1 SB32
2 206196-3
3 By Senator Coleman-Madison
4 RFD: Governmental Affairs
5 First Read: 02-FEB-21
6 PFD: 01/04/2021
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1 SB32
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4 ENROLLED, An Act,
5 Relating to tax delinquent properties; to amend
6 Sections 24-9-6, 24-9-7, 24-9-8, and 24-9-10, Code of Alabama
7 1975; to provide that a tax delinquent property may be
8 transferred by the Land Commissioner of the Alabama Department
9 of Revenue to the Alabama Land Bank Authority if the property
10 has been bid in for the state for at least three years and the
11 state's interest in property acquired for delinquent taxes has
12 been held for at least three years; to remove the distribution
13 requirements for proceeds derived from the sale of property
14 under the land bank program; to allow municipalities or
15 counties having over 100 delinquent properties within a
16 municipality to form a local land bank authority; and to grant
17 additional powers to local land bank authorities.
18 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
19 Section 1. Sections 24-9-6, 24-9-7, 24-9-8, and
20 24-9-10, Code of Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows:
21 "24-9-6.
22 "(a) The authority, at such times as it deems to be
23 appropriate, may submit a written request to the Land
24 Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Revenue for the
25 transfer of the state's interest in certain properties to the
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1 authority. Upon receipt of such request, the Land Commissioner
2 shall issue a tax deed conveying the state's interest in the
3 property to the authority. The authority shall not be required
4 to pay the amount deemed to have been bid to cover delinquent
5 taxes or any other amount in order to obtain the tax deed.
6 "(b) (1) Delinquent property which may be
7 transferred by the Land Commissioner to the authority shall be
8 limited to parcels which have been bid in for the state
9 pursuant to Chapter 10 of Title 40 for at least five three
10 years and the state's interest in real property acquired
11 pursuant to Chapter 29 of Title 40 for delinquent taxes
12 administered by the state and held for at least five three
13 years.
14 "(2) The Land Commissioner or his or her agents or
15 assistants may adopt rules necessary to transfer such
16 properties to the authority.
17 "(c) The authority shall administer properties
18 acquired by it as follows:
19 "(1) All property acquired by the authority shall be
20 inventoried and the inventory shall be maintained as a public
21 record.
22 "(2) The authority shall have the power to manage,
23 maintain, protect, rent, lease, repair, insure, alter, sell,
24 trade, exchange, or otherwise dispose of any property acquired
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1 pursuant to subsection (b)(1), on terms and conditions
2 determined in the sole discretion of the authority.
3 "(d) Nothing contained in Act 2013-249 shall be
4 construed to grant any power of eminent domain to the
5 authority or any local authority.
6 "24-9-7.
7 "(a) The authority shall adopt rules and regulations
8 for the disposition of property in which the authority holds a
9 legal interest, which rules and regulations shall address the
10 conditions set forth in this section.
11 "(b) The authority may manage, maintain, protect,
12 rent, repair, insure, alter, convey, sell, transfer, exchange,
13 lease as lessor, or otherwise dispose of property or rights or
14 interests in property in which the authority holds a legal
15 interest to any public or private person for value determined
16 by the authority on terms and conditions, and in a manner and
17 for an amount of consideration the authority considers proper,
18 fair, and valuable, including for no monetary consideration.
19 The transfer and use of property under this section and the
20 exercise by the authority of powers and duties under Act
21 2013-249 shall be considered a necessary public purpose and
22 for the benefit of the public.
23 "(c) Before the authority may sell, lease, exchange,
24 trade, or otherwise dispose of any property, it shall either:
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1 "(1) Establish a purchase price and conditions for
2 sale purposes.
3 "(2) Establish a price and conditions for rent or
4 lease purposes.
5 "(3) Establish the conditions for trade, exchange,
6 or other disposal of the property.
7 "The conditions made pursuant to this subsection may
8 include a requirement that the transferee must provide a
9 development plan or execute a development agreement with the
10 authority specifying the transferee's commitments regarding
11 the development of the property and the time frame within
12 which the development must occur, the range of permitted uses
13 for the property, and any restrictions on its subsequent
14 resale or transfer.
15 "(d) The disposition of property by the authority
16 shall not be governed by any laws or regulations otherwise
17 applicable to the disposition of property by a state or local
18 agency. Provided, however, that, prior to the disposition of
19 property, the authority shall give notice of its intent to
20 dispose of any property for which notice was not previously
21 advertised by the Commissioner of Revenue, or his or her
22 designee, or by a local official in a manner as prescribed by
23 the authority and shall include in the notice the date, time,
24 and place at which persons objecting to the intended action
25 must appear. If no objection is made within 30 days from the
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1 date of the notice, the authority may proceed with the
2 disposition of the property as noticed without a public
3 auction.
4 "(e) No property shall be sold, traded, exchanged,
5 or otherwise disposed of by the authority to any entity for
6 investment purposes only and with no intent to use the
7 property other than to transfer the property at a future date
8 for monetary gain.
9 "(f) The authority shall not sell, trade, exchange,
10 or otherwise dispose of any property held by the authority to
11 any party who had an interest in the property at the time it
12 was tax delinquent or to any party who transferred the party's
13 interest in the property to the authority by sale, trade,
14 exchange, or otherwise, unless the person pays all the taxes,
15 interest, municipal liens, penalties, fees, and any other
16 charges due and owing under Chapter 10 and Chapter 29 of Title
17 40, including the amount to the Land Commissioner had the
18 property not been transferred to the authority.
19 "(g) At the time that the authority sells or
20 otherwise disposes of property as part of its land bank
21 program, the proceeds of the sale shall be distributed equally
22 as follows:
23 "(1) One-third to the operations of the authority.
24 "(2) One-third to the recovery of authority
25 expenses.
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1 "(3) If the property was initially bid in for the
2 state for delinquent ad valorem taxes, one-third to the
3 recipients of ad valorem taxes within the jurisdiction of the
4 tax delinquent property, including the appropriate school
5 districts, in proportion to and to the extent of their
6 respective tax bills and costs. Otherwise, the remaining
7 one-third of the proceeds shall be remitted to the state
8 Comptroller to be distributed to the statutorily designated
9 recipient or recipients of the delinquent tax for which the
10 property was seized.
11 "(h)(g) Except as otherwise provided in this
12 section, the authority shall have full discretion in
13 determining the sale price of the property. No purchaser from
14 the authority shall be responsible for the proper disposition
15 of the proceeds paid to the authority for the purchase of
16 property.
17 "24-9-8.
18 "(a) The authority may initiate a quiet title action
19 under this section to quiet title to real property held by the
20 authority or interests in tax delinquent property held by the
21 authority by recording undertaking the examination of title as
22 required in subsection (b) and thereafter filing the petition
23 as provided in subsection (c). Following the filing of the
24 petition, the authority shall record with the office of the
25 judge of probate in the county in which the property subject
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1 to quiet title action is located a notice of pending quiet
2 title action. The notice shall include the name of the
3 taxpayer whose interest was affected by the tax sale; the name
4 of any other party as revealed by a search and examination of
5 the title to the property who may claim an interest in the
6 property; a legal description of the property; the street
7 address of the property if available; the name, address, and
8 telephone number of the authority; a statement that the
9 property is subject to the quiet title proceedings under Act
10 2013-249; and a statement that any legal interests in the
11 property may be extinguished by a circuit court order vesting
12 title to the property in the authority; and the date, time,
13 and place of the hearing on the petition to quiet title.
14 Notwithstanding anything in this chapter to the contrary, no
15 quiet title action and nothing in this chapter shall affect
16 any right, title, or interest, whether recorded or unrecorded,
17 in the subject property which was held at the time of the tax
18 sale by any person or entity engaged in the generation,
19 transmission, or distribution of electric power, natural gas,
20 or telecommunications.
21 "(b) After the notice required under subsection (a)
22 has been recorded, the record title to the property shall be
23 examined and an opinion of title rendered by an attorney at
24 law, who is licensed to practice law in this state, or a
25 certificate of title shall be prepared by a title agent or
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1 title insurer duly licensed under the Alabama Title Insurance
2 Act as set out in Section 27-25-1, et seq., for the benefit of
3 the authority in order to identify all owners of an interest
4 in the property.
5 "(c) Once the authority has identified the owners of
6 interest in the property, the authority shall file a single
7 petition with the clerk of the circuit court for the judicial
8 district in which the property subject to foreclosure under
9 this section is located listing all property subject to
10 foreclosure by the authority and for which the authority seeks
11 to quiet title. No such action shall be subject to the payment
12 of filing fees. The list of properties shall include a legal
13 description of, a tax parcel identification number for, and
14 the street address of each parcel or property. The petition
15 shall seek a judgment in favor of the authority against each
16 property listed and shall include a date, within 90 days, on
17 which the authority requests a hearing on the petition. The
18 petition shall request that a judgment be entered vesting
19 absolute title in the authority, without right of redemption
20 for each parcel of property listed, as provided in this
21 section. At any time during the pendency of this action, the
22 authority may file a motion to release or dismiss a certain
23 parcel or parcels of land from the petition, which release
24 will not affect the remaining parcels of land subject to the
25 petition.
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1 "(d) The case shall be docketed in the circuit court
2 by the clerk, and shall be a preferred case therein. The
3 circuit court in which a petition is filed under subsection
4 (c) shall immediately set the date, time, and place for a
5 hearing on the petition for quiet title. In no event may the
6 clerk schedule the hearing later than 90 days after the filing
7 of a petition by the authority under subsection (c). The
8 court, on the request of a party or as needed to allow
9 completion of service of process on all interested persons,
10 and to allow those persons 30 days after service of process to
11 file an answer or other responsive pleadings to the petition,
12 may extend the 90-day period for good cause shown.
13 "(e) The authority shall serve all persons having
14 record title or interest in or lien upon the property with a
15 notice of the hearing on the petition to quiet title. Such
16 service shall be attempted by personal service and by
17 certified mail; provided if service is perfected by either
18 method, the service will be sufficient to provide service of
19 process upon all persons having record title or interest in or
20 lien upon the property. If the persons entitled to service are
21 located outside the county, they may be served by certified
22 mail.
23 "(f) The notice required under subsection (e) shall
24 include:
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1 "(1) The date on which the authority recorded, under
2 subsection (a), the notice of the pending quiet title and
3 foreclosure action.
4 "(2) A statement that a person with a property
5 interest in the property may lose such interest, if any, as a
6 result of the quiet title and foreclosure hearing.
7 "(3) A legal description, tax parcel identification
8 number of the property, and the street address of the
9 property.
10 "(4) The date and time of the hearing on the
11 petition for quiet title and a statement that the judgment of
12 the court may result in title to the property vesting in the
13 authority.
14 "(5) An explanation of any rights of redemption and
15 notice that the judgment of the court may extinguish any
16 ownership interest in or right to redeem the property.
17 "(6) The name, address, and telephone number of the
18 authority.
19 "(g) In the event the sheriff is unable to perfect
20 service or certified mail attempts are returned unclaimed, the
21 authority shall conduct a search for the person with an
22 interest in the property conveyed to the authority.
23 "(1) The search, at a minimum, shall include the
24 following:
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1 "a. An examination of the addresses given on the
2 face of the instrument vesting interest or the addresses given
3 to the clerk of the probate court by the transfer declaration
4 form.
5 "b. A search of the current telephone directory for
6 the municipality and the county in which the property is
7 located.
8 "c. A letter of inquiry to the person who sold the
9 property to the owner whose interest was sold in the tax sale
10 at the address shown in the transfer tax declaration or in the
11 telephone directory.
12 "d. A letter of inquiry to the attorney handling the
13 closing prior to the tax sale if such information is provided
14 on the deed forms.
15 "(2) A sign being no less than four feet by four
16 feet shall be erected on the property and maintained by the
17 authority for a minimum of 30 days reading as follows:
18 ""THIS PROPERTY HAS BEEN CONVEYED TO THE ________
19 LAND BANK AUTHORITY AND IS SUBJECT TO A QUIET TITLE ACTION.
20 PERSONS WITH INFORMATION REGARDING THE PRIOR OWNERSHIP OF OR
21 INTEREST IN THE PROPERTY ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT THE LAND
22 BANK AUTHORITY AT _________."
23 "(3) Any additional parties who are identified as
24 having an interest in the property shall be provided notice in
25 accordance with this section.
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1 "(h) If the interested party is an individual, the
2 authority shall examine voter registration lists, available
3 municipal archives for records of deaths, and the probate
4 court records of estates opened in the county in which the
5 property is located.
6 "(i) If the interested party is a business entity,
7 the authority shall search the records of the Secretary of
8 State for the name and address of a registered agent.
9 "(j) If an interested party appears at the hearing
10 and asserts a right to redeem the property, that party may
11 redeem in accordance with Chapter 10 and Chapter 29 of Title
12 40.
13 "(k)(1) If the authority has made the search as
14 required by this section and been unable to locate those
15 persons required to be served under subsection (e), and has
16 located additional addresses of those persons through the
17 search and attempted without success to serve those persons in
18 either manner provided by subsection (e), the authority shall
19 provide notice by publication. Prior to the hearing