(a) Where remittance is made by check to the Treasurer of State and the check is returned unpaid, it shall be the duty of the Treasurer of State to make a duplicate of the check and carry it as a cash item, delivering the original to the Attorney General for collection after adding a penalty of twenty-five percent (25%) to the amount of the check.
(b)
(1) It shall be the duty of the Attorney General to take such action as shall be deemed proper for the collection of a rejected check, together with twenty-five percent (25%) of the face amount of the check as penalty, for the punishment of the maker of that check under the criminal laws of this state.
(2) The penalty shall be credited to the same fund as was the original amount of the check delivered to the Attorney General by the Treasurer of State pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
(c) If for any reason the Attorney General is unable to collect either the principal or penalty on a rejected check, as contemplated by this section, then, as soon as such fact is ascertained, it shall be the duty of the Treasurer of State to cancel the receipt for it, taking credit therefor, and notifying the Auditor of State of the cancellation; and the Auditor of State shall likewise credit the Treasurer of State with it.
(d) Any state official issuing a certificate of authority or making book entries affecting any transaction, payment for which was made with bad checks, is authorized and directed to cancel them upon receipt of the Attorney General's notice of inability to collect on such checks as specified in subsection (c) of this section.