(1) Except as otherwise provided by law, all state courts and all commissions, departments and divisions in the judicial branch of state government shall offer to assign the liquidated and delinquent accounts of the state court, commission, department or division to a private collection agency, or to the Department of Revenue under the provisions of ORS 293.250, not later than:
(a) One year from the date the account was liquidated if no payment has been received on the account within that year; or
(b) One year from the date of receipt of the most recent payment on the account.
(2) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section prohibits a state court or a commission, department or division in the judicial branch of state government from assigning a liquidated and delinquent account to a private collection agency at any time within the one-year period, or from assigning a liquidated and delinquent account to the Department of Revenue during the one-year period, if that assignment is otherwise allowed by law.
(3) Nothing in this section prevents a state court or a commission, department or division in the judicial branch of state government from assigning an account to the Department of Revenue for the purpose of seeking an offset against tax refunds or other amounts due the debtor at the time the account is assigned to a private collection agency. A state court and any commission, department or division in the judicial branch of state government that assigns the same account to both the Department of Revenue and a private collection agency shall ensure that both the Department of Revenue and the private collection agency are kept informed of the status of all collections made on the account.
(4) If a private collection agency is unable to collect on an account assigned under this section, the private collection agency shall notify the state court, commission, department or division that assigned the account that the private collection agency is unable to collect on the account and that the private collection agency will relinquish the account. The private collection agency shall relinquish the account within a reasonable time or within such time as may be set by agreement. A private collection agency that is assigned an account under this section shall be held to the same standard of confidentiality, service and courtesy imposed on a state court in collecting on liquidated and delinquent accounts.
(5) If a liquidated and delinquent account is assigned to the Department of Revenue as provided in ORS 293.250, the Department of Revenue shall have one year from the date of liquidation, or from the date of receipt of the most recent payment on the account, to collect a payment. If the Department of Revenue does not collect a payment within the one-year period or if one year has elapsed since the date of receipt of the most recent payment on the account, the Department of Revenue shall notify the state court, commission, department or division that assigned the account. The state court, commission, department or division shall then immediately offer assignment of the account to a private collection agency.
(6) For the purposes of this section, a state court or a commission, department or division in the judicial branch of state government shall be considered to have offered an account for assignment to a private collection agency if:
(a) The terms of the offer are of a type generally accepted by the collections industry for the type of account to be assigned; and
(b) The offer is made to a private collection agency that engages in the business of collecting the type of account to be assigned or made generally to private collection agencies through a bid or request for proposal process.
(7) The offer of assignment of accounts required under this section may be made by the State Court Administrator on behalf of some or all of the state courts and on behalf of some or all of the commissions, departments and divisions in the judicial branch of state government. [2001 c.823 §13]
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