Section 16. Administrative Offset By The Secretary Of The Treasury

A. Referral for administrative offset: federal administrative offset is utilized for payment of support arrearages, including child support, medical support, and, if appropriate, spousal support. Cases meeting specific criteria are referred to the U.S. department of treasury’s financial management service. When referring a case for administrative offset by the secretary of the treasury, the Title IV-D agency shall comply with the provisions of 31 CFR § 285.1. B. Notification of administrative offset: Prior to submitting a referral, written advance notice is sent to the obligor to inform the obligor that due to the amount of the obligor’s past due support the obligor will be referred to the secretary of the U.S. treasury for collection by administrative offset. The notice shall be sent to the obligor’s last address of record with the Title IV-D agency. The Title IV-D agency shall inform the obligor: (1) of the right to contest the department’s determination that past due support is owed; (2) of the right to contest the amount of the past due support; (3) of the right to request an administrative review 30 days from the date of the notification; and (4) of the procedures for requesting an administrative review. C. Contesting referral for administrative offset: The obligor has 30 days from the date of notification of a referral for administrative offset to notify the IV-D agency that he or she contests the referral. The notification 8.50.112 NMAC 7 issued by the IV-D agency shall provide the address and telephone number for the obligor to request a hearing to contest the referral. (1) Upon receipt of an appeal request from the obligor, a notice is generated by the administrative law judge and sent to the obligor and the Title IV-D agency. (2) The notice shall set forth the time and place of the administrative hearing. The hearing is conducted in accordance with 8.50.130 NMAC.