Wyoming Lawmakers Consider Options on Collecting Money Owed

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming lawmakers are considering options on how to collect the $70 million to $84 million owed to the state.

Legislators at the Interim Joint Revenue Committee meeting last week discussed the possibility of hiring a private contractor to collect the debt.

The Canada-based CGI Group was considered as an option. The company recently began debt collection for South Dakota, and the company is paid from a percentage of the payments it collects.

The committee agreed to advance a bill that will allow Wyoming agencies to add a 20 percent surcharge to past-due payments that could fund a debt collection program if a private contractor is hired.

Most of the money owed to the state is from a combination of unpaid court fines and taxes.