(a) Agencies and departments of State government may assess a penalty of $20.00 against the issuer for each payment for amounts due in the form of a check, draft, electronic payment, or other acceptable forms of payment that have been dishonored for lack of funds or credit to pay the same.

(b) Such penalty collected shall be credited to a special fund established and managed pursuant to chapter 7, subchapter 5 of this title, or to another budgeted fund other than the General Fund, and shall be available to the agency or department to offset the costs of collecting the amount owed. (Added 1983, No. 59, § 12, eff. April 22, 1983; amended 1989, No. 222 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 31, 1990; 1991, No. 234 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1993, No. 27, § 5; 1997, No. 59, § 21, eff. June 30, 1997; 2013, No. 191 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2017, No. 74, § 133.)