Citations Affected:
IC 36-2-11-6
;
IC 36-9-23-33.
Synopsis: County recording issues. Requires a county recorder to
accept and record an instrument, even though the amount of money
submitted exceeds the amount of the filing fee, if the instrument meets
statutory requirements for filing. Requires the county recorder upon
request to refund an overpayment that exceeds three dollars. Allows a
municipal sewage works to file with the county recorder an individual
instrument for each property on which fees are delinquent instead of a
filing list of properties on which fees are delinquent.
Effective: July 1, 2002.
January 10, 2002, read first time and referred to Committee on Governmental and
Regulatory Affairs.
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning local
government.
SECTION 1.
IC 36-2-11-6
IS AMENDED TO READ AS
FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2002]: Sec. 6. (a) The recorder may
demand his the recorder's fees before entering and recording an
instrument.
(b) If:
(1) a person, in payment of a recording fee required under
IC 36-2-7-10
, submits an amount that exceeds the amount of
the fee set forth in IC 36-2-7-10; and
(2) the instrument submitted meets the statutory
requirements for filing;
the recorder shall accept and record the instrument. If the amount
submitted is at least three dollars ($3) more than the fee required
by
IC 36-2-7-10
, the excess shall be refunded upon the request of
the person filing the document.
SECTION 2.
IC 36-9-23-33
, AS AMENDED BY P.L.98-2000,
SECTION 29, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
JULY 1, 2002]: Sec. 33. (a) An officer described in subsection (b) may
defer enforcing the collection of unpaid fees and penalties assessed
under this chapter until the unpaid fees and penalties have been due
and unpaid for at least ninety (90) days.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (l), the officer charged with the
collection of fees and penalties assessed under this chapter shall
enforce their payment. As often as the officer determines is necessary
in a calendar year, the officer shall prepare:
(1) a list of the delinquent fees and penalties that are enforceable
under this section, which must include the:
(1) the (A) name or names of the owner or owners of each lot
or parcel of real property on which fees are delinquent;
(2) the (B) description of the premises, as shown by the
records of the county auditor; and
(3) the (C) amount of the delinquent fees, together with the
penalty; or
(2) an individual instrument for each lot or parcel of real
property on which the fees are delinquent.
(c) The officer shall record a copy of each list or each individual
instrument with the county recorder who shall charge a fee for
recording it in accordance with the fee schedule established in
IC 36-2-7-10.
The officer shall then mail to each property owner on the
list or on an individual instrument a notice stating that a lien against
the owner's property has been recorded. Except for a county having a
consolidated city, a service charge of five dollars ($5), which is in
addition to the recording fee charged under this subsection and under
subsection (f), shall be added to each delinquent fee that is recorded.
(d) This subsection applies only to a county containing a
consolidated city. Using the lists and instruments prepared under
subsection (b) and recorded under subsection (c), the officer shall
certify to the county auditor a list of the liens that remain unpaid
according to a schedule agreed upon by the county treasurer and the
officer for collection with the next cycle's property tax installment. The
county and its officers and employees are not liable for any material
error in the information on the list.
(e) Using the lists and instruments prepared under subsection (b)
and recorded under subsection (c), after September 1 of the preceding
calendar year and before September 1 of the current calendar year, the
officer shall before December 15 of each year certify to the county
auditor a list of the liens that remain unpaid for collection in the next
May. The county and its officers and employees are not liable for any
material error in the information on this list.
(f) The officer shall release any recorded lien when the delinquent
fees, penalties, service charges, and recording fees have been fully
paid. The county recorder shall charge a fee for releasing the lien in
accordance with
IC 36-2-7-10.
(g) On receipt of the list under subsection (d) or (e), the county
auditor of each county (excluding a county having a consolidated city)
shall add a fifteen dollar ($15) certification fee for each lot or parcel of
real property on which fees are delinquent, which fee is in addition to
all other fees and charges. The county auditor shall immediately enter
on the tax duplicate for the municipality the delinquent fees, penalties,
service charges, recording fees, and certification fees, which are due no
later than the due date of the next May installment of property taxes.
However, in a county having a consolidated city, the delinquent fees,
penalties, service charges, and recording fees are due not later than the
due date of the next installment of property taxes. The county treasurer
shall then include any unpaid charges for the delinquent fee, penalty,
service charge, recording fee, and certification fee to the owner or
owners of each lot or parcel of property, at the time the next cycle's
property tax installment is billed.
(h) After the date of certification in each year, the officer may not
collect or accept delinquent fees, penalties, service charges, recording
fees, or certification fees from property owners whose property has
been certified to the county auditor. This subsection does not apply to
a county containing a consolidated city.
(i) If a delinquent fee, penalty, service charge, recording fee, and
certification fee are not paid, they shall be collected by the county
treasurer in the same way that delinquent property taxes are collected.
(j) At the time of each semiannual tax settlement, the county
treasurer shall certify to the county auditor all fees, charges, and
penalties that have been collected. The county auditor shall deduct the
service charges and certification fees collected by the county treasurer
and pay over to the officer the remaining fees and penalties due the
municipality. The county treasurer shall retain the service charges and
certification fees that have been collected, and shall deposit them in the
county general fund.
(k) Fees, penalties, and service charges that were not recorded
before a recorded conveyance shall be removed from the tax roll for a
purchaser who, in the manner prescribed by section 32(d) of this
chapter, files a verified demand with the county auditor.
(l) A board may write off a fee or penalty under subsection (a) that
is for less than forty dollars ($40).