70th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--1999 Regular Session

NOTE:  Matter within  { +  braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within  { -  braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
 { +  braces and plus signs + } .

LC 623

                         Senate Bill 209

Printed pursuant to Senate Interim Rule 213.28 by order of the
  President of the Senate in conformance with presession filing
  rules, indicating neither advocacy nor opposition on the part
  of the President (at the request of Department of Consumer and
  Business Services)


                             SUMMARY

The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.

  Allows Department of Consumer and Business Services to issue
distraint warrants for collection of debts owed department.

                        A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to state agency debt collection; creating new
  provisions; and amending ORS 29.375.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
  SECTION 1.  { + Section 2 of this 1999 Act is added to and made
a part of ORS chapter 705. + }
  SECTION 2.  { + (1) If any unpaid amount owed the Department of
Consumer and Business Services becomes due, and no provision is
made to secure the payment, the department may issue a distraint
warrant. The warrant may be filed with the county clerk of any
county in this state and recorded in the County Clerk Lien Record
of that county. The amount of any warrant issued under this
section shall include the principal amount of the debt, any added
interest accumulated pursuant to ORS 82.010 or other applicable
law, any costs associated with the recording, indexing or serving
of the warrant and any satisfaction or release of the warrant. A
copy of the warrant shall be mailed to the debtor by the
department at the debtor's last known address.
  (2) After the receipt of the distraint warrant, the clerk of
the county shall enter the warrant in the County Clerk Lien
Record in the manner described in ORS 205.125. The warrant shall
have the effect described in ORS 205.125 and 205.126 and this
section and may be enforced as provided in ORS 29.375, 205.125
and 205.126 and this section.
  (3) The department may direct a copy of the distraint warrant
to the sheriff of any county in this state, commanding the
sheriff to levy upon and sell the real and personal property of
the debtor found within that county, for the payment of the
amount due, with interest, the collection charge and the
sheriff's fee.
  (4) The sheriff shall return the distraint warrant to the
department and pay the department the money collected not less
than 60 days from the date the copy of the distraint warrant was
directed to the sheriff.
  (5) The department may issue the directive provided in
subsection (3) of this section to any agent of the department. In
executing the distraint warrant, the agent shall have the same
powers conferred by law upon sheriffs. However, the agent is not
entitled to any fee or compensation in excess of actual expenses
incurred in the performance of this duty.
  (6) For the purposes of out-of-state collections, a distraint
warrant described in this section shall have the effect of a
judgment as provided by ORS 205.125.
  (7) If a person fails to answer truthfully a notice of
garnishment authorized under ORS 29.375 or to turn over to the
department property that is subject to the garnishment, the
person may be held liable for the amount that should have been
paid under the garnishment, or the amount due, whichever is less.
The department may proceed against the person for any amount owed
in the same manner as if the person were the original debtor. + }
  SECTION 3. ORS 29.375 is amended to read:
  29.375. (1) Notwithstanding ORS 29.155, any state agency
authorized to issue warrants to collect taxes and debts owed to
the State of Oregon, including but not limited to warrants issued
pursuant to ORS 179.655, 267.385, 314.430, 316.207, 320.080,
321.570, 323.390, 657.642 and 825.504 { +  and section 2 of this
1999 Act + }, or any county tax collector authorized to issue
warrants to collect taxes and debts owed to the county pursuant
to ORS 311.625, may garnish property of a defendant in the
possession of a person other than the plaintiff or defendant by
delivery to such person of all of the following:
  (a) A warrant or true copy thereof together with a notice of
garnishment;
  (b) One additional copy of the warrant and of the notice of
garnishment in addition to the originals or true copies required
under paragraph (a) of this subsection; and
  (c) Any garnishee's search fee payable as provided for in ORS
29.377.
  (2) If any of the items described in subsection (1) of this
section are not delivered to the garnishee, the garnishment shall
not be effective to garnish any property of the defendant, and
the garnishee shall not be required to respond to the garnishment
and may proceed to deal with any property of the defendant as
though the writ of garnishment had not been issued.
  (3)(a) Where the garnishment is on an employer, a state agency
shall use a notice of continuous garnishment as the notice of
garnishment under subsection (1) of this section. A continuous
garnishment shall continue in full force and effect on the
garnishee until the garnishee has paid the state agency the full
amount of the warrant, or the garnishment is released by the
agency or by court order, or other disposition is made by court
order. The garnishment shall contain language reasonably designed
to notify the garnishee of the provisions of this subsection.
  (b) Each time an amount due the defendant is payable, and in
any event not less than once every 30 days, until the continuous
garnishment is no longer effective the garnishee shall make the
delivery required by subsection (6) of this section.
  (c) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subsection, if the
state agency has reason to believe that a taxpayer intends to
leave the state or do any other act that would jeopardize the
collection of any tax or debt owed to the state, the state agency
may issue a garnishment pursuant to subsection (1) of this
section.
  (4) Notwithstanding ORS 29.165, a warrant or true copy thereof
and notice of garnishment delivered under subsection (1) or (3)
of this section by a state agency, or a warrant or true copy
thereof and notice of garnishment delivered under subsection (1)
of this section by a county tax collector, may be delivered in
person by any employee of the state agency or the county tax
collector authorized by the agency or the county to deliver such
warrant or true copy thereof and notice of garnishment, or by
certified mail return receipt requested. Such employee need not
be covered by errors and omissions insurance as provided by ORS
29.165.
  (5) Notwithstanding ORS 29.205, the duty of a garnishee to
deliver any property of the defendant which may be contained in a
safe deposit box which is in the garnishee's possession, control
or custody at the time of delivery of the warrant or true copy
thereof and notice of garnishment to the garnishee is conditioned
upon the state agency or the county tax collector first paying to
the garnishee, in addition to the search fee provided for in ORS
29.377 (1), all reasonable costs incurred by the garnishee in
gaining entry to the safe deposit box. The costs shall be paid to
the garnishee by the state agency or the county tax collector at
least five days before the date the state agency or the county
tax collector takes possession of the property in the safe
deposit box. If the state agency or the county tax collector
fails to pay such costs to the garnishee within 30 days after the
delivery of the warrant or true copy thereof and notice of
garnishment, the garnishment shall not be effective to garnish
any property of the defendant which may be contained in any such
safe deposit box and the garnishee may proceed to deal with the
safe deposit box and its contents as though the notice of
garnishment had not been issued. Nothing in this section limits
the rights of a state agency or county tax collector to reach the
contents of any safe deposit box in any manner otherwise provided
by law.
  (6) Notwithstanding ORS 29.235, 29.237 and 29.255, the
garnishee shall deliver the certificate of the garnishee together
with the garnished property, less any garnishment processing fee
levied by the garnishee as permitted in ORS 29.377, to the state
agency or the county tax collector which issued the warrant.
  (7) Except as provided in this section and ORS 29.377, all
provisions of ORS 29.125 to 29.365 shall apply to garnishments
under a warrant or true copy thereof and notice of garnishment.
  (8) A county tax collector may only issue a notice of
garnishment under subsection (1) of this section and may not
issue a notice of continuing garnishment under subsection (3) of
this section. At least 15 days before any county tax collector
issues a notice of garnishment under the provisions of subsection
(1) of this section, the tax collector must mail to the defendant
by certified mail, return receipt requested, at the defendant's
last-known address, a notification of all amounts owing to the
county, a statement that further collection enforcement action
may be taken by the county to collect those amounts, and a
statement that those enforcement actions may include seizing of
any real property of the defendant, imposing a lien against any
real property owned by the debtor, or garnishment of bank
accounts or wages of the debtor. Only one such notification shall
be required and any number of garnishments may be issued after
the notification is mailed.
  SECTION 4.  { + Section 2 of this 1999 Act and the amendments
to ORS 29.375 by section 3 of this 1999 Act apply to debts owed
the Department of Consumer and Business Services and arising
prior to, on or after the effective date of this 1999 Act. + }
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