ENGROSSED

Senate Bill No. 509

(By Senators Ross, Hunter, Deem, Love, Kessler, Dempsey and Snyder)

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[Introduced February 11, 2004; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact §11A-3-10 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to surplus being distributed to a person or persons who owned the property at the time of the sale, or the heirs, devisees, legatees, executors, administrators, successors or assigns thereof when there has been no redemption; and time for filing a claim.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §11A-3-10 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. SALE OF TAX LIENS AND NONENTERED, ESCHEATED AND WASTE AND UNAPPROPRIATED LANDS.

§11A-3-10. Sheriff to account for proceeds; disposition of surplus.
(a) The sheriff shall account for the proceeds of all sales and redemptions included in such list in the same way he or she accounts for other taxes collected by him or her, except that if the purchase money paid for any property sold is in excess of the amount of taxes, interest and charges due thereon, the surplus shall be deposited in a special county fund to be known and designated as the "sale of tax lien surplus fund". Where there is a redemption after the sale, the sheriff shall also deposit into said the fund the amount of taxes, interest and charges due on the date of the sale, plus the interest at the rate of one percent per month from the date of sale to the date of redemption, described in subdivision (2), subsection (b), section twenty-four of this article. Such Any surplus shall be disposed of as follows:
(1) In any case where the property was redeemed, such the surplus shall be distributed to the person or persons who purchased the tax lien thereon or the heirs, devisees, legatees, executors, administrators, successors or assigns thereof.
(2) If there was no redemption, the surplus shall be distributed to the person or persons who owned the property at the time of the sale or the heirs, devisees, legatees, executors, administrators, successors or assigns thereof if a proper claim therefor is filed with the sheriff within three years from and after the date of the sale; or
(2) (3) If the purchaser, his or her heirs, devisees, legatees, executors, administrators, successors or assigns cannot be found within two years from and after the date of redemption, all claims to such the surplus shall be are barred and such the surplus shall be distributed by the sheriff in the manner provided by law for the distribution of property taxes collected by him or her.
(b) All real estate included in the first delinquent list sent to the auditor, and not accounted for in the list of sales, suspensions, redemptions and certifications, shall be deemed is considered to have been redeemed before sale and the taxes, interest and charges due thereon shall be accounted for by the sheriff as if they had been received by him or her before the sale.