§ 5-205 Collections

A. Definitions. In this section, the following definitions apply: “Attempt” means a good faith effort to locate or contact the defendant using methods such as mail, phone, text message, skip-tracing, or other electronic means. “Court” or “courts” means the limited jurisdiction courts or superior court in each county. “Delinquent cases” means all cases for which court-ordered financial obligations have not been paid and not been otherwise assigned to private collection services, or actively worked by a warrant officer or other governmental collection activity. “DSO/TIP program” means the debt setoff/tax intercept program established by A.R.S. §§ 5- 575, 5-1208, 5-1320, and 42-1122. “DSO/TIP participants” means the limited jurisdiction courts, the superior court, city and county attorney’s offices, and probation departments in each county participating in the DSO/TIP program administered by the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). “Expansion” means any activity that requires capital fund expenditures, binding contractual obligations, or technology development or enhancement, including web-related services. It does not include maintenance of existing collection services or renewal of an existing contract. “Extraordinary circumstances” means incarceration, deployment for military service, hospitalization, a serious medical illness, or a death in the immediate family that would prevent payment of a court-ordered financial obligation. “FARE” means the fines/fees and restitution enforcement program established to collect delinquent court-ordered financial obligations by means of collection services. “FARE Compliance Assistance Program (FARE CAP)” means a program that assists defendants in resolving delinquent court-ordered financial obligations by ceasing collection activities and allowing the defendant to establish a new payment plan when the defendant pays a certain amount of the outstanding case balance. “FARE fund” means an account established by the supreme court with the state treasurer and the General Accounting Office. “FARE participant” means a court participating in the FARE program. “FARE vendor” means the vendor contracted with the AOC to provide FARE program services. “Fine reduction program” means a program aimed at reducing the balance of outstanding criminal and civil traffic fines, penalties, assessments, and surcharges pursuant to A.R.S. § 28-1601. “Gaming intercept” means the interception of eligible event wagering and fantasy sports betting winnings through the Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG) for the payment of delinquent court-ordered financial obligations, pursuant to A.R.S. §§ 5-1208(E) and 5- 1320(F). “Lottery intercept” means the interception of eligible lottery winnings through the Arizona Lottery (AZL) for the payment of delinquent court-ordered financial obligations, pursuant to A.R.S. § 5-575. “Recall” or “Remove” means removing a case from the FARE program so that all collection efforts will cease and all FARE fees will be removed from the case. “State tax intercept” means the interception of a state tax refund through the Arizona Department of Revenue (DOR) for the payment of delinquent court-ordered financial obligations. “TTEAP” means the Traffic Ticket Enforcement Assistance Program established by A.R.S. §§ 28-1630 et seq., where a hold is placed on the registration of all vehicles registered to the defendant until all delinquent court-ordered financial obligations have been paid or are no longer due and owing; a waiver has been issued under A.R.S. § 28-1635 so that a registered owner of a vehicle subject to a registration hold may be permitted to register a vehicle(s) within a certain timeframe for the registration period; or a payment contract with the court has been established and the defendant remains compliant. “Vendor” means a contracted vendor, other than the FARE vendor, that provides collection services to a court.

B. Purpose. This section is intended to result in the effective administration of statewide collection programs by increasing compliance with and enforcement of court orders and the law and enhancing customer service, consistency and uniformity in case processing, and efficiencies in the collection process.

C. Applicability. This section applies to FARE and DSO/TIP participants and FARE CAP and fine reduction programs.

D. Administration. The AOC shall oversee the FARE, DSO/TIP, and TTEAP programs including:

1. Provisions of collection services in participating FARE courts, which includes reminder notices, web and telephone-based credit and debit card payment options, delinquency notices, installment payment plan services, referral to the DSO/TIP program, referral to the TTEAP program, skip tracing, case record data enhancement, and advanced collection services which may include credit bureau reporting, outbound calling, and wage garnishment when authorized by the court.

2. Processing of existing delinquent court cases.

3. Establishing and consulting with a FARE Advisory Workgroup, as needed.

4. Managing and directing the FARE vendor in the provision of contracted services, including all current and future program maintenance and enhancements.

5. Administering the DSO/TIP program, including entering into DSO/TIP participant agreements as necessary to carry out program duties and collecting the court-ordered financial obligations that include the DSO/TIP fee established in subsection (H).

6. Preparing fiscal projections and creating a budget based on those projections to fund the FARE and DSO/TIP programs.

7. Establishing a FARE fee schedule to provide for the services of the FARE and DSO/TIP programs.

8. Administering the FARE fund and expending revenues in the fund to pay expenses incurred in the FARE and DSO/TIP programs, to replace lost state revenue due to reduced court filings limiting the necessity to increase local device cost, and to support electronic court services.

9. Distributing a portion of FARE revenues in the FARE fund to FARE participants, based on the percentage of revenues received by each court.

10. Maintaining operational oversight of all FARE and DSO/TIP software.

11. Maintaining oversight of the data interface with the FARE vendor, the Motor Vehicle Division (MVD), the DOR, the ADG, and the AZL.

12. Overseeing the receipt of monies from the DOR, ADG, and AZL in response to finalized court claims and proportionately distributing those monies to courts based on the number of claims submitted by and processed for each court.

13. Providing user training on the FARE and DSO/TIP programs to the courts.

14. Assisting the courts in resolving identity and data related discrepancies between the courts, the FARE vendor, MVD, DOR, ADG, and AZL.

15. Ensuring connectivity between the FARE vendor, the AOC, MVD, and the local courts. The AOC shall also ensure connectivity between the AOC, ADG, AZL, and DOR for the transfer of DSO/TIP data.

16. Collecting, receipting, and depositing DSO/TIP fees in the FARE Fund.

E. General Provisions for FARE Participants. FARE participants shall:

1. Comply with the business and technical specifications established by the AOC.

2. Submit a court participation information form to the AOC on forms provided by the AOC when preparing to join the FARE program.

3. Be responsible for entering all required data into the case management system.

4. Be responsible for receipting all payments into the case management system.

5. Establish an account with a financial institution for the acceptance of funds received from web and telephone payments.

6. Refer all delinquent cases to the FARE vendor for collection services, unless the court has an approved local collection plan and these cases are assigned to a vendor pursuant to the plan. The AOC shall determine which delinquent debt qualifies for collection services according to criteria established by the AOC.

7. Transmit all FARE fees through the city or county treasurer, as appropriate, to the state treasurer. All fees collected during the previous month shall be transmitted to the state treasurer by the fifteenth of the succeeding month.

8. Not recall or remove a case from FARE unless the judge has issued a written order to recall or remove the case or the AOC has instructed the court to recall or remove the case.

9. Create a policy for reviewing delinquent cases every 30 days and refer to FARE or other AOC approved Vendor cases that have been delinquent more than 90 days unless good cause exists to not refer a case, except that the court may exercise discretion in referring active supervised probation cases.

F. General Provisions for DSO/TIP Participants. DSO/TIP participants shall:

1. Submit annually a DSO/TIP participant’s agreement on the form provided by the AOC.

2. Ensure that the social security number and case, person, and balance information for each case submitted to the DSO/TIP program has been reviewed for accuracy and make all necessary corrections to ensure accurate and complete data is timely submitted.

3. Review interceptions by the DOR for validity within ten days of receipt. Erroneous interceptions shall be released immediately. DSO/TIP participants are responsible for all applicable DOR fees, penalties, and interest pursuant to A.R.S. § 42-1122(O).

4. Finalize all interceptions within 30 days of receipt from DOR. DSO/TIP participants that do not comply with the 30-day finalization requirement shall pay any applicable fees, penalties, and interest incurred.

5. Receipt all valid interceptions into the case management system within the time required by Arizona Code of Judicial Administration § 1-401: Minimum Accounting Standards.

6. Remit to the AOC the DOR intercept fees upon receipt of the fee invoice.

7. Pay the $9 DSO/TIP fee established in subsection (H) of this section for each interception in cases that have not been referred to the FARE program.

G. Local Collection Services.

1. Courts planning expansion of existing collection services, independent of or separate from the FARE program, shall submit such plan to the Arizona Judicial Council (AJC) for approval prior to proceeding with development and implementation.

2. Courts that did not have collection services prior to August 12, 2003 shall not develop a program or contract with a private vendor for collection services without approval of the plan by the AJC and the Supreme Court.

3. Courts planning development or expansion of a collection program shall provide the AJC with a report that describes, at a minimum, the following information:

a. A comparison of the court’s existing collection program (if any) versus expansion.

b. Consistency of the local court plan with the goals of FARE.

c. Replication of the current services offered by FARE.

d. Replication of future services planned for FARE.

e. Ability of FARE to timely provide the needed services.

f. Timeline for implementing the local court plan.

g. Impact of subsequent transition of the court to FARE.

h. Resource investment (personnel and financial) to implement the local court program.

i. Efficiency of resources of the local court plan.

j. Opportunity for the FARE vendor to compete with other vendors for the court’s collection services needs.

k. A comparison of the local court plan cost of collection with FARE.

4. Approval of court development or expansion plans is delegated to the Director of the AOC in periods between AJC meetings.

H. FARE and DSO/TIP Collection Fees.

1. The following FARE fees cover the provision of additional services and costs to operate the FARE program and shall be assessed as follows:

a. A $49 delinquency fee shall be assessed when a case is identified as being delinquent and submitted to the FARE vendor. This fee may be suspended or waived in the following circumstances: (1) if all other financial obligations on the case are eligible for suspension or waiver under the applicable statutory authorities and the judge issues a written order suspending or waiving all other financial obligations on the case, or (2) if extraordinary circumstances exist that would have prevented the defendant from timely responding to notices and making payment arrangements to satisfy the financial obligation, and the judge makes a finding on the record that extraordinary circumstances exist and issues a written order waiving the fee.

b. A 19.5% FARE special collections fee shall be assessed to all cases submitted by FARE participants to the FARE vendor for collection efforts after two attempts have been made by the FARE vendor regarding the delinquency. When this fee is assessed, it becomes part of the total balance due and any payment received must be applied proportionately between this fee and the delinquent court obligation pursuant to sections 3-401(C)(2) and 4-301(G). This fee may be suspended or waived only if all other financial obligations on the case are eligible for suspension or waiver under the applicable statutory authorities, and the judge issues a written order suspending or waiving all other financial obligations on the case.

2. The FARE fees shall be assessed in cases referred to the FARE program as follows: in cases where court fees and costs are reduced to a judgment pursuant to A.R.S. § 12-302, and for each local ordinance violation except parking violations unless a default judgment has been entered, civil violation, civil traffic violation, boating violation, petty offense, misdemeanor offense, and felony offense where a court-ordered financial obligation is imposed by the court. The FARE fees shall be added to existing cases on the date agreed upon for implementation of the FARE program in the court. Imposition of the FARE fees on new cases shall occur as the cases are added to the FARE program.

3. The FARE fees shall be assessed in addition to any other financial obligation authorized by statute or local, city, or county ordinance.

4. Pursuant to sections §§ 3-401(D) and (E) and 4-301(E), the $49 delinquency fee shall be in the next category of priority for payment following the time payment fee established pursuant to A.R.S. § 12-116(A).

5. A $9 DSO/TIP fee shall be assessed on all DSO/TIP claims submitted by DSO/TIP participants who do not utilize the FARE program. The AOC will withhold the fee at the time of interception.

I. FARE Compliance Assistance Program (FARE CAP)

1. A court participating in the FARE CAP will determine the types of cases eligible for FARE CAP.

2. Defendants who choose to participate in the FARE CAP shall make a partial payment and enter into a reasonable payment plan. The presumptive minimum partial payment amount is $150. Courts have discretion to set lower or higher partial payment amounts.

3. The FARE CAP partial payment shall include the special collections fee calculated on the partial payment amount.

4. The court shall waive the special collections fee on the remaining case balance.

5. Once the defendant enrolls in FARE CAP, the court shall remove the case from TIP, notify the FARE vendor to cease all collection activity, and may notify MVD to reinstate the defendant’s driver’s license, if applicable. The FARE vendor will remove the case from TTEAP eligibility.

6. The court may permit a defendant who defaults on his or her FARE CAP payment obligation and is subsequently removed from FARE CAP to re-enter the program at any time.

J. Fine Reduction Programs

1. The presiding judge of any court may periodically conduct a program for the purpose of reducing the amount of outstanding criminal traffic and civil traffic fines, penalties, assessments, and surcharges with the prior approval of the supreme court, in accordance with A.R.S. § 28-1601 and Administrative Order No. 97-57.

2. Prior to conducting a fine reduction program, the court must have exhausted all available collection opportunities, including utilization of the FARE program.

3. Proposed fine reduction programs must meet all the following criteria:

a. The purpose of the program shall be to reduce outstanding criminal traffic and civil traffic fines, penalties, assessments, and surcharges which are at least twelve months delinquent.

b. The proposed program shall provide for reduction of the outstanding amounts due up to 50%. All categories of receivables due (fines, penalties, sanctions, assessments, and surcharges), including the FARE special collections fee, shall be reduced proportionately. The time payment fee imposed pursuant to A.R.S. § 12-116 and the FARE delinquency fee shall not be reduced or waived.

c. The proposed program shall apply exclusively to fines, penalties, assessments, and surcharges resulting from criminal traffic and civil traffic violations, except a fine ordered as a result of a violation of A.R.S. §§ 28-1381 or -1382.

4. A fine reduction program shall include the following elements:

a. Identification of the last time the court conducted a fine reduction program.

b. A description of existing in-house collection efforts or efforts with a vendor or the FARE program, including results of those efforts. If no collection activity has taken place, then an explanation of why these cases should not be forwarded first to the FARE program.

c. The beginning and ending date of the proposed fine reduction program. The program duration shall not exceed 60 days.

d. A defined schedule of which violations/violators shall be eligible for the program. Delinquent amounts shall be at least twelve months delinquent. The program shall note that fines and surcharges as a result of A.R.S. §§ 28-1381 and -1382 and other non-traffic related criminal offense statutes shall not be eligible for the program.

e. A defined schedule of how fines, penalties, assessments, and surcharges shall be reduced. The schedule shall state the amount of the reduction, the criteria which determine the amount of reduction, how the deduction will be applied consistently across all eligible violations and procedures the violators will follow to receive the reduction.

f. The procedure that shall be used to notify violators eligible to participate in the program.

g. A plan for court staff, judges, and facilities that shall be used to handle increased workload as a result of the program.

h. A plan that shall measure the program goals and objectives. Suggested measurements include:

(1) Outstanding receivables at the beginning of the program, planned percentage reduction in receivables, and actual percentage of reduction at the end of the program.

(2) Number of cases with delinquent receivables at the beginning of the program.

(3) Estimated cost to run the program and the actual cost to run the program in excess of normal operating costs.

(4) Cost per dollar collected compared to actual program costs.

i. A plan for increased enforcement efforts for those cases/penalties not closed during the program and the expected results.

j. A plan for involvement of other agencies or departments in the program including a resource impact statement and what contacts have been made to involve them.

5. Fine reduction program proposals shall be reviewed according to the following:

a. The presiding judge of the court and the presiding judge of the county shall sign the proposals.

b. The presiding judge of the court shall submit the proposal to the AOC court services division director 60 days prior to the anticipated start date for the program.

c. The AOC court services director shall send recommendations for program approval to the Director of the AOC for final approval.

d. The AOC court services director shall notify the court within 30 days of the approval or disapproval, or if additional information is required.

6. Within 30 days of program completion the court shall forward an “end-of-project” report to the AOC court services director and shall include a description of the program implementation and the statistical measures of the program’s achievements to the stated goals and objectives. Adopted by Administrative Order 2009-29, effective March 25, 2009. Amended by Administrative Order 2017-76, effective July 5, 2017. Replacing Administrative Order 2017-76 with Administrative Order 2017-89, effective July 19, 2017. Amended by Administrative Order 2018-30, effective date July 1, 2018, further ordered that the courts using the statewide case management systems managed by AOC shall implement the amendments adopted by this Order in accordance with a schedule to be established by the Administrative Director. It is further ordered that the courts that do not use the statewide case management systems shall implement the amendments on or before January 1, 2019. Amended by Administrative Order 2019-80, effective July 10, 2019. Amended by Administrative Order 2022-135, effective November 2,

2022. Amended by Administrative Order 2023-195, effective November 8, 2023.