Committee advances package of county-government bills; land-bank proposal fails

A legislative committee on county and municipal government on an unspecified date approved multiple bills affecting county operations, fees and reporting rules and rejected a proposal to allow municipal land banks.

The panel approved an increase in the mortgage certification fee from $5 to $10, a change supporters said updates a charge that has not been raised since the 1960s. The committee also approved a move to require electronic, near-real-time reporting to the State Fire Marshal and a measure preventing municipalities from adding securitization charges to franchise-fee calculations. Lawmakers also cleared bills to permit counties to levy a dedicated hotel-motel tax for tourism projects (subject to voter approval), modernize county fair statutes, allow certain county boards virtual meeting options, equalize county elected-official pay schedules (if a county chooses to adopt them) and push property-tax reporting deadlines later.

Why it matters: The package touches routine county operations (fees, reporting, administrative authority) but contains items with direct local impact: the mortgage fee affects people recording mortgages, the hotel-motel tax would require local voter approval and the securitization language protects ratepayers from an additional charge that had been applied by some municipalities. The land-bank bill, which would have authorized municipalities to create land banks to acquire, hold and transfer property, did not win committee approval.

Most significant votes and discussion

Mortgage certification fee (House Bill 13-92) - What the committee heard: The bill, described as a request from county treasurers, would raise the mortgage certification fee from $5 to $10 to support treasurer office expenses including computer systems and security. When asked whether the change would be mandatory or optional, the sponsor said the statute language is a "shall," meaning the statutory amount would be changed to $10 rather than leaving an option to counties. - Outcome: Approved by the committee (tally reported in the transcript as 6 ayes, 0 nays).

Fire reporting modernization (House Bill 10-52) - What the committee heard: The bill would require fire departments to use a new electronic reporting system that goes online this year so the State Fire Marshal can collect standardized incident data; the bill also asks for 48-hour reporting when there is a fire fatality or serious burn injury to allow the marshal to respond for investigations. - Outcome: Committee approved (tally reported as 6 ayes, 0 nays).

Franchise fee and securitization language (House Bill 12-20) - What the committee heard: The bill clarifies that franchise-fee calculations by municipalities should not include securitization charges that utilities used to recoup high fuel costs. The sponsor said the change prevents an extra charge from being passed to ratepayers. - Outcome: Committee approved (tally reported as 6 ayes, 0 nays).

Hotel-motel tax for tourism (House Bill 11-04, PCS adopted) - What the committee heard: The bill would allow a county to levy up to a 3% hotel-motel tax dedicated for tourism facilities (expo centers, fairgrounds), and the measure would require voter approval. The sponsor said the statutory language parallels existing law and noted that the local vote threshold for the measure is 60 percent. - Outcome: Committee gave the bill a do-pass recommendation.

Municipal land bank program (House Bill 11-14, as amended) - What the committee heard: The bill would authorize municipalities to adopt a municipal land bank program to acquire, hold and transfer real property. The sponsor emphasized the measure is permissive: "This is a may, not a shall," and said municipalities would not be required to adopt a land bank. Several questions addressed how property could be transferred to a land bank and whether tax-sale procedures would be superseded; the sponsor said existing law governs tax-sale processes and the land-bank provisions would operate within current statutory limits. - Outcome: Failed in committee (tally recorded as 2 yeas, 4 nays).

Other bills approved - County elected-official pay parity (House Bill 16-65): Would allow counties the option to match pay increases among the countye28088eight elected officials; sponsor said increases would be voluntary for counties and would take effect in the next election cycle. Committee approved (6 ayes, 0 nays). - County fairs updates (House Bill 15-47): Technical modernization (adding digital communications, removing obsolete references). Approved (6 ayes, 0 nays). - Virtual meetings and limited county commissioner coordination (House Bill 16-64, as amended): Allowed virtual meetings for certain advisory councils with mobility constraints and clarified training/meeting coordination for commissioners in budget-board counties. Approved (6 ayes, 0 nays). - Property tax reporting deadline adjustment (House Bill 27-38): Sponsor said business and accounting timelines make the current March 15 deadline difficult; the committee approved the measure (6 ayes, 0 nays). - County offices to provide printed forms and accept digital payments (House Bill 17-67): Requires county offices to print required forms for constituents free of charge; transactional card fees may be passed to the customer. Approved by the committee. - Interlocal agreement authority for counties (House Bill 2,165): Committee approved the bill allowing certain interlocal agreements to operate county government functions (vote recorded as 6 ayes, 0 nays).

What the committee did not advance - The municipal land-bank bill (HB 11-14) was the only high-profile substantive defeat in this session. Several other measures were presented without extensive floor debate and were recommended or passed by voice vote.

Votes at a glance - HB 13-92 (mortgage certification fee increase to $10): Committee outcome: approved; committee tally reported as 6 ayes, 0 nays. - HB (military time credit for sheriff qualification) (identifier not specified in transcript): Committee outcome: approved; tally reported as 6 ayes, 0 nays. - HB 10-50 (remove minimum parking requirements): Committee outcome: failed (transcript indicates the motion failed; tally reported as 2 yeas, others no). - HB 10-51 (zoning/housing options statute change): No formal committee vote recorded in the transcript (outcome: not specified in transcript). - HB 10-52 (fire reporting electronic system; 48-hour fatality/burn reporting): Committee outcome: approved (6 ayes, 0 nays). - HB 11-04 (hotel-motel tax PCS for tourism projects; voter approval required; 60% threshold): Committee outcome: do-pass. - HB 11-14 (municipal land bank; may/ permissive): Committee outcome: failed (2 yeas, 4 nays). - HB 12-20 (prevent franchise-fee application to securitization charges): Committee outcome: approved (6 ayes, 0 nays). - HB 15-47 (county fairs cleanup): Committee outcome: approved (6 ayes, 0 nays). - HB 16-64 (virtual meetings, commissioner coordination; amended): Committee outcome: approved (6 ayes, 0 nays). - HB 16-65 (county elected-official pay parity, voluntary): Committee outcome: approved (6 ayes, 0 nays). - HB 27-38 (property tax filing date adjustment): Committee outcome: approved (6 ayes, 0 nays). - HB 17-67 (county offices print forms and accept digital payments): Committee outcome: approved (vote recorded in transcript). - HB 2,165 (interlocal agreements authority): Committee outcome: approved (6 ayes, 0 nays).

Sources and provenance This article summarizes statements and votes recorded in the committee transcript. Topic introductions and final vote declarations for each bill are included in the article provenance section below.