Bill takes at aim at uncollected debt

Any business trying to collect against delinquent or deadbeat customers – even after winning a small claims or Superior Court judgment – might be intrigued by the solution proposed by Jordan Ulery, a Republican state representative from Hudson: Withhold their license.

“A license is not a right. They are privileges granted by the state,” Ulery said. “And if they aren’t responsible enough to obey a court judgment, then they don’t deserve that privileges.”

Currently, the plaintiff either has to file a lien against property, attach a bank account or pay a sheriff to seize the asset in question — a long and involved process that often makes debt collection both difficult and time-consuming.

Under Ulery’s bill, all a business would have to do is file a request with the state not to renew any license issued by the state until it is shown that the judgment has been satisfied. The state would be reimbursed out of the judgment for its expense in acting, in effect, as a collection agency. – BOB SANDERS