities of the Central Collection Unit.
(d) After all operational and administrative expenses of the Central Collection Unit have been paid, as certified by the Chief Financial Officer in the year-end close, the lesser of $2.5 million or the remaining cash balance in the Fund, in excess of the amount certified as local funds in the most recent revenue estimate of the Chief Financial Officer, shall be transferred from the Fund to the Arts and Humanities Enterprise Fund, established by § 39-205.01; provided, that any cash balance remaining in the Fund after the transfer to the Arts and Humanities Enterprise Fund shall revert to the unrestricted balance of the General Fund of the District of Columbia.
This section is referenced in § 1-350.01.
The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 20-61 added “except those amounts collected by the Central Collection Unit described in § 1-350.02(a-1) and (a-2)” in the second sentence.
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7132 of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2018 (D.C. Act 22-458, Oct. 3, 2018, 65 DCR 11212).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7132 of Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2018 (D.C. Act 22-434, July 30, 2018, 65 DCR 8200).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7032(c) of the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-130, July 30, 2013, 60 DCR 11384, 20 DCSTAT 1827).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7032(c) of the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-204, October 17, 2013, 60 DCR 15341, 20 DCSTAT 2311).
(a) If a person liable to pay a delinquent debt neglects or refuses to pay the delinquent debt after demand by the Central Collection Unit, the amount, including any interest and any fees imposed for collection of the delinquent debt that may accrue, shall be a lien in favor of the District of Columbia upon all property (including rights to property), whether real or personal, belonging to the person, and shall have the same effect as a lien created by judgment. The lien shall attach to all real or personal property (including rights to property) belonging to, or acquired by, the person at any time during the period of the lien.
(b) The lien imposed by subsection (a) of this section shall be deemed to have arisen on the 91st day after the debt became due and owing to the District and shall continue until the delinquent debt is satisfied or becomes unenforceable.
(c) The lien imposed by subsection (a) of this section shall not be valid against a bona fide purchaser for value, holder of a security interest, mechanic’s lien, or judgment lien creditor until the lien has been filed with the Recorder of Deeds by the Central Collection Unit.
(d) Upon transferring a delinquent debt to the Central Collection Unit, a transferring agency’s authority to file a lien for that debt shall terminate.
For temporary (90 days) addition of provisions requiring the Office of the Chief Financial Officer to review all residential real property tax liens sold between September 1, 2003, and September 1, 2013, see § 2 of the Tax Lien Compensation and Relief Reporting Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-176, October 4, 2013, 60 DCR 14940).
For temporary (225 days) addition of provisions requiring the Office of the Chief Financial Officer to review all residential real property tax liens sold between September 1, 2003, and September 1, 2013, see § 2 of the Tax Lien Compensation and Relief Reporting Temporary Act of 2013 (D.C. Law 20-54, December 13, 2013, 60 DCR 15161).
(6) Refer a delinquent debt to the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia for civil or administrative collection or enforcement actions.
(b) The authority described in subsection (a) of this section shall become effective upon the issuance of an order by the Mayor delegating the Mayor’s authority, pursuant to §§ 2-402 through 2-406, as is necessary to carry out the purposes of this subchapter.
(a) Each District agency that transfers and refers a delinquent debt of more than $100 to the Central Collection Unit for collection shall, within 5 days of the transfer and referral, suspend the granting or issuance of any District license or permit to the delinquent debtor. The suspension shall remain in effect until the Central Collection Unit notifies the appropriate District agency that the delinquent debt has been satisfied.
(b) Each District agency that suspends the granting or issuance of a District license or permit pursuant to this section shall provide written or electronic notice of the suspension to the Central Collection Unit within 5 days of the suspension.
(c) The Central Collection Unit shall provide to all District agencies, within 10 days of the end of the preceding month, a list of the names of all persons currently subject to suspension of the granting or issuing of a District license or permit due to delinquent debt of more than $100.
The Central Collection Unit may enter into reciprocal agreements for the collection of delinquent debts with any state, local, or municipal government.
(a)(1) The Central Collection Unit may collect delinquent debt from District employees by deducting delinquent debt from the biweekly pay of District employees, in an amount not to exceed 10% of an employee’s gross biweekly pay, until the delinquent debt is fully satisfied.
(2) If a District employee’s wages are subject to a preexisting attachment or attachments, the Central Collection Unit shall not exercise its authority under paragraph (1) of this subsection until the preexisting attachments have been satisfied, in order of priority.
(b)(1) The Central Collection Unit may collect delinquent debt from District contractors by deducting the delinquent debt from any amounts owed to a District contractor pursuant to a contractual obligation between the District and the contractor.
(A) “Contractual obligation” includes an obligation arising from a contract or a grant agreement described in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph that is entered into after September 20, 2012.
(B) “District contractor” includes any person who receives payments from the District pursuant to a contract or a grant agreement that requires the grantee to perform services in consideration for the payment of the grant amount.
(c) The Central Collection Unit may collect delinquent debts by offsetting District tax refunds and District lottery winnings against delinquent debts owed to the District.
The Central Collection Unit and any outside parties it engages to collect delinquent debt shall fully comply with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, approved September 20, 1977 (91 Stat. 874; 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq.), Chapter 39 of Title 28 [§ 28-3901 et seq.], and all other federal and District laws and rules that govern collection of delinquent debt.
(3) A summary of the efforts made to collect delinquent debt owed to the District and the challenges that remain for collecting it.
Within 120 days of September 20, 2012, the Chief Financial Officer shall issue rules to implement the provisions of this subchapter.

References: § 1

§ 1

§ 1

§ 1

§ 1

§ 1

§ 1

§ 1

§ 1
 § 1
 § 38
 § 1
 § 7032
 § 7032
 § 38
 § 38
 § 7032
 § 7032
 § 1
 § 39
 § 1
 § 1
 § 7132
 § 7132
 § 7032
 § 7032
 § 2
 § 2
 § 1692