Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tax Collections topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Tax collectors tell Senate committee Act 89-15 implementation stalled by lack of funding; office requests $1.24M to pursue final collections
Summary
The lieutenant governor's tax and collection offices told senators that a mandated action plan under Act 89-15 to pursue outstanding taxes cannot be fully implemented without new funding; tax collector Brent Laird requested about $1,240,000 to staff and run final-collection activities.
The Senate Committee on Budget was told Feb. 18 that a law requiring coordinated collection action on delinquent taxes remains largely unfunded and that the Office of the Lieutenant Governor needs additional money to carry out the plan.
“Without funding, the Office of the Lieutenant Governor is unable to fully implement the plan,” Tax Collector Brent Laird told the committee. Laird said his office had prepared the action plan required under Act 89-15 but that executing final-collection activities would cost about $1,240,000 for personnel and collection operations.
Laird and the acting tax assessor Shalma Moorhead gave senators specific figures for real property tax billing and collections: the Real Property Tax Division calculated $80,300,000 for FY 2024 across 80,883 parcels and, after exemptions, issued tax bills totaling about $58,200,000. Collections included $39,100,000 paid in full and $6,009,693 in partial payments, leaving an uncollected FY24 balance of about $18,300,000; the office reported total real-property tax delinquencies of roughly $125,000,000.
The tax collector also outlined current collection tools and activity: as of Feb. 7 the office had 1,078 active payment plans valued at $9,600,000 and had issued 470 tax-clearance certificates so far in FY25. Laird said he plans final collection activity events but noted past cancellations after delinquent taxpayers paid ahead of planned auctions.
Senators pressed whether shifting licensing procedures—from a front-end license hold to a back-end revocation under Act 82-58—has weakened collections. Joel Lee, director of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, told the committee the move to a back-end licensing process has “significantly impacted our ability to collect,” because previously taxpayers had to clear tax obligations before licenses issued. The committee discussed whether to revisit that policy.
Committee members asked for a budgeted, itemized personnel plan to support the $1.24 million request and said the Legislature will review options to fund final-collection activities. Tax officials said auctions and intensified final-collection events are planned for the coming months.
