Section 18. Interest and collection fees assessed on debts owed to the state

1. As used in this section: (a) "state agency"  shall  mean  any
  state department, board, bureau, division, commission, committee, public
  authority,   public  benefit  corporation,  council,  office,  or  other
  governmental entity performing a governmental  or  proprietary  function
  for  the  state;  (b) "debt" shall mean any liquidated sum due and owing
  any state agency which has accrued pursuant to law or through  contract,
  subrogation, tort or other cause of action, except a liability resulting
  from  taxes  or other impositions administered by the state commissioner
  of taxation and finance, regardless of whether there is  an  outstanding
  judgment for that sum; (c) "debtor" shall mean any individual, business,
  or  other  entity, which is not a state agency, municipal corporation or
  district  corporation,  having  a  debt  with  any  state  agency;   (d)
  "liquidated"  shall  mean an amount which is fixed or certain or capable
  of being readily calculated, whether or not the underlying liability  or
  amount  of  the  debt is disputed; and (e) "outstanding" debt shall mean
  the amount set forth in the billing invoice  or  notice  mailed  to  the
  debtor,  together  with  late  payment  charges  and  interest, less any
  payments made by or on behalf of the debtor.
    2. For the purposes of this section, a state agency shall mail a dated
  billing invoice or notice on or about the day it is dated,  and  receipt
  by  the debtor of a billing invoice or notice is deemed to have occurred
  five days after its date.
    3. Unless provided otherwise by contract,  statute  or  regulation,  a
  debtor owing a debt to any state agency shall pay such debt on or before
  the thirtieth day following such debtor's receipt of any billing invoice
  or  notice  sent by the state agency that such debt is due and owing and
  that failure to make timely payment, as stated in the billing invoice or
  notice, will result in the assessment of  interest  or  a  late  payment
  charge  and  may  result  in  a  charge to cover the cost of processing,
  handling, and collecting such debt.
    4. Unless provided otherwise by contract,  statute  or  regulation,  a
  debtor  that fails to make payment of a debt within the period set forth
  in subdivision three of this section  shall  pay,  in  addition  to  the
  amount  of debt, the greater of: (a) interest on the outstanding balance
  of the debt, accruing on the date on which  the  receipt  of  the  first
  billing  invoice  or  first  notice occurs, computed at the underpayment
  rate which is in effect on the date  which  the  receipt  of  the  first
  billing  invoice  or  first billing notice occurs; or (b) a late payment
  charge  of  ten  dollars.  For  the  purposes  of  this   section,   the
  underpayment rate shall be that rate set by the commissioner of taxation
  and  finance  and published in the state register pursuant to subsection
  (e) of section one  thousand  ninety-six  of  the  tax  law  minus  four
  percentage points. With respect to specific classes of debt collected by
  a state agency, the director of the budget or official of a state agency
  so  designated  by the director of the budget may approve the assessment
  of interest or late payment charges at a date later than  the  thirtieth
  day  following  such  debtor's  receipt of any billing invoice or notice
  sent by the state agency.
    5. In addition to the charges referred to in subdivision four of  this
  section,   and   unless  provided  otherwise  by  contract,  statute  or
  regulation, a debtor that fails to make payment of  a  debt  subject  to
  this  section  within  ninety days of receipt by the debtor of the first
  billing invoice or notice may be assessed an additional  collection  fee
  charge  to  cover  the  cost of processing, handling and collecting such
  debt, not to exceed twenty-two percent of the  outstanding  debt,  which
  collection  fee  shall be added to and payable in the same manner as the
  outstanding debt. The assessed collection fee charge may not exceed  the

  agency's  estimated  cost  of  processing,  handling and collecting such
  debt.
    6.  Any  interest  or  late  payment charges assessed pursuant to this
  section shall be paid upon notice and demand and shall  be  treated  and
  collected in the same manner as the original debt which is due and owing
  and  shall  be  collected  by  a  state  agency  when  such agency deems
  collection to be  administratively  practical  and  cost-effective.  Any
  collection  fee  charges assessed pursuant to this section shall be paid
  upon notice and demand and shall be collected by  a  state  agency  when
  such  agency  deems  collection  to  be  administratively  practical and
  cost-effective. In any action brought by or on behalf of a state  agency
  to  recover an outstanding debt, a demand for collection fee charges may
  be set forth in the statement of damages sought.
    7. The state director of the budget shall promulgate  such  guidelines
  as  the  director  deems  necessary  to carry out the provisions of this
  section.
    8. The provisions of this section shall not supersede any provision of
  law or regulation or contract  which  provides  for  the  imposition  of
  interest  or  late  payment  or  collection  fee  charges  on  debts not
  satisfied in a timely manner.
    9. All contracts entered into or  any  regulation  promulgated  on  or
  after  the effective date of this section which waives the imposition of
  interest or late payment or collection fee charges or  imposes  interest
  or   late  payment  charges  or  collection  fee  charges  in  a  manner
  inconsistent with this section must be approved by the state division of
  the budget.
    10. Every  state  agency  to  which  this  section  is  applicable  is
  authorized  to enter into written agreements with any debtor under which
  such debtor is allowed to satisfy liability for  payment  of  any  debt,
  including  any  interest imposed by this section on that portion of such
  debt as to which an extension is granted, in installment payments if the
  state agency determines that such agreement will  facilitate  collection
  of  such  liability.  Provided  further,  that  where  such state agency
  determines that immediate collection of the debt  would  jeopardize  the
  debtor's  fiscal  viability  and  thereby pose a hardship to the public,
  such agency shall offer to enter into a written agreement to temporarily
  defer collection of the debt, collect the debt on an installment  basis,
  or  make  other  reasonable  arrangements to reduce such hardship on the
  public of collecting the debt.