Florida Senate - 2009                                     SB 480
       
       
       
       By Senator Baker
       
       
       
       
       20-00361-09                                            2009480__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to the advertisement of tax
    3         certificate sales; amending s. 197.402, F.S.; reducing
    4         the number of times that a tax certificate sale must
    5         be advertised in a newspaper to one time at least 21
    6         days before the date of the sale; eliminating a pilot
    7         program relating to the advertisement of tax
    8         certificate sales in certain counties; amending s.
    9         197.403, F.S., relating to proof of publication, to
   10         conform; providing an effective date.
   11         
   12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   13         
   14         Section 1. Section 197.402, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   15  read:
   16         197.402 Advertisement of real or personal property with
   17  delinquent taxes.—
   18         (1) Whenever legal advertisements are required, the board
   19  of county commissioners shall select the newspaper as provided
   20  in chapter 50. The office of the tax collector shall pay all
   21  newspaper charges, and the proportionate cost of the
   22  advertisements shall be added to the delinquent taxes when they
   23  are collected.
   24         (2) Within 45 days after the personal property taxes become
   25  delinquent, the tax collector shall advertise a list of the
   26  names of delinquent personal property taxpayers and the amount
   27  of tax due by each. The advertisement shall include a notice
   28  that all personal property taxes are drawing interest at the
   29  rate of 18 percent per year and that, unless the delinquent
   30  taxes are paid, warrants will be issued thereon pursuant to s.
   31  197.413 and the tax collector will apply to the circuit court
   32  for an order directing levy upon and seizure of the personal
   33  property of the taxpayer for the unpaid taxes.
   34         (3) Except as provided in s. 197.432(4), on or before June
   35  1 or the 60th day after the date of delinquency, whichever is
   36  later, the tax collector shall advertise once at least 21 days
   37  before a tax certificate sale each week for 3 weeks and shall
   38  sell tax certificates on all real property with delinquent
   39  taxes. The tax collector shall make a list of such properties in
   40  the same order in which the lands were assessed, specifying the
   41  amount due on each parcel, including interest at the rate of 18
   42  percent per year from the date of delinquency to the date of
   43  sale; the cost of advertising; and the expense of sale.
   44         (4) All advertisements shall be in the form prescribed by
   45  the department.
   46         (5) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the
   47  counties of Lake, Marion, Seminole, and Sumter shall enter into
   48  a pilot program for the next two full property tax cycles.
   49  During this time the tax collector in each county shall, in lieu
   50  of the advertisement required in subsection (3), advertise once
   51  at least 21 days prior to a sale under that subsection. At the
   52  end of this 2-year pilot program, the tax collector in each of
   53  the counties named in this subsection shall submit a report to
   54  the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
   55  Representatives, on or before October 1, 2007, which compares
   56  the effectiveness of single publication versus the effectiveness
   57  of triple publication by listing the number and percentage of
   58  properties on which delinquent taxes were paid after the single
   59  publication in comparison to the number and percentage of
   60  properties on which delinquent taxes were paid after three
   61  publications.
   62         Section 2. Section 197.403, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   63  read:
   64         197.403 Publisher to furnish copy of advertisement to tax
   65  collector; proof of publication; fees.—The newspaper publishing
   66  the notice of a tax sale shall transmit by mail a copy of the
   67  paper containing the each notice to the tax collector within 10
   68  days after the last required publication. When the publication
   69  of the tax sale notice is completed as provided by law, the
   70  publisher shall make an affidavit, in the form prescribed by the
   71  department, which shall be delivered to the tax collector and
   72  annexed to the report of certificates sold for taxes as provided
   73  by s. 197.432(8).
   74         Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.