On January 28, Legislative Director Kevin Kinnally testified before the Ways and Means Committee to support HB 59 – Property Tax – Tax Sales – Revisions with amendments. This bill proposes significant reforms to Maryland’s tax sale system to improve equity, efficiency, and homeowner protection.
MACo supports the bill’s overall goal but urges amendments to avoid a significant unfunded mandate and protect enterprise funds for water and sewer systems, which depend on timely revenue to maintain and deliver critical services.
The bill raises the arrears threshold for tax sales, introduces new recordkeeping requirements, and prohibits tax sales for unpaid water charges, which could undermine essential revenue streams. To balance homeowner protections with fiscal stability, MACo requests amendments limiting the bill’s scope to owner-occupied properties and preserving Baltimore City’s existing provisions.
The tax sale process, or more specifically, the potential for a property to go to tax sale, presents a muchneeded tool of last resort to ensure that property owners remit payment for their fair share of taxes and charges connected to public services. Broad tax compliance promotes fairness among dutiful taxpayers.
MACo strongly prefers that homeowners receive all counseling, education, information, support, and additional assistance when appropriate to help them pay on time and avoid going through tax sale. To that end, MACo has supported legislation establishing the Homeowner Protection Program and several bills to reform the tax sale process to ensure its fairness.
HB 59 was heard in the opposite chamber, the Budget and Taxation Committee, on March 27. As amended, MACo submitted written testimony in support of this bill.
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