Committee holds bill that would change unsafe-building penalties, notice and property-tax lien rules

The House Judiciary Committee heard Senate Bill 197, a measure from Sen. Freeman that would change how the state's unsafe-building law is enforced, including the notice period before penalties, the opportunity for hearings, and whether code enforcement civil penalties should be placed on property tax bills. The committee held the bill for further work and did not vote.

Senator Freeman framed the bill around property owners who face short notice and a civil penalty placement on their property tax bill. He described a longtime business owner in Wanamaker who received a notice and then a nuisance penalty and said the current 10-day notice period before fines are assessed is insufficient: "10 days is not enough notice. Before we ever allow government to find…