H. B. 2947
(By Delegates Manchin, Manypenny, Pino, Guthrie,
Walters, Caputo and Fleischauer)
[Introduced March 15, 2013; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance .]
A BILL to amend and reenact §11A-3-19, §11A-3-21 and §11A-3-23 of
the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend said
code by adding thereto a new section, designated §11A-3-23a;
to amend and reenact §11A-3-52, §11A-3-54 and §11A-3-56 of
said code; to amend said code by adding thereto a new section,
designated §11A-3-58a; and to amend and reenact §11A-4-4 of
said code, all relating to permitting surface owners to
purchase the mineral interests that lay below the property
when the mineral interest becomes subject to a tax lien;
establishing procedures; requiring notice; establishing the
purchase prices; establishing a nonrefundable $20
administrative fees; providing a procedure if more than one
surface owner seeks to purchase the delinquent mineral
interest; modifying notices to redeem that are sent to
property owners; and providing remedies relating to tax sales.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §11A-3-19, §11A-3-21 and §11A-3-23 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; that said
code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated
§11A-3-23a; that §11A-3-52, §11A-3-54 and §11A-3-56 of said code be
amended and reenacted; that said code be amended by adding thereto
a new section, designated §11A-3-58a; and that §11A-4-4 of said
code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. SALE OF TAX LIENS AND NONENTERED, ESCHEATED AND WASTE
AND UNAPPROPRIATED LANDS.
§11A-3-19. What purchaser must do before the deed can be secured.
(a) At any time after October 31 of the year following the
sheriff's sale, and on or before December 31 of the same year, the
purchaser, his or her heirs or assigns, in order to secure a deed
for the real estate subject to the tax lien or liens purchased,
shall:
(1) Prepare a list of those to be served with notice to redeem
and request the State Auditor to prepare and serve the notice as
provided in sections twenty-one and twenty-two of this article;
(2) When the real property subject to the tax lien is
classified as Class II property, provide the State Auditor with the
physical mailing address of the property that is subject to the tax
lien or liens purchased;
(3) Provide the State Auditor with a list of any additional
expenses incurred after January 1 of the year following the sheriff's sale for the preparation of the list of those to be
served with notice to redeem including proof of the additional
expenses in the form of receipts or other evidence of reasonable
legal expenses incurred for the services of any attorney who has
performed an examination of the title to the real estate and
rendered written documentation used in the preparation of the list
of those to be served with the notice to redeem. However, for an
interest in real estate identified in subsection (b) of this
section the purchaser, or other authorized person, of the property
shall pay the reasonable costs related to preparing the list of
those served with notice to redeem, other than surface owners, as
provided by subdivision (3), subsection (a), section twenty-three
of this article;
(4) Deposit with the State Auditor a sum sufficient to cover
the costs of preparing and serving the notice; and
(5) Present the purchaser's certificate of sale, or order of
the county commission where the certificate has been lost or
wrongfully withheld from the owner, to the State Auditor.
If the purchaser fails to meet these requirements, he or she
shall lose all the benefits of his or her purchase.
(b) For
an interest in real estate subject to the tax lien
that includes minerals, but not an interest in the surface other
than an interest in the surface for the purpose of developing the
minerals, the list shall include the last known name and mailing address of the taxpayer who receives a tax ticket for the surface
property shown on the tax maps identified in subsection (e),
section seven, article one-c, chapter eleven of this code that lie
above the mineral tract. If these requirements are not met all the
benefits of the purchase will be lost. However, no deed to a bona
fide purchaser for value from a purchaser, or a surface owner
substituted for a purchaser, may be set aside for failure of the
purchaser to comply with this subsection, but this limitation does
not affect any other remedies at law.
__(b) (c) If the person requesting preparation and service of
the notice is an assignee of the purchaser, he or she shall, at the
time of the request, file with the State Auditor a written
assignment to him or her of the purchaser's rights, executed,
acknowledged and certified in the manner required to make a valid
deed.
(c) (d) Whenever any certificate given by the sheriff for a
tax lien on any land, or interest in the land sold for delinquent
taxes, or any assignment of the lien is lost or wrongfully withheld
from the rightful owner of the land and the land or interest has
not been redeemed, the county commission may receive evidence of
the loss or wrongful detention and, upon satisfactory proof of that
fact, may cause a certificate of the proof and finding, properly
attested by the State Auditor, to be delivered to the rightful
claimant and a record of the certificate shall be duly made by the county clerk in the recorded proceedings of the commission.
§11A-3-21. Notice to redeem.
(a) Whenever the provisions of section nineteen of this
article have has been complied with, the State Auditor shall
prepare a notice in form or effect as follows:
To ___________________________________.
You will take notice that _______________, the purchaser (or
_____________, the assignee, heir or devisee of _______________,
the purchaser) of the tax lien(s) on the following real estate,
__________________, (here describe the real estate for which the
tax lien(s) thereon were sold) located in ___________________,
(here name the city, town or village in which the real estate is
situated or, if not within a city, town or village, give the
district and a general description) which was returned delinquent
in the name of ________________, and for which the tax lien(s)
thereon was sold by the sheriff of __________________ County at the
sale for delinquent taxes made on the ____________ day of
_____________, 20, has requested that you be notified that a deed
for such real estate will be made to him or her on or after April
1, 20 ____, as provided by law, unless before that day you redeem
such real estate. The amount you will have to pay to redeem on the
last day, March 31, will be as follows:
Amount equal to the taxes, interest, and charges due on the
date of sale, with interest to March 31, 20 _______ ........ $__________.
Amount of subsequent years taxes paid on the property, since
the sale, with interest to March 31, 20 ____ ........ $___________
Amount paid for title examination and preparation of list of
those to be served, and for preparation and service of the notice
with interest from January 1, 20 (insert year) following the
sheriff's sale to March 31, 20 ______ ........ $__________
Amount paid for other statutory costs (describe)
_____________________ ........ $___________
Total ................. $_____________
You may redeem at any time before March 31, 20
_______________, by paying the above total less any unearned
interest.
NOTE: If you have received this notice because you are the
owner of an interest in the surface overlaying a mineral interest
that was returned delinquent, you may pay the clerk twice the
amount identified above, plus a nonrefundable $20 administrative
fee, before March 1, 20___. If you pay the required amount and the
property is then redeemed, that amount you paid, less the
administrative fee, will be refunded to you. If you pay the
required amount and the property is not redeemed, you will be
substituted for the purchaser of the tax lien and you may proceed
to obtain a deed for the property. If you and one or more
additional surface owners each pay the appropriate amount, all the surface owners who have made payment shall submit, by April 7,
20___, an agreement dividing the real estate according to their
proportionate shares or any other method or formula agreed to among
all of you. If an agreement is not filed, the clerk shall refund
the moneys tendered by the surface owners, less the administrative
fees, and none of you will be substituted for the purchaser of the
tax lien.
Given under my hand this _____ day of __________, 20 ____.
_________________________________________________________________
State Auditor, State of West Virginia
(b) The State Auditor for his or her service in preparing the
notice shall receive a fee of $10 for the original and $2 for each
copy required. Any additional costs which must be expended for
publication, or service of the notice in the manner provided for
serving process commencing a civil action, or for service of
process by certified mail, shall be charged by the State Auditor.
All costs provided by this section shall be included as redemption
costs and included in the notice described in this section.
§11A-3-23. Redemption from purchase; receipt; list of redemptions;
lien; lien of person redeeming interest of another;
record.
(a) After the sale of any tax lien on any real estate pursuant
to section five of this article, the owner of, or any other person
who was entitled to pay the taxes on, any real estate for which a tax lien on the real estate was purchased by an individual may
redeem at any time before a tax deed is issued for the real estate.
In order to redeem, he or she shall pay to the State Auditor the
following amounts:
(1) An amount equal to the taxes, interest and charges due on
the date of the sale, with interest at the rate of one percent per
month from the date of sale;
(2) All other taxes which have since been paid by the
purchaser, his or her heirs or assigns, with interest at the rate
of one percent per month from the date of payment;
(3) Any additional expenses incurred from January 1 of the
year following the sheriff's sale to the date of redemption for the
preparation of the list of those to be served with notice to redeem
and any written documentation used for the preparation of the list,
with interest at the rate of one percent per month from the date of
payment for reasonable legal expenses incurred for the services of
an attorney who has performed an examination of the title to the
real estate and rendered written documentation used for the
preparation of the list: Provided, That the maximum amount the
owner or other authorized person shall pay, excluding the interest,
for the expenses incurred for the preparation of the list of those
to be served required by section nineteen of this article is $300,
plus any costs required by subsection (b), section nineteen of this
article: Provided however, That the attorney may only charge a fee for legal services actually performed and must certify that he or
she conducted an examination to determine the list of those to be
served required by section nineteen of this article; and
(4) All additional statutory costs paid by the purchaser.
(b) Where the State Auditor has not received from the
purchaser satisfactory proof of the expenses incurred in preparing
the notice to redeem, and any written documentation used for the
preparation of the list of those to be served with notice to
redeem, including the certification required in subdivision (3),
subsection (a) of this section, incident thereto, in the form of
receipts or other evidence of legal expenses, incurred as provided
in section nineteen of this article, the person redeeming shall pay
the State Auditor the sum of $300 plus interest at the rate of one
percent per month from January 1 of the year following the
sheriff's sale for disposition by the sheriff pursuant to the
provisions of sections ten, twenty-four, twenty-five and thirty-two
of this article.
(c) The person redeeming shall be given a receipt for the
payment and the written opinion or report used for the preparation
of the list of those to be served with notice to redeem required by
section nineteen of this article.
(d) Any person who, by reason of the fact that no provision
is made for partial redemption of the tax lien on real estate
purchased by an individual, is compelled in order to protect himself or herself to redeem the tax lien on all of the real estate
when it belongs, in whole or in part, to some other person, shall
have a lien on the interest of that other person for the amount
paid to redeem the interest. He or she shall lose his or her right
to the lien, however, unless within thirty days after payment he or
she files with the clerk of the county commission his or her claim
in writing against the owner of the interest, together with the
receipt provided in this section. The clerk shall docket the claim
on the judgment lien docket in his or her office and properly index
the claim. The lien may be enforced as other judgment liens are
enforced.
(e) Before a tax deed is issued, the county clerk may accept,
on behalf of the State Auditor, the payment necessary to redeem any
real estate encumbered with a tax lien and write a receipt. The
amount of the payment necessary to redeem any real estate
encumbered with a tax lien shall be provided by the State Auditor
and the State Auditor shall update the required payments plus
interest at least monthly.
(f) On or before the tenth day of each month, the county clerk
shall deliver to the State Auditor the redemption money paid and
the name and address of the person who redeemed the property on a
form prescribed by the State Auditor.
§11A-3-23a. Surface owner substitution for purchaser.
(a) If the real estate interest subject to a tax lien is an interest that includes minerals, but does not include an interest
in the surface other than an interest for the purpose of developing
the minerals, then prior to March 31 of the year following the sale
an owner of record of the surface above the property subject to the
tax lien being sold may
pay the clerk: (1) Twice the amount that
would be required for redemption pursuant to section twenty-three
of this article;
and (2) a nonrefundable $20 administrative fee.
The clerk shall issue the surface owner a certificate of
substitution and send a copy to the purchaser. If more than one
surface owner
makes this payment to the clerk, the clerk shall
issue each a certificate of substitution for each and send copies
of the certificates of substitution to the others in addition to
the purchaser. If a purchaser can demonstrate to the clerk that
the he or she is related to the owner of the property in whose name
it is listed, then the clerk may, in his or her sole discretion,
cancel the certificates of substitution and refund all moneys paid
by the surface owner or owners, less the $20 administrative fee.
__________(b) If the property is redeemed, the clerk shall refund the
moneys paid, less the administrative fees.
__________(c) If the property is not redeemed, and if only one surface
owner has received a certificate of substitution, then the clerk
shall send the amount paid by the surface owner to the purchaser,
less the $20 administrative fee, and record the certificate of
substitution. That surface owner enjoys the full rights and duties of the purchaser.
__________(d) If more than one surface owner pays the clerk the
appropriate amount the surface owners shall submit an agreement
dividing the property according to their proportionate shares, or
another mutually agreeable method or formula approved by all of
them, by April 15 of the year following the sale of the lien. No
deed may be issued before April 15 of the year following the sale.
The interest of an owner of a surface tract shall be equal to the
acreage stated on documents of record even if the owner only owns
an undivided interest. However, if more than one owner of an
undivided interest in the same tract pays the clerk the appropriate
amount, his or her share shall be the total acreage of the
undivided tract divided by the number of owners of the tract who
have also paid the clerk. If an agreement is filed, then the clerk
shall make an amended certificate dividing the property according
to their respective interests and refund any remaining moneys paid
by them according to their agreed interests. If no agreement is
filed, the clerk shall refund the moneys paid to the surface
owners, less the $20 administrative fees, and the original
purchaser is returned to his or her original position.
§11A-3-52. What purchaser must do before he or she can secure a
deed.
(a) Within forty-five days following the approval of the sale
by the auditor pursuant to section fifty-one of this article, the purchaser, his or her heirs or assigns, in order to secure a deed
for the real estate purchased, shall:
(1) Prepare a list of those to be served with notice to redeem
and request the deputy commissioner to prepare and serve the notice
as provided in sections fifty-four and fifty-five of this article;
(2) When the real property subject to the tax lien was
classified as Class II property, provide the deputy commissioner
with the actual mailing address of the property that is subject to
the tax lien or liens purchased; and
(3) Deposit, or offer to deposit, with the deputy commissioner
a sum sufficient to cover the costs of preparing and serving the
notice.
(b) If the purchaser fails to fulfill the requirements set
forth in paragraph subsection (a) of this section, the purchaser
shall lose all the benefits of his or her purchase.
(c) After the requirements of paragraph subsection (a) of this
section have been satisfied, the deputy commissioner may then sell
the property in the same manner as he sells lands which have been
offered for sale at public auction but which remain unsold after
such auction, as provided in section forty-eight of this article.
(d) For an interest in real estate subject to the tax lien or
liens that includes minerals but does not include an interest in
the surface, except an interest for the purpose of developing the
minerals, the list shall include the last known name and mailing address of the taxpayer known to the sheriff to which the sheriff
is required to send a tax ticket pursuant to section eight, article
one of this chapter for all tracts of surface property shown on the
tax maps, provided in subsection (e), section seven, article one-c,
chapter eleven of this code, that lie above the mineral tract
subject to the tax lien or liens purchased. No deed to a bona fide
purchaser for value from a purchaser or a surface owner substituted
for a purchaser may be set aside for failure of the purchaser to
comply with this subsection. This limitation does not affect any
other remedies at law.
__________(d) (e) If the person requesting preparation and service of
the notice is an assignee of the purchaser, he or she shall, at the
time of the request, file with the deputy commissioner a written
assignment to him or her of the purchaser's rights, executed,
acknowledged and certified in the manner required to make a valid
deed.
§11A-3-54. Notice to redeem.
Whenever the provisions of section fifty-two of this article
have has been complied with, the deputy commissioner shall
thereupon prepare a notice in form or effect as follows:
To _____________________________________
You will take notice that ___________________, the purchaser
(or _____________, the assignee, heir or devisee of ____________,
the purchaser) of the following real estate, ___________________, (here describe the real estate sold) located in ________________,
(here name the city, town or village in which the real estate is
situated or, if not within a city, town or village, give the
district and a general description) which was __________________
(here put whether the property was returned delinquent or
nonentered) in the name of __________________, and was sold by the
deputy commissioner of delinquent and nonentered lands of
_________________ County at the sale for delinquent taxes (or
nonentry) on the ______ day of _________________, 19 20____, has
requested that you be notified that a deed for such real estate
will be made to him or her on or after the ______ day of
_____________, 19 20____, as provided by law, unless before that
day you redeem such real estate. The amount you will have to pay
to redeem on the ________ day of __________________,20__ will be as
follows:
Amount equal to the taxes, interest and charges due on the
date of sale, with interest to ______________ .........$_________
Amount of taxes paid on the property, since the sale, with
interest to _______________ .......... $_________
Amount paid for title examination and preparation of list of
those to be served, and for preparation and service of the notice
with interest to ______________ .......... $_________
Amount paid for other statutory costs (describe)
_________________________________________________________________ _________________................... $_________
Total ......................... $_________
You may redeem at any time before _________________ by paying
the above total less any unearned interest.
NOTE: If you are receiving this notice because you are the
owner of an interest in the surface overlaying a mineral interest
which was returned delinquent, you may,
before the above date, pay
the deputy commissioner: (1) Twice the amount identified above;
(2) the amount identified above or $3,000, whichever is less; and
(3) a nonrefundable $20 administrative fee. If you pay the
required amount and the property is redeemed, the amount you paid,
less the administrative fee, will be refunded.
If
you pay the
required amount
and the property is not redeemed, you will be
substituted for the purchaser of the tax lien and may proceed to
obtain a deed for the property. If you do so and if one or more
additional surface owners do so, then the surface owners must
submit an agreement dividing the property according to their
proportionate shares. If an agreement is not filed, the deputy
commissioner shall refund the moneys tendered by the surface
owners, less the administrative fees, and the original purchaser
will be returned to his or her original rights and duties.
Given under my hand this ________ day of __________________,
20_____.
_________________________________
Deputy Commissioner of Delinquent
and Nonentered Lands
______________________ County,
State of West Virginia
The deputy commissioner for his or her service in preparing
the notice shall receive a fee of $10 for the original and $2 for
each copy required. Any costs which must be expended in addition
thereto for publication, or service of such notice in the manner
provided for serving process commencing a civil action, or for
service of process by certified mail, shall be charged by the
deputy commissioner. All costs provided by this section shall be
included as redemption costs and included in the notice described
herein.
§11A-3-56. Redemption from purchase; receipt; list of redemptions;
lien; lien of person redeeming interest of another;
record.
(a) After the sale of any tax lien on any real estate pursuant
to section forty-five or forty-eight of this article, the owner of,
or any other person who was entitled to pay the taxes on, any real
estate for which a tax lien thereon was purchased by an individual,
may redeem at any time before a tax deed is issued therefor. In
order to redeem, he or she must pay to the deputy commissioner the
following amounts: (1) An amount equal to the taxes, interest and
charges due on the date of the sale, with interest thereon at the rate of one percent per month from the date of sale; (2) all other
taxes thereon, which have since been paid by the purchaser, his or
her heirs or assigns, with interest at the rate of one percent per
month from the date of payment; (3) such additional expenses as may
have been incurred in preparing the list of those to be served with
notice to redeem, and any title examination incident thereto, with
interest at the rate of one percent per month from the date of
payment, but the amount he or she shall be required to pay,
excluding said interest, for such expenses incurred for the
preparation of the list of those to be served with notice to redeem
required by section fifty-two of this article, and any title
examination incident thereto, shall not exceed $200 and, if the
real estate is subject to paragraph (d), section fifty-two of this
article, the reasonable cost for determining the location of all
tracts of surface property shown on the tax maps identified in
subsection (e), section seven, article one-c, chapter eleven of
this code that lie above the real estate subject to the tax lien or
liens purchased not to exceed the actual amount incurred for the
preparation of the list of those to be served with the notice to
redeem other than the surface owner; (4) all additional statutory
costs paid by the purchaser; and (5) the deputy commissioner's fee
and commission as provided by section sixty-six of this article.
Where the deputy commissioner has not received from the purchaser
satisfactory proof of the expenses incurred in preparing the notice to redeem, and any examination of title incident thereto, in the
form of receipts or other evidence thereof, the person redeeming
shall pay the deputy commissioner the sum of $200 plus interest
thereon at the rate of one percent per month from the date of the
sale for disposition pursuant to the provisions of sections
fifty-seven, fifty-eight and sixty-four of this article. Upon
payment to the deputy commissioner of those and any other unpaid
statutory charges required by this article, and of any unpaid
expenses incurred by the sheriff, the auditor and the deputy
commissioner in the exercise of their duties pursuant to this
article, the deputy commissioner shall prepare an original and five
copies of the receipt for the payment and shall note on said
receipts that the property has been redeemed. The original of such
receipt shall be given to the person redeeming. The deputy
commissioner shall retain a copy of the receipt and forward one
copy each to the sheriff, assessor, the auditor and the clerk of
the county commission. The clerk shall endorse on the receipt the
fact and time of such filing and note the fact of redemption on his
or her record of delinquent lands.
(b) Any person who, by reason of the fact that no provision is
made for partial redemption of the tax lien on real estate
purchased by an individual, is compelled in order to protect
himself or herself to redeem the tax lien on all of such real
estate when it belongs, in whole or in part, to some other person, shall have a lien on the interest of such other person for the
amount paid to redeem such interest. He or she shall lose his or
her right to the lien, however, unless within thirty days after
payment he or she shall file with the clerk of the county
commission his or her claim in writing against the owner of such
interest, together with the receipt provided for in this section.
The clerk shall docket the claim on the judgment lien docket in his
or her office and properly index the same. Such lien may be
enforced as other judgment liens are enforced.
§11A-3-58a. Surface owner substitution for purchaser.
_____(a) If the real estate interest subject to a tax lien is a
mineral interest, but does not include an interest in the surface
other than an interest for the purpose of developing the minerals,
then within thirty days after notices to redeem have been served,
or an attempt of personal service has been made, the notices have
been mailed or, if necessary, published in accordance with section
fifty-five of this article, following the deputy commissioner's
sale, a surface owner above the mineral interest may pay to the
deputy commissioner: (1) Twice the amount that would be required
for redemption; (2) the amount that would be required for
redemption or $3,000, whichever is less; and a nonrefundable $20
administrative fee. The deputy commissioner shall issue the
surface owner a certificate of substitution and send a copy to the
purchaser. If more than one surface owner of record submits payment to the deputy commissioner, the deputy commissioner shall
issue each a certificate of substitution and send copies of the
certificates of substitution to the others in addition to the
purchaser.
_____(b) If the property is redeemed, the deputy commissioner shall
refund the moneys paid by the surface owners, less the
administrative fees.
_____(c) If the property is not redeemed, and if only one surface
owner has received a certificate of substitution, then the deputy
commissioner shall send the amount paid by the surface owner to the
purchaser and record the certificate of substitution. The surface
owner is substituted and has the full rights and duties of the
purchaser.
_____(d) If more than one surface owner submits payment, before an
additional fifteen days, the surface owners must submit an
agreement dividing the real estate according to their proportionate
share. The interest of an owner of a surface tract shall be equal
to the acreage stated on documents of record even if the owner only
owns an undivided interest. However, if more than one owner of an
undivided interest submits payment, their proportionate shares are
the total acreage of the undivided tract divided by the number of
owners of the tract who pay in. If no agreement is filed, then the
deputy commissioner shall refund their moneys, less the
administrative fees, and the original purchaser is returned to his or her original position. If an agreement is filed, then the
deputy commissioner shall make an amended certificate showing the
division according to their interests, the deputy commissioner
shall send the purchaser twice the amount required for redemption,
and divide the remaining money paid by all surface owners according
to their agreed interests.
ARTICLE 4. REMEDIES RELATING TO TAX SALES.
§11A-4-4. Right to set aside deed when one entitled to notice not
notified.
(a) If any person entitled to be notified under the provisions
of section twenty-two or fifty-five, article three of this chapter
is not served with the notice as therein required, and does not
have actual knowledge that such notice has been given to others in
time to protect his or her interests by redeeming the property,
or
is exercising rights as a surface owner pursuant to sections
twenty-three-a or fifty-eight-a, article three of this chapter,
he
or she, his or her heirs and assigns, may, before the expiration of
three years following the delivery of the deed, institute a civil
action to set aside the deed. No deed shall be set aside under the
provisions of this section until payment has been made or tendered
to the purchaser, or his or her heirs or assigns, of the amount
which would have been required for redemption
or the exercise of
rights as a surface owner under pursuant to sections twenty-three-a
or fifty-eight-a, article three of this chapter, together with any taxes which have been paid on the property since delivery of the
deed, with interest at the rate of twelve percent per annum.
(b) No title acquired pursuant to this article shall be set
aside in the absence of a showing by clear and convincing evidence
that the person who originally acquired such title failed to
exercise reasonably diligent efforts to provide notice of his or
her intention to acquire such title to the complaining party or his
or her predecessors in title.
(c) Upon a preliminary finding by the court that the deed will
be set aside pursuant to this section, such amounts shall be paid
within one month of the entry thereof. Upon the failure to pay the
same within said period of time, the court shall upon the request
of the purchaser, enter judgment dismissing the action with
prejudice.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit surface owners to
purchase the mineral interests that lay below the property when the
mineral interest becomes subject to a tax lien. The bill
establishes procedures to be followed. The bill requires notice;
establishing the purchase prices. The bill establishes a
nonrefundable $20 administrative fee. The bill provides a
procedure if more than one surface owner seeks to purchase the
delinquent mineral interest. The bill modifies notices to redeem
that are sent to property owners. The bill provides remedies
relating to tax sales.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
§11A-3-23a and §11A3-58a are new; therefore, they have been
completely underscored.