§ 105A-3. Remedy additional; mandatory State usage; optional local usage; obtaining identifying information; registration.
§105A‑3. Remedy additional; mandatory State usage; optional local usage;obtaining identifying information; registration.
(a) Remedy Additional. The collection remedy under this Chapter is in addition to and not insubstitution for any other remedy available by law.
(b) Mandatory StateUsage. A State agency must submit a debt owed to it for collection under thisChapter unless the State Controller has waived this requirement or the Stateagency has determined that the validity of the debt is legitimately in dispute,an alternative means of collection is pending and believed to be adequate, orsuch a collection attempt would result in a loss of federal funds. The StateController may waive the requirement for a State agency, other than theDepartment of Health and Human Services or a county acting on behalf of thatDepartment, to submit a debt owed to it for collection under this Chapter ifthe State Controller finds that collection by this means would not be practicalor cost effective. A waiver may apply to all debts owed a State agency or atype of debt owed a State agency.
(b1) Optional LocalUsage. A local agency may submit a debt owed to it for collection under thisChapter. A local agency that decides to submit a debt owed to it for collectionunder this Chapter must establish the debt by following the procedure set inG.S. 105A‑5 and must submit the debt through one of the following:
(1) A clearinghouse thatis established pursuant to an interlocal agreement adopted under Article 20 ofChapter 160A of the General Statutes and has agreed to submit debts on behalfof any requesting local agency.
(2) The North CarolinaLeague of Municipalities.
(3) The North CarolinaAssociation of County Commissioners.
(c) IdentifyingInformation. All claimant agencies shall whenever possible obtain the fullname, social security number, address, and any other identifying informationrequired by the Department from any person for whom the agencies provide anyservice or transact any business and who the claimant agencies can foresee maybecome a debtor under this Chapter.
(d) Registration andReports. A State agency must register with the Department and with the StateController. Every State agency must report annually to the State Controller theamount of debts owed to the agency for which the agency did not submit a claimfor setoff and the reason for not submitting the claim.
A clearinghouse or anorganization that submits debts on behalf of a local agency must register withthe Department. Once a clearinghouse registers with the Department under thissubsection, no other clearinghouse may register to submit debts for collectionunder this Chapter. (1979, c. 801, s. 94; 1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 946,s. 1; 1993, c. 512, s. 4; 1997‑443, s. 11A.122; 1997‑490, s. 1;1998‑212, s. 12.3A(a), (b).)