(1) The right of any person to a prize is not assignable;
except that payment of any prize may be paid to:
(a) The estate of a deceased prizewinner; or
(b) Any person pursuant to a voluntary assignment of the right to receive
future annual prize payments, in whole or in part, if the assignment is made
pursuant to an appropriate judicial order of the district court located in the city and
county of Denver or the judicial district where the assignor resides or where the
commission's headquarters are located.
(2) (a) A copy of the petition for an order described in subsection (1)(b) of this
section and of all notices of any hearing in the matter shall be served on the
executive director no later than ten days prior to any hearing or entry of any order.
(b) The commission may intervene as of right in any proceeding solely to
protect the interests of the commission but shall not be deemed an indispensable
or necessary party.
(c) The court receiving the petition is authorized to issue an order approving
the assignment and directing the executive director to pay to the assignee all
future prize payments so assigned upon finding that all of the following conditions
have been met:
(I) The assignment has been memorialized in writing and executed by the
assignor and is subject to Colorado law;
(II) The assignor provides a sworn declaration to the court attesting to the
facts that the assignor has had the opportunity to be represented by independent
legal counsel in connection with the assignment, has received independent
financial and tax advice concerning the effects of the assignment, and is of sound
mind and not acting under duress; and
(III) The proposed assignment does not and will not include or cover
payments or portions of payments subject to offsets pursuant to subsection (6) of
this section, unless appropriate provision is made in the order to satisfy the
obligations giving rise to the offset.
(d) Within ten days of receipt of a certified copy of a court order granted
pursuant to this subsection (2), the executive director shall acknowledge in writing
to both the assignor and the assignee the executive director's agreement to make
the payments in accordance with the provisions of the order. The executive director
shall make the payments pursuant to said order.
(e) The commission shall not adopt rules for the implementation of this
subsection (2) that are more restrictive than the provisions of this subsection (2),
that impose requirements in addition to those set forth in this subsection (2), or that
are inconsistent with the expressed intent of the general assembly.
(f) The executive director is authorized to establish a reasonable fee to
defray any administrative expenses of the executive director associated with
assignments made pursuant to this section. The fee amounts shall reflect the direct
and indirect costs associated with processing the assignments.
(3) Notwithstanding any provision of this article 40 to the contrary, the
commission may authorize licensed sales agents to retain all prizes pursuant to the
rules of the commission for the persons entitled to the prizes for one hundred
eighty days after the termination dates of the lottery games for which the prizes
were won. The prizes shall be held in trust on behalf of the division for payment to
the persons so entitled. No separate accounting of the prizes needs to be made by
the licensed sales agent unless requested by the director. Any person who fails to
claim a prize during the one-hundred-eighty-day period shall forfeit all rights to the
prize, and the amount of the prize shall become the property of the licensee. All
other unclaimed prizes shall be retained by the division for the persons entitled to
the prizes for the one-hundred-eighty-day period. Any person who fails to claim a
prize that is held by the division or its designee during that time shall forfeit all
rights to the prize, and the amount of the prize shall remain in the lottery fund.
(4) The division shall be discharged of all liability upon the payment of any
prize pursuant to this article 40.
(5) Any prize won by a person under eighteen years of age who purchased a
winning ticket in violation of section 44-40-116 (1)(c) shall be forfeited. If a person
otherwise entitled to a prize or a winning ticket is under eighteen years of age, the
director may direct payment of the prize by delivery to an adult member of the
minor's family or a guardian of the minor of a check or draft payable to the order of
the minor.
(6) (a) Prior to the payment of any lottery cash prize or noncash prize
required by rule of the commission to be paid only at the lottery offices and subject
to state and federal tax reporting, the department of revenue shall require the
winner to submit the winner's social security number and federal employer
identification number, if applicable, and shall check the social security number of
the winner with those certified by the department of human services for the
purpose of the state lottery winnings offset as provided in section 26-13-118. For a
lottery cash prize, beginning January 1, 2012, the department of revenue shall also
check the social security number of the winner with those certified by the
department of personnel for the purpose of the state lottery winnings offset as
provided in section 24-30-202.7. The social security number and the federal
employer identification number shall not become part of the public record of the
department of revenue. If the social security number of a lottery winner appears
among those certified by the department of human services, the department of
revenue shall obtain the current address of the winner, notify the department of
human services, and suspend the payment of the cash prize or noncash prize until
the requirements of section 26-13-118 are met. If, after consulting with the
department of human services, the department of revenue determines that the
lottery winner owes a child support debt or child support costs pursuant to section
14-14-104, or owes child support arrearages as part of an enforcement action
pursuant to article 5 of title 14, or owes child support arrearages or child support
costs that are the subject of enforcement services provided pursuant to section 26-13-106, then the department of revenue shall withhold from the amount of the cash
prize paid to the lottery winner an amount equal to the amount of child support
debt, child support arrearages, and child support costs that are due or, if the
amount of the cash prize is less than or equal to the amount of child support debt,
arrearages, and costs due, shall withhold the entire amount of the lottery cash
prize. Any cash prize so withheld for the department of human services shall be
transmitted to the state treasurer for disbursement by the department of human
services as directed in section 26-13-118. If the social security number of a lottery
cash prize winner appears among those certified by the department of personnel,
the department of revenue shall obtain the current address of the winner, notify the
department of personnel, and suspend the payment of the cash prize until the
requirements of section 24-30-202.7 are met. If, after consulting with the
department of personnel, the department of revenue determines that the lottery
winner owes an outstanding debt that has been certified pursuant to section 24-30-202.7, then the department of revenue shall withhold from the amount of the cash
prize paid to the lottery winner an amount equal to the amount of the outstanding
debt or, if the amount of the cash prize is less than or equal to the amount of the
outstanding debt, shall withhold the entire amount of the lottery cash prize. Any
cash prize so withheld for the department of personnel shall be transmitted to the
state treasurer for disbursement in accordance with section 24-30-202.7 (4).
(b) A lottery winner of a noncash prize who owes child support debt, child
support arrearages, or child support costs shall forfeit the prize, unless:
(I) (A) All of the child support debt, child support arrearages, and child
support costs are paid by the lottery winner within ten working days after claiming
the suspended noncash prize; and
(B) The department of human services has notified the department of
revenue that payment has been received; or
(II) An administrative review is requested pursuant to section 26-13-118 (2),
and the requirements set forth in subsection (6)(c) of this section are met.
(c) If an administrative review is requested pursuant to section 26-13-118 (2),
the noncash prize shall remain suspended until the department of human services
notifies the department of revenue that the administrative review process has been
completed pursuant to rules of the state board of human services. If at the
administrative review it is determined that the winner owes child support debt, child
support arrearages, or child support costs, the winner shall forfeit the noncash
prize unless:
(I) The winner pays the child support debt, child support arrearages, and
child support costs in full within ten days after the date of the letter informing the
lottery winner of the results of the administrative review; and
(II) The department of human services notifies the department of revenue
that payment has been received.
(d) If forfeited by the lottery winner, the noncash prize shall be sold at fair
market value. The proceeds of the sale shall be transmitted to the state treasurer
for disbursement in accordance with the requirements of section 26-13-118 (3).
(e) (I) Notwithstanding any provision of this subsection (6) to the contrary, if,
in addition to owing an outstanding debt, a lottery winner owes restitution, fines,
fees, costs, or surcharges, as described in section 44-40-114 or a child support debt
or arrearages or child support costs as described in this subsection (6), any lottery
winnings offset against the restitution, fines, fees, costs, or surcharges, or child
support debt or arrearages or child support costs shall take priority and be applied
first. If, in such instance, the lottery winner owes these types of debts, these offsets
shall take priority and the provisions of section 44-40-114 (3) shall apply.
(II) The remaining lottery winning money, if any, after the offsets described in
subsection (6)(e)(I) of this section shall be applied toward the payment of
outstanding debt and processed in accordance with this section.
(7) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, all or any
part of a prize won by a person may be pledged as collateral for a loan; however,
the pledging of all or any part of the prize creates no liability to the state of
Colorado.