Certification of debt; when; procedure; deduction from refund or state lottery prize

(1) Upon final determination of the amount and validity of the debt due and owing by means of the hearing provided for in section 77-27,169 or by the taxpayer's default through failure to request a hearing pursuant to section 77-27,168 , the Department of Health and Human Services shall certify the debt to the Department of Administrative Services within twenty days from the date of the final determination. The final determination shall not delay a refund beyond the period prescribed in section 77-2794 .

(2) Upon receipt of the certified debt amount from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Administrative Services shall deduct an amount equal to the certified debt from the refund or state lottery prize due the debtor, up to the amount of the refund or state lottery prize, and shall transfer such amount, by noncash voucher, to the Department of Health and Human Services. In nonpublic assistance cases, the Department of Health and Human Services shall transmit the funds collected to the clerk of the district court for dispersal to the payee. The Department of Administrative Services shall refund or award any remaining balance to the debtor as if the setoff had not occurred.