SDCL § 1-55-3: Collection of bad debts.

The center shall work to collect each bad debt referred to the center during the account receivable cycle. The character of the debt in the hands of the referring entity does not change by the referral of the debt to the center for collection. Among other powers granted by this chapter, the center may:

(1) Sue;

(2) File liens;

(3) Enter into payment agreements with debtors;

(4) Impose a cost recovery fee;

(5) Collect data for debt collection purposes;

(6) Establish and maintain a centralized electronic debt management system;

(7) Exercise settlement authority granted by the referring entity;

(8) Setoff against any moneys to be paid by the State of South Dakota or any referring entity to a debtor;

(9) Contract with multiple collection agencies for the collection of debt on behalf of the center;

(10) Except for the debt collection powers vested in the Unified Judicial System, the center may use the referring entity's statutory collection authority to collect the bad debt owed to the referring entity; and

(11) Utilize all debt collection methods authorized by state law.

The office may determine which method or combination is most suitable to collect the debt.