§ 147-86.22. Statewide accounts receivable program. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 147‑86.22.  Statewideaccounts receivable program.

(a)        Program. – TheState Controller shall implement a statewide accounts receivable program. Aspart of this program, the State Controller shall do all of the following:

(1)        Monitor the State'saccounts receivable collection efforts.

(2)        Coordinateinformation, systems, and procedures between State agencies to maximize thecollection of past‑due accounts receivable.

(3)        Adopt policies andprocedures for the management and collection of accounts receivable by Stateagencies.

(4)        Establish proceduresfor writing off accounts receivable and for determining when to end efforts tocollect accounts receivable after they have been written off.

(b)        Electronic Payment.– Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 147‑86.20 and G.S. 147‑86.21,this subsection applies to debts owed a community college, a local schooladministrative unit, an area mental health, developmental disabilities, andsubstance abuse authority, and the Administrative Office of the Courts, and todebts payable to or through the office of a clerk of superior court or amagistrate, as well as to debts owed to other State agencies as defined in G.S.147‑86.20.

The State Controller shallestablish policies that allow accounts receivable to be payable under certainconditions by electronic payment. These policies shall be established with theconcurrence of the State Treasurer. In addition, any policies that apply todebts payable to or through the office of a clerk of superior court or amagistrate shall be established with the concurrence of the AdministrativeOfficer of the Courts. The Administrative Officer of the Courts may alsoestablish policies otherwise authorized by law that apply to these debts aslong as those policies are not inconsistent with the Controller's policies.

A condition of payment byelectronic payment is receipt by the appropriate State agency of the fullamount of the account receivable owed to the State agency. A debtor who pays byelectronic payment may be required to pay any fee or charge associated with theuse of electronic payment. Fees associated with processing electronic paymentsmay be paid out of the General Fund and Highway Fund if the payment of the feeby the State is economically beneficial to the State and the payment of the feeby the State has been approved by the State Controller and State Treasurer.

The State Controller and StateTreasurer shall consult with the Joint Legislative Commission on GovernmentalOperations before establishing policies that allow accounts receivable to bepayable by electronic payment and before authorizing fees associated withelectronic payment to be paid out of the General Fund and Highway Fund. A Stateagency must also consult with the Joint Legislative Commission on GovernmentalOperations before implementing any program to accept payment under the policiesestablished pursuant to this subsection.

A payment of an accountreceivable that is made by electronic payment and is not honored by the issuerof the card or the financial institution offering electronic funds transferdoes not relieve the debtor of the obligation to pay the account receivable.

(c)        CollectionTechniques. – The State Controller, in conjunction with the Office of theAttorney General, shall establish policies and procedures to govern techniquesfor collection of accounts receivable. These techniques may include use ofcredit reporting bureaus, judicial remedies authorized by law, andadministrative setoff by a reduction of an individual's tax refund pursuant tothe Setoff Debt Collection Act, Chapter 105A of the General Statutes, or areduction of another payment, other than payroll, due from the State to aperson to reduce or eliminate an account receivable that the person owes theState.

No later than January 1, 1999,the State Controller shall negotiate a contract with a third party to performan audit and collection process of inadvertent overpayments by State agenciesto vendors as a result of pricing errors, neglected rebates and discounts,miscalculated freight charges, unclaimed refunds, erroneously paid excisetaxes, and related errors. The third party shall be compensated only from fundsrecovered as a result of the audit. Savings realized in excess of costs shallbe transferred from the agency to the Office of State Budget and Management andplaced in a special reserve account for future direction by the GeneralAssembly. Any disputed savings shall be settled by the State Controller. Thisparagraph does not apply to the purchase of medical services by State agenciesor payments used to reimburse or otherwise pay for health care services. (1993, c. 512, s. 1; 1998‑212,s. 26.1; 1999‑434, s. 3; 2000‑140, s. 93.1(a); 2001‑424, s.12.2(b).)