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House approves changes to municipal/service‑district water‑bill lien priorities and fees
Summary
The House substituted and amended House Bill 56 to protect new property buyers from inheriting prior water‑bill liens and to change priority and fee rules for lien certification by special improvement districts and service providers; the bill passed 42–31 after floor amendments adjusting lien priority and selected fee amounts.
Representative Mascaro moved to substitute House Bill 56 with a second substitute and described the measure as protecting property rights for new buyers by preventing prior water‑bill liens from automatically jumping to the head of the lien priority list. The sponsor said the substitute addressed concerns from service districts, mortgage/title industry representatives and municipalities.
Representative Dave Clark explained Amendment #1: it preserves political subdivisions’ ability to certify water‑service liens but places such certified service bills into ordinary priority order rather than elevating them to the top of tax‑priority lists. Representative Clark said the amendment retains certification but reduces its priority impact.
The House adopted an additional floor amendment adjusting statutory fee amounts (for example, changing one listed fee from $2.50 to $100 and another from $500 to $200) after members said some courts had allowed unreasonable collection fees in related contexts. Sponsors and supporters argued the fee changes would curb excessive court‑imposed charges while maintaining collection authority for service districts and municipalities.
After amendments and a period of question and answer, the House voted on second substitute House Bill 56. The clerk recorded 42 yes votes and 31 no votes; the bill passed and was forwarded to the Senate for further consideration.
