0001| AN ACT | 0002| RELATING TO TAXATION; PERMITTING DISTRICT AND MUNICIPAL COURTS TO | 0003| COLLECT DEBTS OF OUTSTANDING COURT FINES, FEES AND COSTS PRIOR TO | 0004| ISSUANCE OF A STATE INCOME TAX REFUND; AMENDING SECTIONS OF THE | 0005| NMSA 1978. | 0006| | 0007| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO: | 0008| Section 1. Section 7-2C-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1985, Chapter 106, Section 2, as | 0009| amended) is amended to read: | 0010| "7-2C-2. PURPOSE.-- | 0011| A. The purpose of the Tax Refund Intercept Program Act is to comply with | 0012| federal law: | 0013| (1) by enhancing the enforcement of child support and medical support | 0014| obligations; | 0015| (2) to aid collection of outstanding debts owed for overpayment of public | 0016| assistance and overissuance of food stamps and overpayment of unemployment compensation | 0017| benefits and nonpayment of contributions or payments in lieu of contributions or other amounts | 0018| due under the Unemployment Compensation Law; | 0019| (3) to promote repayment of educational loans; | 0020| (4) to aid collection of fines, fees and costs owed to the district, magistrate | 0021| and municipal courts; and | 0022| (5) to aid collection of fines, fees and costs owed to the Bernalillo county | 0023| metropolitan court. | 0024| B. Efforts to accomplish the purpose of the Tax Refund Intercept Program Act | 0025| may be enhanced by establishing a system to collect debts, in particular, outstanding child | 0001| support obligations, educational loans, amounts due under the Unemployment Compensation | 0002| Law, fines, fees and costs owed to the district, magistrate and municipal courts and fines, fees | 0003| and costs owed to the Bernalillo county metropolitan court, by setting off the amount of such | 0004| debts against the state income tax refunds due the debtors." | 0005| Section 2. Section 7-2C-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1985, Chapter 106, Section 3, as | 0006| amended by Laws 1994, Chapter 56, Section 1 and also by Laws 1994, Chapter 76, Section 2) is | 0007| amended to read: | 0008| "7-2C-3. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Tax Refund Intercept Program Act: | 0009| A. "claimant agency" means the taxation and revenue department or any of its | 0010| divisions, the human services department, the employment security division of the labor | 0011| department, any corporation authorized to be formed under the Educational Assistance Act, a | 0012| district, magistrate or municipal court or the Bernalillo county metropolitan court; | 0013| B. "debt" means a legally enforceable obligation of an employer subject to the | 0014| Unemployment Compensation Law or an individual to pay a liquidated amount of money: | 0015| (1) that is equal to or more than one hundred dollars ($100); | 0016| (2) that is due and owing a claimant agency, which a claimant agency is | 0017| obligated by law to collect or which, in the case of an educational loan, a claimant agency has | 0018| lawfully contracted to collect; | 0019| (3) that has accrued through contract, tort, subrogation or operation of | 0020| law; and | 0021| (4) that, in the case of an amount due under the Unemployment | 0022| Compensation Law, has been secured by a warrant of levy and lien or, in all other cases, has been | 0023| reduced to judgment; | 0024| C. "debtor" means any employer subject to the Unemployment Compensation | 0025| Law or any individual owing a debt; | 0001| D. "department" or "division" means, unless the context indicates otherwise, the | 0002| taxation and revenue department, the secretary of taxation and revenue or any employee of the | 0003| department exercising authority lawfully delegated to that employee by the secretary; | 0004| E. "educational loan" means any loan for educational purposes owned by a public | 0005| post-secondary educational institution or owned or guaranteed by any corporation authorized to | 0006| be formed under the Educational Assistance Act; | 0007| F. "medical support" means amounts owed to the human services department | 0008| pursuant to the provisions of Subsection B of Section 40-4C-12 NMSA 1978; | 0009| G. "public post-secondary educational institution" means a publicly owned or | 0010| operated institution of higher education or other publicly owned or operated post-secondary | 0011| educational facility located within New Mexico; | 0012| H. "spouse" means an individual who is or was a spouse of the debtor and who | 0013| has joined with the debtor in filing a joint return of income tax pursuant to the provisions of the | 0014| Income Tax Act, which joint return has given rise to a refund that may be subject to the | 0015| provisions of the Tax Refund Intercept Program Act; and | 0016| I. "refund" means a refund, including any amount of tax rebates or credits, under | 0017| the Income Tax Act that the department has determined to be due to an individual." | 0018| Section 3. Section 7-2C-11 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1985, Chapter 106, Section 11, as | 0019| amended) is amended to read: | 0020| "7-2C-11. PRIORITY OF CLAIMS.-- | 0021| A. Claims of the department take precedence over the claim of any competing | 0022| claimant agency, whether the department asserts a claim or sets off an asserted debt under the | 0023| provisions of the Tax Refund Intercept Program Act or under the provisions of any other law that | 0024| authorizes the department to apply amounts of tax owed against any refund due an individual | 0025| pursuant to the Income Tax Act. | 0001| B. After claims of the department, claims shall take priority in the following | 0002| order before claims of any competing claimant agency: | 0003| (1) claims of the human services department resulting from child support | 0004| enforcement liabilities; | 0005| (2) claims of the human services department resulting from medical | 0006| support liabilities; | 0007| (3) claims resulting from educational loans made under the Educational | 0008| Assistance Act; | 0009| (4) claims of the human services department resulting from AFDC | 0010| liabilities; | 0011| (5) claims of the human services department resulting from food stamp | 0012| liabilities; | 0013| (6) claims of the employment security division of the labor department | 0014| arising under the Unemployment Compensation Law; | 0015| (7) claims of a district court for fines, fees or costs owed to that court; | 0016| (8) claims of a magistrate court for fines, fees or costs owed to that court; | 0017| (9) claims of the Bernalillo county metropolitan court for fines, fees or | 0018| costs owed to that court; and | 0019| (10) claims of a municipal court for fines, fees or costs owed to that | 0020| court." |