ENROLLED
H. B. 3295
(By Delegates Morgan, Howard and Sobonya)
[Passed March 11, 2006; in effect ninety days from passage.]
AN ACT to amend and reenact
§11A-2-13
of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §11A-3-2 and
§11A-3-13 of said code, all relating to delinquent property
taxes; and increasing certain fees charged to collect the
taxes.
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
and
§11A-3-13 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 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. 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 twenty dollars shall be
added to the taxes and interest already due on each item listed.
Any person whose taxes were delinquent on May first may have
his name removed from the delinquent lists prior to the time the
same is delivered to the newspapers for publication 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 three dollars 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 list of delinquent real estate;
notice.
(a) On or before the tenth day of September 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 the first day of September, 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.
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 twenty five dollars 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 ten dollars 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 the first day of
September 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 three dollars 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.
§11A-3-13. Publication by sheriff of sales list.
Within one month after completion of the sale, the sheriff
shall prepare and publish a list of all the sales and
certifications made by him or her, in form or effect as follows,
which list shall be published as a Class II-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.
List of tax liens on real estate sold in the county of
____________________________________________, in the month (or months) of _____________________________, 20____ , for nonpayment
of taxes thereon for the year (or years) 20____, and purchased by
individuals or certified to the auditor of the State of West
Virginia:
Name of
person
charged
with taxes
|
Local
descrip-
tion of
lands
|
Quantity
of land
charged
|
Quantity
of land
for which
tax lien
is sold
|
Name of
purchaser
|
Whole
amount
paid by
purchaser
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The owner of any real estate listed above, or any other person
entitled to pay the taxes thereon, may, however, redeem such real
estate as provided by law.
Given under my hand this _____________ day of
________________, 20____.
__________________________________
Sheriff
To cover the costs of preparing and publishing such list, a
charge of fifteen shall be added to the taxes, interest and charges
already due on each item listed.