Senator Keith Grover proposes the following substitute bill:


1     
NOTICE OF TAX SALE REQUIREMENTS

2     
2023 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Keith Grover

5     
House Sponsor: Tyler Clancy

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill modifies the notice requirements for a tax sale.
10     Highlighted Provisions:
11          This bill:
12          ▸     makes changes to how a county auditor in a county of the first class provides notice
13     of a tax sale;
14          ▸     allows a county auditor in a county of the first class to provide notice of a tax sale
15     by publishing notice on the county auditor's or county's website; and
16          ▸     makes technical and conforming changes.
17     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
18          None
19     Other Special Clauses:
20          This bill provides a special effective date.
21     Utah Code Sections Affected:
22     AMENDS:
23          59-2-1351, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapter 15
24     

25     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
26          Section 1. Section 59-2-1351 is amended to read:
27          59-2-1351. Sales by county -- Notice of tax sale -- Entries on record.
28          (1) (a) Upon receiving the tax sale listing from the county treasurer, the county auditor
29     shall select a date for the tax sale for all real property:
30          (i) on which a tax or tax notice charge delinquency exists;
31          (ii) that was not previously redeemed; and
32          (iii) upon which the period of redemption is expiring in the nearest tax sale.
33          (b) The county auditor shall conduct the tax sale in May or June of the current year.
34          (c) The tax sale may occur:
35          (i) at the front door of the county courthouse in the county where the real property is
36     located; or
37          (ii) through an electronic process if:
38          (A) the tax sale occurs in the same format as a tax sale would occur at the front door of
39     the county courthouse except that participation is through an electronic means;
40          (B) members of the public are able to observe and participate, including making bids
41     and payment arrangements, in the tax sale; and
42          (C) the county auditor includes information about how the public may access the tax
43     sale through the electronic process with the description of the place of the tax sale in the notice
44     provided in accordance with Subsections (2) and (3).
45          [(2) The county auditor shall provide notice of the tax sale as follows:]
46          [(a) send by certified and first class mail, or by first class mail and another shipping
47     service that includes tracking and delivery confirmation, to the last-known recorded owner, the
48     occupant of any improved property, and all other interests of record, as of the preceding March
49     15, at the last-known addresses; and]
50          [(b) publish:]
51          [(i) four times in a newspaper published and having general circulation in the county,
52     once in each of four successive weeks immediately preceding the date of sale; and]
53          [(ii) in accordance with Section 45-1-101 for four weeks immediately preceding the
54     date of sale; and]
55          [(c) if no newspaper is published in the county, post in five public places in the county,
56     as determined by the auditor, at least 25 but no more than 30 days before the date of sale.]
57          [(3)] (2) The county auditor shall provide notice of the tax sale by sending notice by
58     certified and first class mail, or by first class mail and another shipping service that includes
59     tracking and delivery confirmation, to the last known address of each of the following persons:
60          (a) the last known recorded owner;
61          (b) the occupant of any improved property; and
62          (c) other interests of record as of the preceding March 15.
63          (3) In addition to the mailing requirements described in Subsection (2):
64          (a) a county auditor in a county of the first class shall provide notice by:
65          (i) publishing notice on the county auditor's website, or if the county auditor does not
66     have a separate website from the county, on the county's website, at least four weeks before the
67     date of sale; and
68          (ii) advertising the date of the tax sale and the web address for the notice described in
69     Subsection (3)(a)(i) in a newspaper published and having general circulation in the county at
70     least four weeks before the date of the sale the following information; or
71          (b) a county auditor in a county of the second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth class shall
72     provide notice by:
73          (i) (A) publishing notice four times in a newspaper published and having general
74     circulation in the county, once in each of the four successive weeks immediately preceding the
75     date of sale; or
76          (B) if no newspaper is published in the county, posting in five public places in the
77     county, as determined by the county auditor, at least 25 but no more than 30 days before the
78     date of sale; and
79          (ii) publishing notice in accordance with Section 45-1-101 for four weeks immediately
80     preceding the date of sale.
81          (4) The notice shall be in substantially the following form:
82          
NOTICE OF TAX SALE

83          Notice is hereby given that on __________(month\day\year), at __ o'clock __. m., at
84     [the physical or electronic address of the tax sale], I will offer for sale at public auction and sell
85     to the highest bidder for cash, under the provisions of Section 59-2-1351.1, the following
86     described real property located in the county and now delinquent and subject to tax sale. A bid
87     for less than the total amount of taxes, tax notice charges, interest, penalty, and administrative
88     costs which are a charge upon the real estate will not be accepted.
89          
(Here describe the real estate)

90          IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and official seal on
91     __________(month\day\year).
92          
_______________

93          
County Auditor

94          
_______________

95          
County

96          [(4)] (5) (a) The notice sent in accordance with Subsection [(2)(a)] (2) shall include:
97          (i) the name and [last-known] last known address of the [last-known] last known
98     recorded owner of the property to be sold;
99          (ii) the parcel, serial, or account number of the delinquent property; and
100          (iii) the legal description of the delinquent property.
101          (b) The notice published [in a newspaper in accordance with Subsection (2)(b) shall
102     include:] in accordance with Subsection (3)(a) or (b) shall include:
103          (i) the name and [last-known] last known address of the [last-known] last known
104     recorded owner of each parcel of property to be sold; and
105          (ii) the street address or the parcel, serial, or account number of the delinquent parcels.
106          Section 2. Effective date.
107          If approved by two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, this bill takes effect
108     upon approval by the governor, or the day following the constitutional time limit of Utah
109     Constitution, Article VII, Section 8, without the governor's signature, or in the case of a veto,
110     the date of veto override.