BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT REPORT	Page 1 of  1

DATE: February 26, 2001	Submitted by: TAXATION AND REVENUE DEPT.
	T. GLENN ELLINGTON, SECRETARY
BILL NUMBER: SB-798

SPONSOR: Senator Cisneros

BILL SHORT TITLE: Unknown Owner of Property

CONFLICTS, DUPLICATES, COMPANIONS: HB-794 (conflict)

DESCRIPTION: This measure would allow an individual to acquire a quitclaim deed to a property listed on valuation records as "owned by an 'unknown owner'". To acquire the quitclaim deed, the individual property must own property adjacent to the property whose owner is unknown. The person acquiring the quitclaim deed must also 1) have possessed the property exclusively for a twenty-five year period or more, 2) take a certified oath attesting to his possession of the property, 3) pay all delinquent property taxes due on the property, 4) record the certified oath with the county assessor, and 5) submit the property for valuation and taxation and pay taxes on the property, as well as applicable penalty and interest for a period of five years. Additionally, during the entire twenty-five year period, the property must have been subject to property taxation, but never valued for property tax purposes and property taxes must never have been imposed on it. The county assessor must determine that all requirements listed above have been met, certify this under oath and file the certification with the county clerk. The applicant must then submit a certified copy of the assessors certification to the board of county commissioners, and the board of commissioners is to issue a quitclaim deed for the property to the claimant. The claimant must then file the quitclaim deed with the county clerk. After one year from the date of filing, no person may challenge the claimants interest in or title to the property. 

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: Assessing the property retroactively for twenty-five years and determining taxes that would have been paid on it may prove difficult for county assessors and treasurers.

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. It therefore seems extremely unlikely that significant amounts of real property exist in New Mexico in which the owner is really unknown.  This appears to be tailored for a particular piece of property.

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