Under existing law, an improvement district can petition the government that appointed it to levy an assessment and lien on property within the district to finance public infrastructure improvement projects. The assessment accrues interest at a rate that the board of directors of a district deems reasonable and may exceed the interest rate on the bonds issued to finance the improvement projects. Existing law also authorizes the board to foreclose on property under state foreclosure statutes if there is a default in payment of the assessment. This bill would remove the board's option to charge a rate higher than the interest rate on the bonds issued to finance the public infrastructure improvement projects. This bill would create an alternative enforcement mechanism for collection and enforcement of assessments, subject to approval by the county commission, and allow a district to engage the county tax assessor, the county tax collector, and the county judge of probate to assist in the collection and enforcement of assessments in the same manner as delinquent ad valorem tax liens. This bill would allow the tax collecting official to collect a fee of three percent of the total assessment collected. This bill would also make nonsubstantive, technical revisions to update the existing code language to current style.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 11-99A-14