As Introduced
135th General Assembly
Regular Session H. B. No. 543
2023-2024
Representatives Blackshear, Willis
Cosponsors: Representatives Brennan, Johnson, Dell'Aquila
A BILL
To amend sections 317.22, 319.20, 323.28, 323.74, 1
5713.18, 5721.19, and 5723.06 and to enact 2
section 319.204 of the Revised Code to require 3
payment of property taxes and assessments when a 4
lot is split or transferred and to generally 5
prohibit tax-delinquent property owners from 6
purchasing tax-foreclosed property. 7
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 317.22, 319.20, 323.28, 323.74, 8
5713.18, 5721.19, and 5723.06 be amended and section 319.204 of 9
the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows: 10
Sec. 317.22. No deed of absolute conveyance of land or any 11
conveyance, absolute or otherwise, of minerals or mineral rights 12
shall be recorded by the county recorder until: 13
(A) The conveyance presented to the county recorder bears 14
the stamp of the county auditor stating the conveyance has been 15
examined and the grantor has complied with section sections 16
319.202 and 319.204 of the Revised Code; 17
(B) Such conveyance has been presented to the county 18
H. B. No. 543 Page 2
As Introduced
auditor, and by the county auditor indorsed "transferred," or 19
"transfer not necessary." 20
Before any real estate, the title to which has passed 21
under the laws of descent, is transferred from the name of the 22
ancestor to the heir at law or next of kin of such ancestor, or 23
to any grantee of such heir or next of kin; and before any deed 24
or conveyance of real estate made by any such heir or next of 25
kin is presented to or filed for record by the recorder, the 26
heir or next of kin, or that person's grantee, agent, or 27
attorney shall present to the auditor the affidavit of such heir 28
or next of kin, or of two persons resident of this state, each 29
of whom has personal knowledge of the facts. Such affidavit 30
shall set forth the date of the ancestor's death, and the place 31
of residence at the time of death; the fact that the ancestor 32
died intestate; the names, ages, and addresses, so far as known 33
and can be ascertained, of each of such ancestor's heirs at law 34
and next of kin, who, by the ancestor's death, inherited such 35
real estate, the relationship of each to the ancestor, and the 36
part or portion of such real estate inherited by each. Such 37
transfers shall be made by the auditor in accordance with the 38
statement contained in the affidavit, and the auditor shall 39
indorse upon the deed or conveyance the fact that such transfer 40
was made by affidavit. The affidavit shall be filed with the 41
county recorder of the county in which such real estate is 42
situated, at or before the time such deed or conveyance is filed 43
with the county recorder, and shall be recorded by the county 44
recorder of the county in the official records and indexed in 45
the direct and reverse indexes in the county recorder's office, 46
in the name of such ancestor as grantor and of each such heir or 47
next of kin as grantee, in the same manner as if such names 48
occurred in a deed of conveyance from the ancestor to such heirs 49
H. B. No. 543 Page 3
As Introduced
at law. The county recorder shall receive the same fees for such 50
indexing and recording as provided by section 317.32 of the 51
Revised Code. 52
(C) The record of such affidavit shall, in the trial of 53
any cause, so far as competent, be prima-facie evidence. 54
(D) No county recorder shall record a conveyance if the 55
indorsement, indorsements, or stamps of indorsement of a county 56
auditor indicating compliance with section 319.202 of the 57
Revised Code on the conveyance are in whole or in part defaced, 58
illegible, or incomplete. 59
Sec. 319.20. After complying with sections 315.251, 60
319.202, 315.251, and 319.203, and 319.204 of the Revised Code, 61
and on application and presentation of title, with the 62
affidavits required by law, or the proper order of a court or 63
the county board of revision, bearing the last known address of 64
the grantee, or of any one of the grantees named in the title, 65
and a reference to the volume and page of the recording, or 66
other means of identifying the recording, of the next preceding 67
recorded instrument by or through which the grantor claims 68
title, the county auditor shall transfer any land or town lot or 69
part thereof, minerals therein, or mineral rights thereto, 70
charged with taxes on the tax list, from the name in which it 71
stands into the name of the owner, when rendered necessary by a 72
conveyance, partition, devise, descent, or otherwise. If by 73
reason of the conveyance or otherwise, a part only of a tract or 74
lot, minerals therein, or mineral rights thereto, as charged in 75
the tax list, is to be transferred, the auditor shall determine 76
the tax value of the part of a tract or lot of real estate, 77
minerals therein, or mineral rights thereto, so transferred, and 78
the value of the remaining part compared with the value of the 79
H. B. No. 543 Page 4
As Introduced
whole. 80
Whenever section 319.204 of the Revised Code does not 81
apply, and a part only of a tract or lot of real estate has been 82
transferred by the auditor and the tract or lot bears unpaid 83
taxes, penalties, interest, or special assessments, the unpaid 84
taxes, penalties, interest, or special assessments shall 85
immediately be apportioned, upon demand or request by the 86
transferee or remaining owner, in the following manner: 87
(A) The auditor shall allocate to the part so transferred, 88
and to the remaining part, amounts of any current or delinquent 89
taxes, interest, or penalties that have accrued against the 90
parcel as a whole, proportionate to their respective values. 91
(B) The lien of taxes, penalties, interest, and special 92
assessments, as levied against the original tract, shall extend 93
to the part so transferred and the part remaining only to the 94
extent of the amounts so allocated to the respective parts. 95
This section does not change the total amount of taxes, 96
special assessments, or other charges as originally levied, or 97
the total amount of the balance due. The auditor shall certify 98
such apportionments to the county treasurer. 99
Whenever the state acquires an entire parcel or a part 100
only of a parcel of real property in fee simple, the county 101
auditor, upon application of the grantor or property owner or 102
the state, which application shall contain a description of the 103
property as it appears on the tax list and the date of transfer 104
of ownership, shall prepare an estimate of the taxes that are a 105
lien on the property, but have not been determined, assessed, 106
and levied for the year in which the property was acquired. The 107
county auditor shall thereupon apportion the estimated taxes 108
H. B. No. 543 Page 5
As Introduced
proportionately between the grantor and the state for the period 109
of the lien year that each had or shall have had ownership or 110
possession of the property, whichever is earlier. The county 111
treasurer shall accept payment from the state for estimated 112
taxes at the time that the real property is acquired. If the 113
state has paid in full in the year in which the property is 114
acquired that proportion of the estimated taxes that the tax 115
commissioner determines are not subject to remission by the 116
county auditor for such year under division (D) of section 117
5713.08 of the Revised Code, the estimated taxes paid shall be 118
considered the tax liability on the exempted property for that 119
year. 120
Section 319.42 of the Revised Code applies to the 121
apportionment of special assessments. 122
Complaint against such values as determined by the auditor 123
or the allocation of assessments by the certifying authority may 124
be filed by the transferee or the remaining owner, and if filed, 125
proceedings including appeals shall be had in the manner and 126
within the time provided by sections 5717.01 to 5717.06 and 127
5715.19 to 5715.22 of the Revised Code, for complaints against 128
valuation or assessment of real property. 129
The auditor shall endorse on the deed or other evidences 130
of title presented to the auditor that the proper transfer of 131
the real estate described in the deed has been made in the 132
auditor's office or that it is not entered for taxation, and 133
sign the auditor's name to the deed. The address of the grantee, 134
or any one of the grantees, set forth in the deed or other 135
evidences of title shall be entered by the auditor on the 136
transfer sheets and on the general tax list of real property 137
prepared pursuant to section 319.28 of the Revised Code. 138
H. B. No. 543 Page 6
As Introduced
Sec. 319.204. (A) Whenever a lot or tract of real estate 139
is transferred, in whole or in part, or a lot or tract of real 140
estate is subdivided, the grantor or property owner, 141
respectively, shall apply to the county auditor for an estimate 142
of the taxes that are a lien on the entire lot or tract that 143
have not been determined, assessed, and levied for the year in 144
which the property is transferred or subdivided. The application 145
shall contain a description of the entire lot or tract as it 146
appears on the tax list and the date of transfer or subdivision. 147
(B) Upon transfer of a lot or tract of real estate, in 148
whole or in part, or the subdivision of a lot or tract of real 149
estate, the grantor or owner, respectively, shall pay, and the 150
treasurer shall accept, the estimated taxes calculated pursuant 151
to division (A) of this section along with all taxes, as that 152
term is defined in section 323.01 of the Revised Code, charged 153
and payable at the time of transfer or subdivision. Upon payment 154
in full of the estimated taxes, the estimated taxes paid shall 155
be considered the tax liability on the property for that year. 156
(C) This section does not apply to any transfer of a lot 157
or tract in which the state or a political subdivision is the 158
grantee or grantor or to any subdivision of a lot or tract in 159
which the state or a political subdivision is the owner. 160
Sec. 323.28. (A) A finding shall be entered in a 161
proceeding under section 323.25 of the Revised Code for taxes, 162
assessments, penalties, interest, and charges due and payable at 163
the time the deed of real property sold or transferred under 164
this section is transferred to the purchaser or transferee, plus 165
the cost of the proceeding. For purposes of determining such 166
amount, the county treasurer may estimate the amount of taxes, 167
assessments, interest, penalties, charges, and costs that will 168
H. B. No. 543 Page 7
As Introduced
be payable at the time the deed of the property is transferred 169
to the purchaser or transferee. 170
The court of common pleas, a municipal court with 171
jurisdiction, or the county board of revision with jurisdiction 172
pursuant to section 323.66 of the Revised Code shall order such 173
premises to be transferred pursuant to division (E) of this 174
section or shall order such premises to be sold for payment of 175
the finding, but for not less than either of the following, 176
unless the county treasurer applies for an appraisal: 177
(1) The total amount of such finding; 178
(2) The fair market value of the premises, as determined 179
by the county auditor, plus the cost of the proceeding. 180
If the county treasurer applies for an appraisal, the 181
premises shall be appraised in the manner provided by section 182
2329.17 of the Revised Code, and shall be sold for at least two- 183
thirds of the appraised value. 184
Notwithstanding the minimum sales price provisions of 185
divisions (A)(1) and (2) of this section to the contrary, a 186
parcel sold pursuant to this section shall not be sold for less 187
than the amount described in division (A)(1) of this section if 188
the highest bidder is the owner of record of the parcel 189
immediately prior to the judgment of foreclosure or a member of 190
the following class of parties connected to that owner: a member 191
of that owner's immediate family, a person with a power of 192
attorney appointed by that owner who subsequently transfers the 193
parcel to the owner, a sole proprietorship owned by that owner 194
or a member of the owner's immediate family, or partnership, 195
trust, business trust, corporation, or association in which the 196
owner or a member of the owner's immediate family owns or 197
H. B. No. 543 Page 8
As Introduced
controls directly or indirectly more than fifty per cent. If a 198
parcel sells for less than the amount described in division (A) 199
(1) of this section, the officer conducting the sale shall 200
require the buyer to complete an affidavit stating that the 201
buyer is not the owner of record immediately prior to the 202
judgment of foreclosure or a member of the specified class of 203
parties connected to that owner, and the affidavit shall become 204
part of the court records of the proceeding. If the county 205
auditor discovers within three years after the date of the sale 206
that a parcel was sold to that owner or a member of the 207
specified class of parties connected to that owner for a price 208
less than the amount so described, and if the parcel is still 209
owned by that owner or a member of the specified class of 210
parties connected to that owner, the auditor within thirty days 211
after such discovery shall add the difference between that 212
amount and the sale price to the amount of taxes that then stand 213
charged against the parcel and is payable at the next succeeding 214
date for payment of real property taxes. As used in this 215
paragraph, "immediate family" means a spouse who resides in the 216
same household and children. 217
(B) From the proceeds of the sale the costs shall be first 218
paid, next the amount found due for taxes, then the amount of 219
any taxes accruing after the entry of the finding and before