Senate Bill No. 501

(By Senator Tomblin, Mr. President)

____________

[Introduced February 5, 2002; referred to the Committee

on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Fiance.]

____________
A BILL to amend and reenact sections thirty-four, thirty-six and sixty-six, article three, chapter eleven-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating to providing that deputy commissioners shall be residents of the state; and providing that the deputy commissioner fees shall be deposited in the land fund when such services are provided by employees.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections thirty-four, thirty-six and sixty-six, article three, chapter eleven-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. SALE OF TAX LIENS AND NONENTERED, ESCHEATED AND WASTE AND UNAPPROPRIATED LANDS.

§11A-3-34. Deputy commissioners of delinquent and nonentered lands; bond.

The auditor shall appoint for each county in the state a deputy commissioner of delinquent and nonentered lands. Persons serving in that capacity when this article takes effect shall continue to serve, subject to the provisions of this article. The auditor shall make new appointments from time to time thereafter whenever vacancies occur, or when in the auditor's judgment it is deemed advisable. The auditor may promulgate rules respecting the tenure of deputy commissioners. In the absence of such rules, the deputy commissioner for each county shall, so long as he or she satisfies the requirements of this section in respect to professional qualifications and bonding, continue to act without reappointment until the auditor designates his or her successor.
The auditor shall appoint deputy commissioners in such numbers and to serve such counties as the auditor deems advisable to effect the purposes of this article. Appointments, other than an employee of the auditor's office, shall be limited to persons duly licensed to practice law in this state. Any person appointed as deputy commissioner for a single county shall reside in said county. Any person appointed as deputy commissioner for more than one county shall reside in one of the counties for which he has been appointed shall be a resident of this state.
Whenever in respect to any land the deputy commissioner, in his or her own judgment or in the opinion of the auditor, is disqualified or otherwise unable to serve, because of his or her personal interest, or because of his or her representation of clients in matters affecting such land, or because of vacancies or failure to act, the auditor may appoint an employee of his or her office, to assume all of the disqualified deputy commissioner's rights, duties, responsibilities and liabilities relating to such land.
The deputy commissioner shall be subject to the orders and control of the auditor, shall be accountable to him or her, and shall serve as his or her local agent within the county. It shall be his or her duty to do whatever is required of him or her by the auditor or by the provisions of this article. The deputy commissioner before entering upon his or her duties shall give a bond, with satisfactory corporate surety, conditioned upon the faithful performance of his or her duties and the payment of any forfeitures incurred. The penalty of such bond shall be not less than twenty-five thousand dollars nor more than one hundred thousand dollars, as the auditor may direct. The premium therefor shall be paid by the auditor out of the operating fund for the land department in his office.
§11A-3-36. Operating fund for land department in auditor's office.
(a) The auditor shall establish a special operating fund for the land department in his or her office. He or she shall pay into such fund all redemption fees, all publication fees, or other charges or fees collected by him or her, if such charges were paid by or were payable to him, the unclaimed surplus proceeds received by him or her from the sale of delinquent and other lands pursuant to this article, and all payments made to him or her under the provisions of sections sixty-four and sixty-five of this article, except such part thereof as represents state taxes and interest. All payments so excepted shall be credited by the auditor to the general school fund or other proper state fund.
(b) The operating fund shall be used by the auditor in cases of deficits in land sales to pay any balances due to deputy commissioners for services rendered, and any unpaid costs including those for publication which have accrued or will accrue under the provisions of this article, to pay fees due surveyors under the provisions of section forty-three of this article, and to pay for the operation and maintenance of the land department in his or her office. The surplus over and above the amount of one hundred thousand dollars, remaining in the fund at the end of any fiscal year, shall be paid by the auditor into the general school fund.
§11A-3-66. Compensation of deputy commissioner.
As compensation for his or her services, the deputy commissioner, when not an employee of the auditor's office, shall be entitled to a fee of ten dollars for each item certified to him or her by the auditor pursuant to section forty-four of this article. In addition thereto he or she shall receive a commission of fifteen percent on each sale or redemption, whichever is greater. A commission received on a sale shall be based on the sale price and a commission received on a redemption shall be based on the total taxes and interest due. Such compensation shall be paid as provided in this article.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide that deputy commissioners shall be residents of the state and that the deputy commissioner fees shall be deposited in the land fund when such services are provided by employees.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.