[Introduced March 13, 2013; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §11A-2-13 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §11A-3-2 of said
code, all relating to publication of list of delinquent real
estate; allowing the sheriff to mail the delinquent tax list;
eliminating the requirement of a second publication of list of
delinquent real estate and replacing it with a notice
explaining a taxpayer's obligation for delinquent real estate
taxes, the sheriff's obligation with regard to the taxes and
how and where to locate delinquent real estate tax
information. Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §11A-2-13 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; and that §11A-3-2 of said code be amended
and reenacted, all to read as follows: ARTICLE 2. DELINQUENCY AND METHODS OF ENFORCING PAYMENT. §11A-2-13. Publication and posting of delinquent tax lists. (a) A copy of each of the delinquent lists shall be posted at
the front door of the courthouse of the county at least two weeks
before the session of the county commission at which they are to be
presented for examination. Except as provided by subsection (b),
at the same time a copy of each list shall be published as a Class
I-O legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of
article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication
area for such publication shall be the county. Only the aggregate
amount of the taxes owed by each person need be published. To
cover the costs of preparing, publishing and posting the delinquent
lists, a charge of $20 shall be added to the taxes and interest
already due on each item listed. (b) In lieu of the publication requirement provided in
subsection (a), if it is more economical, the sheriff may mail the
delinquent lists to each residence in the county.
__________(c) Any person whose taxes were delinquent on May first may
have his or her name removed from the delinquent lists prior to the
time the same is delivered to the newspapers for publication or
mailed to all residences by paying to the sheriff the full amount
of the taxes and costs owed by such person at the date of such
redemption. The sheriff shall collect a charge of only $3 if
redemption is made before the list is delivered for publication.
Costs collected by the sheriff hereunder which are not expended for
publication shall be paid into the general county fund.
ARTICLE 3. SALE OF TAX LIENS AND NONENTERED, ESCHEATED AND WASTE
AND UNAPPROPRIATED LANDS.
§11A-3-2. Second publication of listnotice of delinquent real
estate notice. (a) On or before September 10, of each year, the sheriff shall
prepare a second list of delinquent lands, which shall include all
real estate in his or her county remaining delinquent as of
September 1, together with a notice of sale, in form or effect as
follows: Notice is hereby given that tax liens for the following
described tracts or lots of land or undivided interests therein in
the County of ________________ which are delinquent for the
nonpayment of taxes for the year (or years) 20____, will be offered
for sale by the undersigned sheriff (or collector) at public
auction at the front door of the courthouse of the county, between
the hours of nine in the morning and four in the afternoon, on the
_____ day of _________________, 20____. Tax liens on each unredeemed tract or lot, or each unredeemed
part thereof or undivided interest therein, will be sold at public
auction to the highest bidder in an amount which shall not be less
than the taxes, interest and charges which shall be due thereon to
the date of sale, as set forth in the following table:
Name of person
charged with
taxes
Quantity of
land
Local
description
Total amount
of taxes,
interest and
charges due to
date of sale
Any of the aforesaid tracts or lots, or part thereof or an
undivided interest therein, may be redeemed by the payment to the
undersigned sheriff (or collector) before sale, of the total amount
of taxes, interest and charges due thereon up to the date of
redemption. Payment received within fourteen business days prior
to the date of sale must be paid by cashier check, money order,
certified check or United States currency. Payment must be
received in the tax office by the close of business on the last
business day prior to the sale.
Given under my hand this _____________ day of
_____________________, 20_____.
__________________________
Sheriff (or collector). The sheriff shall publish the list and notice prior to the
sale date fixed in the notice as a Class III-0 legal advertisement
in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter
fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for such publication shall be the county. (b) In addition to such publication, no less than thirty days
prior to the sale, the sheriff shall send a notice of the
delinquency and the date of sale by certified mail: (1) To the
last known address of each person listed in the land books whose
taxes are delinquent; (2) to each person having a lien on real
property upon which the taxes are due as disclosed by a statement
filed with the sheriff pursuant to the provisions of section three
of this article; (3) to each other person with an interest in the
property or with a fiduciary relationship to a person with an
interest in the property who has in writing delivered to the
sheriff on a form prescribed by the Tax Commissioner a request for
such notice of delinquency; and (4) in the case of property which
includes a mineral interest but does not include an interest in the
surface other than an interest for the purpose of developing the
minerals, to each person who has in writing delivered to the
sheriff, on a form prescribed by the Tax Commissioner, a request
for such notice which identifies the person as an owner of an
interest in the surface of real property that is included in the
boundaries of such property: Provided, That in a case where one
owner owns more than one parcel of real property upon which taxes
are delinquent, the sheriff may, at his or her option, mail
separate notices to the owner and each lienholder for each parcel
or may prepare and mail to the owner and each lienholder a single notice which pertains to all such delinquent parcels. If the
sheriff elects to mail only one notice, that notice shall set forth
a legally sufficient description of all parcels of property on
which taxes are delinquent. In no event shall failure to receive
the mailed notice by the landowner or lienholder affect the
validity of the title of the property conveyed if it is conveyed
pursuant to section twenty-seven or fifty-nine of this article. (c) (1) To cover the cost of preparing and publishing the
second delinquent list, a charge of $25 shall be added to the
taxes, interest and charges already due on each item and all such
charges shall be stated in the list as a part of the total amount
due. (2) To cover the cost of preparing and mailing notice to the
landowner, lienholder or any other person entitled thereto pursuant
to this section, a charge of $10 per addressee shall be added to
the taxes, interest and charges already due on each item and all
such charges shall be stated in the list as a part of the total
amount due. (d) Any person whose taxes were delinquent on September 1, may
have his or her name removed from the delinquent list prior to the
time the same is delivered to the newspapers for publication by
paying to the sheriff the full amount of taxes and costs owed by
the person at the date of such redemption. In such case, the
sheriff shall include but $3 of the costs provided in this section in making such redemption. Costs collected by the sheriff
hereunder which are not expended for publication and mailing shall
be paid into the General County Fund. a notice relating to delinquent real estate taxes to be published
as a Class III-0 legal advertisement in compliance with the
provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and
the publication area for publication shall be the county. The
notice shall be a one-half page legal advertisement explaining a
taxpayer's obligation for delinquent real estate taxes, the
sheriff's obligation with regard to the taxes and how and where to
locate delinquent real estate tax information relating to the
payment of the delinquent taxes from state, county and municipal
governments. No other list of delinquent lands is required to be
published.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow for mailing of
delinquent lists, eliminate the requirement of a second publication
of a list of delinquent real estate and replacing it with a notice
explaining a taxpayer's obligation for delinquent real estate
taxes, the sheriff's obligation with regard to the taxes and how
and where to locate delinquent real estate tax information.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.