HF 2301 (LSB 5655HH (12) 83)

HOUSE FILE 2301

BY  BELL

A BILL FOR

An Act allowing county treasurers to collect restitution owed to a district court, certain debts owed to or being collected by the state, and delinquent debt owed to the clerk of the district court from a person renewing a vehicle registration, and providing a fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 321.40, subsection 4, Code Supplement 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   4.  a.  The county treasurer shall refuse to renew the registration of a vehicle registered to a person when notified by the department through the distributed teleprocessing network that the person has not paid restitution as defined under section 910.1, subsection 4, to a clerk of the court located within the state. Each clerk of court shall, on a daily basis, notify the department through the Iowa court information system of the full name, and social security number, and amount due for restitution, including all applicable fees and penalties, of all persons who owe delinquent restitution and the full name and social security number, if applicable, of all persons whose restitution obligation has been satisfied or canceled. This subsection does not apply to the transfer of a registration or the issuance of a new registration.
   b.  The county treasurer of the county of the person’s residence and in which the person’s vehicle is registered may collect restitution on behalf of a clerk of the district court located within the state from a person applying for renewal of a vehicle registration. The applicant may remit the amount due for restitution along with a processing fee of five dollars to the county treasurer at the time of registration renewal. Upon payment of the required restitution, the processing fee, and the vehicle registration fee, the county treasurer shall issue the registration to the person. A county treasurer collecting restitution for a clerk of the district court shall update vehicle records on a daily basis through the distributed teleprocessing network for all persons whose restitution obligations have been satisfied or canceled by the county treasurer. On a monthly basis, the county treasurer shall forward all restitution funds collected to the department of revenue for disbursement to the respective clerks of the district court where the plans of restitution were filed.
    Sec. 2.  Section 321.40, subsection 6, Code Supplement 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   6.  a.  The department or the county treasurer shall refuse to renew the registration of a vehicle registered to the applicant if the department or the county treasurer knows that the applicant has a delinquent account, charge, fee, loan, taxes, or other indebtedness owed to or being collected by the state, from information provided pursuant to sections 8A.504 and 421.17. An applicant may contest this action by requesting a contested case proceeding from the agency that referred the debt for collection pursuant to section 8A.504.  The department of revenue and the department of transportation shall notify the county treasurers through the distributed teleprocessing network of all persons who owe such a charge, fee, loan, taxes, or other indebtedness.
   b.  The county treasurer of the county of the person’s residence and in which the person’s vehicle is registered may collect a charge, fee, loan, taxes, or other indebtedness owed to or being collected by the state from a person applying for renewal of a vehicle registration. The applicant may remit full payment of the charge, fee, loan, taxes, or other indebtedness including applicable fees and penalties, along with a processing fee of five dollars, to the county treasurer at the time of registration renewal. Upon full payment of the required charge, fee, loan, taxes, or other indebtedness including applicable fees and penalties, the processing fee, and the vehicle registration fee, the county treasurer shall issue the registration to the person. A county treasurer collecting on behalf of the department of revenue shall update the vehicle registration records through the distributed teleprocessing network on a daily basis for all persons whose charge, fee, loan, taxes, or other debt payable to the department of revenue has been satisfied or canceled by the county treasurer. On a monthly basis, a county treasurer shall forward all funds collected for the department of revenue to the department of revenue. 
    Sec. 3.  Section 321.40, subsection 9, Code Supplement 2009, is amended by adding the following new paragraph:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  c.  Notwithstanding paragraph “a”, the county treasurer of the county of the person’s residence and in which the person’s vehicle is registered may collect delinquent court debt on behalf of a clerk of the district court located within the state from a person applying for renewal of a vehicle registration, unless the clerk of the district court notifies the county treasurer that the person’s debt must be paid in person to the clerk of the district court. The clerk of the district court shall, on a daily basis, notify the department through the Iowa court information system of the amount of payment required from a person identified under paragraph “a” in order to allow the person to renew a vehicle registration. The applicant may remit payment of the amount required by the clerk of the district court along with a processing fee of five dollars to the county treasurer at the time of registration renewal. Upon payment of the amount required by the clerk of the district court, the processing fee, and the vehicle registration fee, the county treasurer shall issue the registration to the person. A county treasurer collecting delinquent court debt for the clerk of the district court shall update vehicle records on a daily basis through the distributed teleprocessing network for all persons whose court debts have been satisfied or canceled by the county treasurer and transfer the court debt funds collected under this paragraph to the clerk of the district court.
    Sec. 4.  Section 321.152, Code 2009, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  2A.  The five dollar processing fee charged by a county treasurer for collection of restitution pursuant to section 321.40, subsection 4; the collection of debts payable to the department of revenue pursuant to section 321.40, subsection 6; or the collection of debt owed to a clerk of the district court pursuant to section 321.40, subsection 9, shall be retained for deposit in the county general fund.
    Sec. 5.  Section 321.153, Code 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   321.153  Treasurer’s report to department.
   1.  The county treasurer on the tenth day of each month shall certify to the department a full and complete statement of all fees and penalties received by the county treasurer during the preceding calendar month and shall remit all moneys not retained for deposit under section 321.152 to the treasurer of state.
   2.  The distributed teleprocessing network shall be used in the collection, receipting, accounting, and reporting of any fee collected through the registration renewal or title process, with sufficient time and financial resources provided for implementation.
   3.  This section does not apply to fees collected or retained by a county treasurer pursuant to participation in county issuance of driver’s licenses under chapter 321M.
   4.  This section does not apply to processing fees charged by a county treasurer for collection of restitution pursuant to section 321.40, subsection 4; the collection of debts payable to the department of revenue pursuant to section 321.40, subsection 6; or the collection of court debt owed to a clerk of the district court pursuant to section 321.40, subsection 9.
EXPLANATION
   This bill expands the ability of county treasurers to collect certain moneys owed to a district court or the state from persons applying for renewal of a vehicle registration.
   Currently, a treasurer is required to refuse registration renewal if the treasurer is notified by the department of transportation that the applicant has not paid restitution to a clerk of court in the state. The applicant must remit the restitution directly to the clerk of court before the vehicle registration can be renewed. The bill allows the county treasurer to collect the restitution from the applicant and to then renew the registration. The county treasurer is required to update the vehicle records through the distributed teleprocessing network on a daily basis for persons whose restitution obligations have been satisfied or canceled by the county treasurer and forward all restitution funds to the department of revenue on a monthly basis for distribution to the applicable clerks of court.
   Current law requires a county treasurer to refuse to renew a vehicle registration if the treasurer knows that the person has a delinquent account, charge, fee, loan, taxes, or other indebtedness owed to or being collected by the state. The person has to address the debt before the county treasurer can renew the registration of the person’s vehicle. The bill provides a process for collection of such debts by the county treasurer on behalf of the department of revenue. The county treasurer may collect the amount owed prior to issuing the registration renewal. The treasurer is required to update the vehicle records through the distributed teleprocessing network on a daily basis for persons whose debts have been satisfied or canceled by the county treasurer and forward the amounts collected to the department of revenue on a monthly basis.
   Current law also requires the county treasurer to refuse to renew a vehicle registration for an applicant who owes delinquent court debt that is being collected by a county attorney. However, if the person enters into a payment plan satisfactory to the county attorney, the county treasurer may temporarily lift the registration hold and renew the applicant’s vehicle registration. The bill allows the county treasurer to collect delinquent court debt on behalf of a clerk of the district court in the state and renew the applicant’s vehicle registration, unless the treasurer is notified that the debt must be paid in person to the clerk of court. The clerk of court is required to provide daily notification to the department of transportation through the Iowa court information system of the amount of payment required before the applicant’s registration can be renewed. The county treasurer is required to update the vehicle records through the distributed teleprocessing network on a daily basis for persons whose court debts have been satisfied or canceled by the county treasurer and transfer the funds collected to the clerk of court.
   If an applicant for renewal of a vehicle registration chooses to make payment to the county treasurer for restitution owed to the court; for a charge, fee, loan, taxes, or other indebtedness owed to the state; or for delinquent court debt owed to the clerk of the district court, the applicant is required to pay a $5 processing fee to the county treasurer, which is to be deposited in the county general fund.