2006 Utah Code - 63-38a-105 — Electronic Revenue Collections.

     63-38a-105.   Electronic Revenue Collections.
     (1) As used in this section:
     (a) "Agency" means any legislative, executive, judicial, or other entity of state government that receives appropriations or charges fees and whose budget is accounted for by the Division of Finance.
     (b) "Electronic payment" means use of any form of payment processed through electronic means, including credit cards, debit cards, and automatic clearinghouse transactions.
     (c) "Electronic payment fee" means the fee assessed by an agency under the authority of this section to defray the charge, discount fee, or processing fee charged by credit card companies or processing agents to process an electronic payment.
     (d) "Processing agent" means a bank, transaction clearing business, or other third-party system provider that charges a fee to process an electronic payment.
     (2) An agency may accept electronic payments by following the procedures and requirements of this section.
     (3) (a) If an agency chooses to accept electronic payments for a transaction, the agency may charge an electronic payment fee.
     (b) Each agency that charges an electronic payment fee shall include in its budget an estimated total amount of revenue expected from electronic payment fees.
     (c) If an agency chooses to charge an electronic payment fee, for fiscal year 2003-04 only, the agency need not comply with the procedures and requirements of Section 63-38-3.2 in setting that fee.
     (4) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (4)(d), each agency that chooses to charge an electronic payment fee under Subsection (3) shall:
     (i) determine the amount of the electronic payment fee; and
     (ii) deposit electronic payment fees collected by it as dedicated credits under a separate identification established for electronic payment fees by the Division of Finance.
     (b) (i) An agency shall:
     (A) include the cost of the electronic payment fee as a component of any other fee, regulatory fee, or other charge collected by the agency; and
     (B) ensure that the fee, regulatory fee, or other charge for a transaction includes the electronic payment fee regardless of the method of payment.
     (ii) (A) The agency may not separately identify the electronic payment fee from the rest of the fee, regulatory fee, or other charge in the fee schedule provided to the Legislature as required by Section 63-38-3.2.
     (B) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection (4)(b)(ii)(A), if a fee or charge is set forth in statute, an agency may include a separate electronic payment fee in the fee schedule required by Section 63-38-3.2.
     (c) Except as provided in Subsection (8), an agency may not separately identify a charge assessed to cover the cost of an electronic payment as a convenience fee or a surcharge on an electronic payment.
     (d) The Division of Finance may grant a whole or partial waiver from the requirements of this Subsection (4) to any agency that is currently charging an electronic payment fee if the agency demonstrates that complying with this Subsection (4) would be unduly burdensome or expensive.
     (5) (a) The amount collected by an agency as dedicated credits from the electronic

payment fee portion of a fee, regulatory fee, or charge:
     (i) may be expended by the agency to cover the cost of electronic payments; and
     (ii) is not subject to the expenditure limits or lapsing requirements of Subsection 63-38a-104(2).
     (b) The amount collected for electronic payment fees that exceeds the amount necessary to pay the cost of electronic payments does not lapse to any fund at the end of any fiscal year.
     (c) An agency may use any nonlapsing balance authorized by this Subsection (5) only to offset any subsequent shortages in electronic payment fee collections.
     (6) (a) In accounting for electronic payment fees, the Division of Finance shall:
     (i) establish a separate identification for electronic payment fees;
     (ii) ensure that the identification is different from the revenue type identification;
     (iii) treat the cost of electronic payments as an administrative expense of the agency accepting the electronic payment; and
     (iv) account for electronic payment fees as dedicated credits to be used to pay the cost of electronic payments.
     (b) In accounting for electronic payment fees, the Division of Finance may not apply to the electronic payment fee the same identification as to revenue type or use restriction as the fee to which it applies.
     (7) In preparing the annual appropriations act, the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst shall, if directed to do so by the Legislature, fund electronic payment fees as part of the agency's appropriation as:
     (a) dedicated credits, if the agency has increased fees, regulatory fees, or other charges as authorized by Subsection (4)(b); or
     (b) an appropriation from free revenues or restricted accounts.
     (8) (a) If the cost of processing electronic payments as required in Subsections (4) through (7) is excessive for large dollar items such as taxes or other large regulatory fees, an agency may establish an alternate method for recovering those costs, including:
     (i) imposing an additional convenience fee charged to the payee;
     (ii) imposing restrictions on the type of electronic payments accepted; or
     (iii) other variations to recover the cost of processing electronic payments.
     (b) An agency may not implement an alternative method of cost recovery under this Subsection (8) until it is approved by the director of the Division of Finance and the director of the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget.
     (c) If an agency is authorized to charge an additional convenience fee or surcharge for processing these large dollar electronic payments, the agency and the Division of Finance shall:
     (i) account for those fees as dedicated credits; and
     (ii) comply with the requirements of this section in depositing and accounting for those fees.
     (d) If an agency is authorized to charge an additional convenience fee or surcharge for processing these large dollar electronic payments, the agency shall determine the amount of the convenience fee or surcharge.
     (9) (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 63-38-3.2, an agency may increase the fees identified in the fee schedule passed in the 2003 Annual General Session of the Legislature by the amount of the electronic payment fee authorized by this section.
     (b) In the 2004 Annual General Session, each agency that is required to submit a fee

schedule under Section 63-38-3.2 shall submit a report that identifies:
     (i) the fee amount that was approved by the Legislature in the 2003 Annual General Session; and
     (ii) the specific electronic payment fee amount added to that fee by the agency under authority of this section.
     (c) In submitting the fee schedule required by Section 63-38-3.2 for the 2004 Annual General Session, the agency shall identify the new fee amount, which shall include the electronic payment fee, to be approved by the Legislature in the 2004 Annual General Session.
     (10) (a) After July 1, 2004, an agency may not charge, assess, or establish any fee, convenience fee, or surcharge to cover the cost of electronic payments except as provided in this section.
     (b) The fees or charges established in the following sections are subject to this section:
     (i) Section 41-1a-1221;
     (ii) Section 41-22-36; and
     (iii) Section 73-18-25.
     (11) During the 2006 interim, the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst shall:
     (a) analyze the process established by this section to determine its strengths and weaknesses;
     (b) specifically evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of shifting funding of electronic processing fees from dedicated credits to each agency's base budget; and
     (c) by November 1, 2006, make recommendations to the Executive Appropriations Committee about:
     (i) whether the process established by this section should be reauthorized or sunsetted;
     (ii) improvements or modifications to the process established by this section; and
     (iii) whether or not to continue funding electronic payment fees through dedicated credits.

Enacted by Chapter 212, 2003 General Session