19290-19290.1
REVENUE AND TAXATION CODE
SECTION 19290-19290.1
19290. (a) The Department of Industrial Relations shall enter into an agreement with the Franchise Tax Board that transfers responsibility from the department to the Franchise Tax Board for the collection of delinquent fees, wages, penalties, and costs, and any interest thereon, effective July 1, 1995. Under the agreement, the Franchise Tax Board shall collect unsatisfied judgments that are issued pursuant to Sections 98.2, 226.5, 1023, 1289, 2681, and 6650 of the Labor Code. The agreement shall also provide for the collection of delinquent debts that result from a final determination by the department after the exhaustion of appeal remedies pursuant to Sections 98.3, 210, 1174.5, 1193.6, 1194, 1194.2, 1197.1, 1197.5, 1771, 1774, 3722, 7314, 7350, 7721, and 7904 of the Labor Code. The agreement shall specify the terms under which fees, wages, penalties, and costs, and any interest thereon, become subject to collection by the Franchise Tax Board. The agreement may also provide for reimbursement to the Franchise Tax Board on the basis of a percentage of the amount of revenue realized as a result of the Franchise Tax Board's services, provided that the amount of any reimbursement shall not exceed the actual costs of collection, including court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. Wherever possible the collection costs shall be borne by the judgment debtor. Any fee for the recovery of wages shall not be paid by the workers. The department shall adopt rules and regulations to provide for a reasonable fee to cover actual collection costs. The Franchise Tax Board shall be entitled to court costs and reasonable attorney's fees as a judgment creditor under subdivision (i) of Section 98.2 of the Labor Code. (b) Upon written notice to the obligor from the Franchise Tax Board, any amount referred to the Franchise Tax Board under subdivision (a) and any interest thereon, including any interest on the amount referred under subdivision (a) that accrued prior to the date of referral and any fee imposed to cover collection costs as provided under subdivision (a), shall be treated as final and due and payable to the State of California, and shall be collected from the obligor by the Franchise Tax Board in any manner authorized under the law for collection of a delinquent personal income tax liability, including, but not limited to, issuance of an order and levy under Article 4 (commencing with Section 706.070) of Chapter 5 of Division 2 of Title 9 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, in the manner provided for earnings withholding orders for taxes. (c) (1) Part 10 (commencing with Section 17001), this part, Part 10.7 (commencing with Section 21001), and Part 11 (commencing with Section 23001) shall apply to amounts referred under this article in the same manner and with the same force and effect and to the full extent as if the language of those laws had been incorporated in full into this article, except to the extent that any provision is either inconsistent with this article or is not relevant to this article. (2) Any information, information sources, or enforcement remedies and capabilities available to the agency referring the amount due described in subdivision (a), shall be available to the Franchise Tax Board to be used in conjunction with, or independent of, the information, information sources, or remedies and capabilities available to the Franchise Tax Board for purposes of administering Part 10 (commencing with Section 17001), this part, Part 10.7 (commencing with Section 21001), or Part 11 (commencing with Section 23001). (d) The activities required to implement and administer this part shall not interfere with the primary mission of the Franchise Tax Board to administer Part 10 (commencing with Section 17001) and Part 11 (commencing with Section 23001). (e) For amounts referred for collection under subdivision (a), interest shall accrue at the greater of the rate applicable to the amount due being collected or the rate provided under Section 19521. When notice of the amount due includes interest and is mailed to the obligor, and the amount is paid within 15 days after the date of notice, interest shall not be imposed for the period after the date of notice. (f) In no event shall a collection under this article be construed as a payment of income taxes imposed under Part 10 (commencing with Section 17001) or Part 11 (commencing with Section 23001). (g) The amendments made by the act adding this subdivision are operative for notices issued on or after January 1, 1998. 19290.1. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this section, Section 19290 shall apply to assessments and penalties that are referred to the Franchise Tax Board for collection pursuant to Section 62.9 of the Labor Code. These assessments and penalties shall be deemed for this purpose to be delinquent debts. The collection agreement described in Section 19290 may be amended to include these assessments and penalties, or a separate agreement may be entered into under that section to collect the assessments and penalties. All payments collected by the Franchise Tax Board pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the Cal-OSHA Targeted Inspection and Consultation Fund. (b) In the event that an employer, against whom assessments and penalties as described in subdivision (a) have been levied, notifies the Franchise Tax Board that there is a disagreement as to the amount that is due and subject to collection, the Franchise Tax Board may refer the employer to the Department of Industrial Relations, return the account to the department, or rescind any collection action that may have been taken by the board. (c) The Franchise Tax Board shall provide the Department of Industrial Relations with activity reports, no less frequently than on a quarterly basis, identifying the total amount referred for collection pursuant to Section 62.9 of the Labor Code, the amount collected from each employer, and the board's actual costs of collection. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the board shall be reimbursed from the Cal-OSHA Targeted Inspection and Consultation Fund for its actual costs of collection. (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no interest shall be charged on any assessment or penalty as described in subdivision (a).