BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT REPORT	Page 1 of  1

DATE: February 20, 2001	Submitted by: TAXATION AND REVENUE DEPT.
	T. GLENN ELLINGTON, SECRETARY
BILL NUMBER: HB-794

SPONSOR: Representative Martinez

BILL SHORT TITLE: Unknown Owner of Property

CONFLICTS, DUPLICATES, COMPANIONS: 

DESCRIPTION: This bill would allow individuals that have been in possession of real property exclusively for a 25-year period to claim title to the property, assuming the owner of the property is not known. To claim title, the individual claiming it must pay all delinquent taxes owed and take a certified oath attesting to his possession of the property. If a lawful claim not subsequently made on the property within three years after the certified oath is recorded with the county assessor, title to the property may not be disputed by another individual.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2001

FISCAL IMPACT (Thousands of dollars): No significant impacts on state or local revenue sources would result from enactment of the proposed measure.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPACT: The proposed measure would impose no significant administrative impacts on the Department or local governments.
 
TECHNICAL ISSUES: none

OTHER IMPACTS AND ISSUES:
1.	The proposed measure's purpose is unclear. If taxes are not paid on real property, the Property Tax Division researches title to the property and offers it for sale within about three years after the property taxes are unpaid. Hence for an individual to claim title to the property as allowed by the proposed statute, the individual would probably have been paying taxes on it for a period of 25 years. It thus seem extremely unlikely that significant amounts of real property of any significant value exist in New Mexico in which the owner is really unknown.

2.	This seems more properly placed in Chapter 47, Property Law.