H. B. 2351
(By Mr Speaker, Mr. Kiss)
[Introduced January 22, 1999; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to repeal sections six, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen,
seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty- two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six,
twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty and thirty- one, article three, chapter eleven-a of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended;
and to amend and reenact sections two, four, five, seven,
eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, thirty-two,
thirty-four, forty-one, forty-two, forty-five, forty-six and
forty-eight of said article, all relating to providing for
the sale of tax liens through the auditor's office rather
than through county sheriffs; providing for certification to
state auditor of delinquent lands; changing from December to
January when the sheriff certifies to the auditor amended
lists of delinquent taxpayors; repealing various sections and deleting various provisions related to sheriff's sale of
delinquent lands; deleting requirement that auditor's
appointments of deputy commissioners is limited to lawyers;
and raising additional charge to cover cost of publication
of notice of auction from twenty-five dollars to thirty
dollars.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections six, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen,
eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three,
twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight,
twenty-nine, thirty and thirty-one, article three, chapter
eleven-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, be repealed; and that sections
two, four, five, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve,
thirteen, thirty-two, thirty-four, forty-one, forty-two,
forty-five, forty-six and forty-eight of said article be amended
and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. SALE OF TAX LIENS AND NONENTERED, ESCHEATED AND WASTE
AND UNAPPROPRIATED LANDS.
§11A-3-2. 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 certification, 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) 19____, will be
offered for sale certified to the state auditor by the
undersigned sheriff (or collector)
at public auction at the front
door of the courthouse of the county, between the hours of ten in
the morning and four in the afternoon, on the
_____ first day of
_________________ December, 19____ 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
November 30
|
|
|
|
|
|
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 the first day of
December, of the total amount of taxes, interest and charges due
thereon up to the date of redemption.
Given under my hand this _____________ day of
_____________________, 19_____.
__________________________
Sheriff (or collector).
The sheriff shall publish the list and notice prior to the
sale date fixed first day of December 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 first day of December the sheriff shall
send a notice of such 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 he
or she
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 seven dollars and fifty cents
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 five 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 such 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-3-4. Redemption after second publication and before sale.
Any of the real estate included in the list published
pursuant to the provisions of section two of this article may be
redeemed at any time before sale prior to certification to the
state auditor as provided in section eighteen, article two of
this chapter.
§11A-3-5. Certification; immunity; penalty; mandamus.
(a) The tax lien on each unredeemed tract or lot, or each
unredeemed part thereof or undivided interest therein shall be
sold certified to the state auditor by the sheriff, in the same
order as set forth in the list and notice prescribed in section
two of this article. at public auction to the highest bidder,
between the hours of ten in the morning and four in the afternoon
on any business working day after the fourteenth day of October
and before the twenty-third day of November: Provided, That no
tax lien for such unredeemed tract or lot or undivided interest
therein shall be sold upon any bid or for any sum less than the
total amount of taxes, interest and charges then due: Provided,
however, That at any such sale, the tax lien for each unredeemed
tract or lot, or undivided interest therein, shall be offered for
sale and sold for the entirety of such tract or lot or undivided
interest therein as the same is described and constituted as a
unit or entity in the list and notice prescribed in section two
of this article. If the sale shall not be completed on the day
designated in the notice for the holding of such sale, it shall
be continued from day to day between the same hours until
disposition shall have been made of all the land. The payment
for any tax lien purchased at a sale shall be made by check or
money order payable to the sheriff of the county and delivered
before the close of business on the day of the sale
(b) Each sheriff is immune from liability if a loss or claim
results from the sale certification of a tax lien conducted
pursuant to the provisions of this article or from any subsequent
conveyance of the property to which the lien attaches: Provided,
That where a sheriff fails or refuses to sell certify to the
state auditor said the tax lien pursuant to the provisions of
this article for reasons other than those provided by section
seven of this article, the sheriff may be compelled by mandamus
to sell certify to the state auditor the same upon the petition
of the auditor or any taxpayer of the county in a court of
competent jurisdiction.
§11A-3-7. Suspension from sale; amended delinquent lists;
subsequent sale.
(a) Whenever it shall appear to the sheriff that any real
estate included in the list has been previously conveyed by deed
and no tax thereon is currently delinquent, or that the tax lien
thereon has been sold certified to the state auditor previously
and not redeemed, or that the tax lien thereon ought not to be
sold certified to the state auditor for the amount stated
therein, he
or she
shall suspend the sale thereof and report his
or her
reasons therefor to the county commission and to the
auditor. If the commission finds that the tax lien on the real
estate ought not to be sold certified to the state auditor, it
shall so order; but if the commission finds that the tax lien on the real estate ought to be sold for the amount stated, or
certified to the state auditor for a greater or less amount, it
shall order the sheriff to include such real estate in his
or her
next September list, unless sooner redeemed.
(b) In the event the list and notice of sale prescribed in
section two of this article is not published, posted and
completed in the manner provided by said section two, so that it
is impossible for that reason, or by reason of omission of any
necessary procedural act, for the sheriff to make sale
certification to the state auditor of the tax lien for the real
estate embraced in said list pursuant to the provisions of this
chapter, then and in that event the sheriff shall certify to the
auditor, on or before the second day of December January
following the month in which such sale certification should have
been held, an amended list or lists of such taxes which then
remain delinquent. The sheriff shall include the real estate in
the last-mentioned amended list or lists in his
or her
next
September list, unless sooner redeemed.
§11A-3-8. Certification of unsold property to the auditor.
If no person present bids redeems the property prior to the
first day of December for the amount of taxes, interest and
charges due on any real estate offered for sale certification,
the sheriff shall certify the real estate to the auditor for
disposition pursuant to section forty-four of this article, subject, however, to the right of redemption provided by section
thirty-eight of this article. The auditor shall prescribe the
form by which the sheriff certifies the property.
§11A-3-9. Sheriff's list of sales, suspensions, redemptions and
certifications; oath.
As soon as the sale certification to the state auditor
provided for in section five of this article has been completed,
the sheriff shall prepare a list of all tax liens on delinquent
real estate purchased at the sale certified to the state auditor,
or suspended from sale, or redeemed before sale, or certified to
the auditor. The heading of the list shall be in form or effect
as follows:
List of sales of tax liens on real estate in the county of
, returned delinquent for nonpayment of taxes
thereon for the year (or years) 19 20 , and sold in the month
(or months) of December, 19 20 , or suspended
from sale, or redeemed before sale. or certified to the auditor
The sheriff shall, at the foot of such list, subscribe an
oath, which shall be subscribed before and certified by some
person duly authorized to administer oaths, in form or effect as
follows:
I, , sheriff (or deputy sheriff or collector)
of the county of , do swear that the above list
contains a true account of all the tax liens on real estate within my county returned delinquent for nonpayment of taxes
thereon for the year (or years) 19 20 , which were sold by
me or which were suspended from sale or redeemed before sale or
certified to the auditor, and that I am not now, nor have I at
any time been, directly or indirectly interested in the purchase
of any such tax liens.
Except for the heading and the oath, the tax commissioner
shall prescribe the form of the list.
§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 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 surpluses shall be disposed of
as follows:
(1) In any case where the property was redeemed, such
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 the purchaser, his 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 surplus shall be barred and such surplus shall be
distributed by the sheriff in the manner provided by law for the
distribution of property taxes collected by him.
(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 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.
§11A-3-11. Return of list of certification, suspensions and
redemptions.
(a) Within one month after the first day of December,
completion of the sale the sheriff shall deliver the original
list of sales, suspensions and redemptions described in section
nine of this article, with a copy thereof, to the clerk of the
county commission. The clerk shall bind the original of such
list in a permanent book to be kept for the purpose in his
or her
office, and shall note each sale and suspension, each redemption
not previously noted, and each certification on his
or her
record of delinquent lands. The clerk, within ten days after
delivery of the list to him
or her,
shall transmit the copy to
the auditor, who shall note each sale suspension, redemption and
certification on the record of delinquent lands kept in his
or
her
office.
(b) Any sheriff who fails to prepare and return the list of
sales suspensions, redemptions and certifications within the time
required by this section shall forfeit not less than fifty nor
more than five hundred dollars, for the benefit of the general
school fund, to be recovered by the auditor or by any taxpayer of
the county on motion in a court of competent jurisdiction. Upon
the petition of any person interested, the sheriff may be
compelled by mandamus to make out and return such list, and the
proceedings thereon shall be at his
or her
cost.
§11A-3-12. Amendment of such list.
If the sheriff shall make any error or omission in the list
of sales suspensions, redemptions and certifications returned to
the clerk of the county commission, he
or she
or any person
interested may, within six months after the sale, apply by
petition to the county commission for an order permitting or
requiring amendment of the list. Any person who might be
prejudiced by the proposed amendment must, if found within the county, be given at least ten days' notice of such application.
Upon proof of the error or mistake the commission shall make an
order permitting or requiring the sheriff to file an amended list
with the clerk of the commission. The sheriff shall thereupon
prepare and deliver to the clerk of the commission the amended
list and a copy thereof, with a copy of the order of the
commission permitting or requiring it to be filed attached to the
list and to the copy. The clerk shall substitute the original of
the amended list for the list already in his
or her
office, and
make the necessary corrections on his
or her
record of delinquent
lands. The clerk shall transmit the copy of the amended list to
the auditor who shall note the corrections on his
or her
record
of delinquent lands.
§11A-3-13. Publication by sheriff of sales list.
Within one month after completion of the sale the first day
of December, 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 certified in the
county of ____________________________________________, in the
month (or months) of _____________________________, 19____ , for nonpayment of taxes thereon for the year (or years) 19____, 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
________________, 19____.
__________________________________
Sheriff
To cover the costs of preparing and publishing such list, a
charge of seven dollars and fifty cents shall be added to the
taxes, interest and charges already due on each item listed.
§11A-3-32. Sheriff to keep proceeds in separate accounts;
disposition.
(a) The sheriff shall keep in a separate fund the proceeds
of all redemptions and sales paid to him or her under the
provisions of this chapter, except for those proceeds for which a separate fund is directed by the provisions of section
sixty-four of this article. Out of the total proceeds of each
sale or redemption he or she shall in the order of priority
stated below credit the following amounts, for payment as
hereinafter provided: (1) To the general county fund, such part
as represents costs paid out of such fund for publishing the
sheriff's delinquent and sales list and all other costs incurred
by the sheriff pursuant to the provisions of this article; (2)
surplus proceeds from the sale of tax liens on delinquent lands
shall be held by the sheriff for the periods provided for in
section ten of this article, and if no application is made within
the time therein specified, such surplus shall be distributed by
the sheriff in the manner provided by law for the distribution of
property taxes collected by him; and (3) (2) the balance, if any,
of the proceeds of the lands included in each suit shall be
prorated among the various taxing units on the basis of the total
amount of taxes due them in respect to the lands that were sold
or redeemed. The amounts so determined shall be credited as
follows, for payment as hereinafter provided: (1) To the
auditor, such part as represents state taxes and interest; and
(2) to the fund kept by the sheriff for each local taxing unit,
such part as represents taxes and interest payable to such unit.
(b) All amounts which under the provisions of this section
were so credited by the sheriff to the auditor shall be paid to him or her semiannually; and those credited to the various local
taxing units shall be transferred semiannually by the sheriff to
the fund kept by him or her for each such taxing unit.
(c) The tax commissioner, in cooperation with the land
department in the auditor's office, shall prescribe the form of
the records to be kept by the sheriff for the purposes of this
section, and the method to be used by him or her in making the
necessary pro rata distributions.
§11A-3-34. Deputy commissioners of delinquent and nonentered
lands; bond.
The auditor shall appoint for each county in the state a
deputy commissioner of delinquent and nonentered lands. Persons
serving in that capacity when this article takes effect shall
continue to serve, subject to the provisions of this article.
The auditor shall make new appointments from time to time
thereafter whenever vacancies occur, or when in the auditor's
judgment it is deemed advisable. The auditor may promulgate
rules respecting the tenure of deputy commissioners. In the
absence of such rules, the deputy commissioner for each county
shall, so long as he
or she
satisfies the requirements of this
section in respect to professional qualifications and bonding,
continue to act without reappointment until the auditor
designates his
or her
successor.
The auditor shall appoint deputy commissioners in such numbers and to serve such counties as the auditor deems advisable
to effect the purposes of this article. Appointments shall be
limited to persons duly licensed to practice law in this state.
Any person appointed as deputy commissioner for a single county
shall reside in said county. Any person appointed as deputy
commissioner for more than one county shall reside in one of the
counties for which he has been appointed.
Whenever in respect to any land the deputy commissioner, in
his
or her
own judgment or in the opinion of the auditor, is
disqualified or otherwise unable to serve, because of his
or her
personal interest, or because of his
or her
representation of
clients in matters affecting such land, or because of vacancies
or failure to act, the auditor may appoint a special deputy,
including an employee of his
or her
office, licensed to practice
law in this state to assume all of the disqualified deputy
commissioner's rights, duties, responsibilities and liabilities
relating to such land.
The deputy commissioner shall be subject to the orders and
control of the auditor, shall be accountable to him
or her,
and
shall serve as his
or her
local agent within the county. It
shall be his
or her
duty to do whatever is required of him
or her
by the auditor or by the provisions of this article. The deputy
commissioner before entering upon his
or her
duties shall give a
bond, with satisfactory corporate surety, conditioned upon the faithful performance of his
or her
duties and the payment of any
forfeitures incurred. The penalty of such bond shall be not less
than twenty-five thousand dollars nor more than one hundred
thousand dollars, as the auditor may direct. The premium
therefor shall be paid by the auditor out of the operating fund
for the land department in his
or her
office.
§11A-3-41. Auditor to report redemptions to county officers;
disposition of redemption money; credit of state taxes to
proper fund.
(a) The auditor shall report monthly to the sheriff, the
assessor and the clerk of the county commission of each county
all land in such county which was redeemed in his
or her
office
during the preceding month. The assessor shall enter the fact of
such redemption in the land book in his
or her
office. The clerk
shall file and index the report in a separate volume provided for
the purpose.
(b) Between August fifteenth and August thirty-first of each
year, the auditor shall report to the sheriff of each county for
inclusion in his next September delinquent list all tracts of
land redeemed from the auditor, which after certification to the
auditor have been reported to him by the sheriff as suspended
from sale, if the taxes for the year or years of suspension were
not collected by the auditor. The sheriff shall be charged with
such taxes and shall account for them as is required in the case of current taxes. Instead of making this report, the auditor may
collect the taxes due for the year or years of suspension. Upon
collection thereof he shall issue a second certificate of
redemption, and such certificate shall be a release of the
state's lien for such taxes.
(c) (b) The auditor shall each month draw his
or her
warrant
upon the treasury, payable to the sheriff of each county, for
that part of the taxes, interest and charges received by him
or
her
upon the redemption of the property included in his
or her
report, which was owing to any of the taxing units in such
county. The sheriff shall account for and pay over such money as
if it had been paid to him
or her
for redemption before sale.
Upon collection of delinquent taxes due the state, the
auditor shall credit them to the proper fund.
§11A-3-42. Lands subject to sale by deputy commissioner.
All lands for which no person present at the sheriff's sale,
held pursuant to section five of this article, has bid the total
amount of taxes, interest and charges due, and which were
subsequently certified to the auditor pursuant to section eight
of this article, and which have not been redeemed from the
auditor within eighteen months by the first day of May of the
second year after such certification, together with all
nonentered lands, all escheated lands and all waste and
unappropriated lands, shall be subject to sale by the deputy commissioner of delinquent and nonentered lands as further
provided in this article. References in this chapter to the sale
or purchase of certified or nonentered lands by or from the
deputy commissioner shall be construed as the sale or purchase
of the tax lien or liens thereon.
§11A-3-45. Deputy commissioner to hold annual auction.
(a) Each tract or lot certified to the deputy commissioner
pursuant to the preceding section shall be sold by the deputy
commissioner at public auction at the courthouse of the county to
the highest bidder between the hours of ten nine in the morning
and four five in the afternoon on any business working day within
one hundred twenty days after the auditor has certified the lands
to the deputy commissioner as required by the preceding section.
The payment for any tract or lot purchased at a sale shall be
made by check or money order payable to the sheriff of the county
and delivered before the close of business on the day of sale.
No part or interest in any tract or lot subject to such sale, or
any part thereof of interest therein, that is less than the
entirety of such unredeemed tract, lot or interest, as the same
is described and constituted as a unit or entity in said list,
shall be offered for sale or sold at such sale. If the sale
shall not be completed on the first day of the sale, it shall be
continued from day to day between the same hours until all the
land shall have been offered for sale.
(b) A private, nonprofit, charitable corporation,
incorporated in this state, which has been certified as a
nonprofit corporation pursuant to the provisions of Section
501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code, as amended, which
has as its principal purpose the construction of housing or other
public facilities and which notifies the deputy commissioner of
an intention to bid and subsequently submits a bid that is not
more than five percent lower than the highest bid submitted by
any person or organization which is not a private, nonprofit,
charitable corporation as defined in this subsection, shall be
sold the property offered for sale by the deputy commissioner
pursuant to the provisions of this section at the public auction
as opposed to the highest bidder.
The nonprofit corporation referred to in this subsection
does not include a business organized for profit, a labor union,
a partisan political organization or an organization engaged in
religious activities and it does not include any other group
which does not have as its principal purpose the construction of
housing or public facilities.
§11A-3-46. Publication of notice of auction.
Once a week for three consecutive weeks prior to the auction
required in the preceding section, the deputy commissioner shall
publish notice of the auction 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.
The notice shall be in form or effect as follows:
Notice is hereby given that the following described tracts
or lots of land in the County of ___________, have been certified
by the Auditor of the State of West Virginia to
_________________, Deputy Commissioner of Delinquent and
Nonentered Lands of said County, for sale at public auction. The
lands will be offered for sale by the undersigned deputy
commissioner at public auction in (specify location) the
courthouse of ______ County between the hours of ten nine in the
morning and four five in the afternoon, on the ______ day of
_____________, 19___.
Each tract or lot as described below will be sold to the
highest bidder. The payment for any tract or lot purchased at a
sale shall be made by check or money order payable to the sheriff
of the county and delivered before the close of business on the
day of the sale. If any of said tracts or lots remain unsold
following the auction, they will be subject to sale by the deputy
commissioner without additional advertising or public auction.
All sales are subject to the approval of the auditor of the state
of West Virginia.
(here insert description of lands to be sold)
Any of the aforesaid tracts or lots may be redeemed by any person entitled to pay the taxes thereon at any time prior to the
sale by payment to the deputy commissioner of the total amount of
taxes, interest and charges due thereon up to the date of
redemption. Lands listed above as escheated or waste and
unappropriated lands may not be redeemed.
Given under my hand this _______ day of ______________,
19_____.
_____________________________ Deputy Commissioner of Delinquent
and Nonentered Lands of _____________________ County.
The description of lands required in the notice shall be in
the same form as the list certifying said lands to the deputy
commissioner for sale. If the deputy commissioner is required to
auction lands certified to him
or her in any previous years,
pursuant to section forty-eight of this article, he
or she shall
include such lands in the notice, with reference to the year of
certification and the item number of the tract or interest.
To cover the cost of preparing and publishing the notice, a
charge of
twenty-five thirty dollars shall be added to the taxes,
interest and charges due on the delinquent and nonentered
property.
§11A-3-48. Unsold lands subject to sale without auction or
additional advertising.
If any of the lands which have been offered for sale at the
public auction provided in section forty-five of this article shall remain unsold following such auction, or if the auditor
refuses to approve the sale pursuant to section fifty-one of this
article, the deputy commissioner may sell such lands at any time
subsequent to such auction, without any further public auction or
additional advertising of such land, to any party willing to
purchase such property. The price of such property shall be as
agreed upon by the deputy commissioner and purchaser, subject to
approval by the auditor as provided in section fifty-one of this
article: Provided,
That any of such unsold lands, which remain
unsold at the time the deputy commissioner publishes notice of
subsequent annual auctions, shall be included in such notice and
offered for sale at such auction. Provided, however,
That in no
event shall the deputy commissioner be required to offer a tract,
lot or interest for sale at more than three consecutive annual
auctions
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide for the sale
of tax liens through the auditor's office while skipping the
current practice of public auction through county sheriffs. The
bill, among other items does the following: (1) Provides for
certification to state auditor of delinquent lands; (2) changes
from December to January the time when the sheriff certifies to
the auditor amended lists of delinquent taxpayors; (3) repeals
various sections and deletes various provisions related to
sheriff's sale of delinquent lands; (4) deletes requirement that
auditor's appointments of deputy commissioners be limited to
lawyers; and (5) raises additional charge to cover cost of
publication of notice of auction from twenty-five dollars to
thirty dollars.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.
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