(The Center Square) – Several bills that could clamp down on how tax liens are carried out across Massachusetts are working their way through the Legislature.
On Thursday, the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Revenue held hearings on more than 50 House and Senate bills, a few addressing tax liens and home foreclosures when delinquent payments arise.
Several legislators, community activists, and legal experts spoke to House Bill 2937, an act relative to tax deeds and protecting equity for homeowners facing foreclosure, and House Bill 2907, an act relative to providing better notices and protections in the process for collecting delinquent property taxes.
The bills come on the heels of a pivotal U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Last month, the high court unanimously ruled in favor of a plaintiff in a Minnesota case involving 94-year-old widow Geraldine Tyler, who alleged Hennepin County seized her home, valued at $40,000, after she was unable to pay off $15,000 in property taxes, penalties, interest, and fees.
The ruling prompted a review in Massachusetts of the state’s laws and the refinements that will be necessary for compliance.
Patrick Moore, first assistant attorney general with the state, said elements of Massachusetts’ current statutes are unlawful because of the ruling.
“The process is urgently in need of modification,” Moore said of tax lien foreclosures. “The message from our office is, ‘Now is the time to fix the statute.’”
Rep. Tommy Vitolo, D-Brookline, is one of the presenters of HB 2937.
“The current process is both patently unfair and unconstitutional,” Vitolo said.
Rep. Tram Nguyen, D-Andover, said she presented HB 2907 in response to reports of people receiving inadequate notification when delinquent property taxes and other bills reach the collections stage.
“It has reached a critical point,” Nguyen said. “(HB 2907) allows them more opportunities to pay (delinquent bills) back.”
Attorney Todd Kaplan, with Greater Boston Legal Services, was among the residents providing testimony and calling for reforms.
Kaplan recently took on a case, representing homeowner Carmen Rodriguez in a lawsuit involving the City of Worcester and tax lien buyer Tallage Davis LLC. Worcester reportedly was owed around $4,000 in taxes. The deed to Rodriguez’s home, worth about $300,000, was acquired by Tallage Davis.
“It has to be reformed, and it’s in your laps to figure this out,” Kaplan said of current laws.
Frank Bailey, who retired last year as a federal bankruptcy judge in the District of Massachusetts, spoke in favor of reforms. He said he would be willing to lend his expertise.
“We know that there are other models that work,” Bailey said of collecting delinquent payments. “We are ready and willing to help. There are ways we can do that, and we can do it constitutionally.”
Grace Ross, a coordinator with the Mass Alliance Against Predatory Lending, said the highest court’s rulings could bring meaningful reforms that benefit all parties in the future.
“Hopefully, we are going to get a real solution,” Ross said.
