House File 275

                                       HOUSE FILE       
                                       BY  JOCHUM


    Passed House,  Date               Passed Senate, Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to the payment of a special assessment without
  2    interest and the notice of the interest rate and special
  3    assessment installments.
  4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  5 TLSB 1976HH 80
  6 mg/pj/5

PAG LIN

  1  1    Section 1.  Section 384.60, subsection 2, Code 2003, is
  1  2 amended to read as follows:
  1  3    2.  On or before the second publication of the notice, the
  1  4 clerk shall send by mail to each property owner whose property
  1  5 is subject to assessment for the improvement, as shown by the
  1  6 records in the office of the county auditor, a copy of the
  1  7 notice.  The notice shall also include a statement in
  1  8 substance that assessments may be paid in full or in part
  1  9 without interest within thirty ninety days after the date of
  1 10 the first notice of the final assessment schedule, and
  1 11 thereafter all unpaid special assessments bear interest at the
  1 12 rate specified by the council, but not exceeding that
  1 13 permitted by chapter 74A, computed to the December 1 next
  1 14 following the due dates of the respective installments as
  1 15 provided in section 384.65, subsection 3, and each installment
  1 16 will be delinquent from October 1 following its due date,
  1 17 including those instances when the last day of September is a
  1 18 Saturday or Sunday, and will draw additionally the same
  1 19 delinquent interest as ordinary taxes.  The notice shall
  1 20 specify the interest rate that will apply if the assessment is
  1 21 not paid in full within the ninety=day period and the total
  1 22 amount of the installments plus interest that is owed after
  1 23 the ninety=day period.  The notice shall also state
  1 24 substantially that property owners may elect to pay any
  1 25 installment semiannually in advance.  If a property is shown
  1 26 by the records to be in the name of more than one owner at the
  1 27 same mailing address, a single notice may be mailed to all
  1 28 owners at that address.  Failure to receive a mailed notice is
  1 29 not a defense to the special assessment or interest due on the
  1 30 special assessment.
  1 31    Sec. 2.  IMPLEMENTATION OF ACT.  Section 25B.2, subsection
  1 32 3, shall not apply to this Act.
  1 33                           EXPLANATION
  1 34    This bill provides that a special assessment of a city or
  1 35 county may be paid wholly or in part without interest within
  2  1 90 days rather than the present 30 days.  The bill also
  2  2 requires that the notice to the owner of the property state
  2  3 the interest rate that will be charged after the 90=day period
  2  4 and the total amount of installments plus interest owed after
  2  5 such period.
  2  6    The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code
  2  7 section 25B.3.  The bill makes inapplicable Code section
  2  8 25B.2, subsection 3, which would relieve a political
  2  9 subdivision from complying with a state mandate if funding for
  2 10 the cost of the state mandate is not provided or specified.
  2 11 Therefore, political subdivisions are required to comply with
  2 12 any state mandate included in the bill.
  2 13 LSB 1976HH 80
  2 14 mg/pj/5