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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 128
AN ACT CONCERNING FORECLOSURE, ASSIGNMENT AND
OTHER ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS FOR UNPAID SEWER
ASSESSMENTS AND OTHER FEES AND CHARGES.
SUMMARY
This bill imposes restrictions on assigning or enforcing liens for
delinquent sewer benefit assessments (assessments) or sewer use and
connection charges (charges).
Under the bill, liens on owner-occupied property for municipal or
regional sewer or water pollution control authority (WPCA)
assessments or charges are not assignable or subject to certain
enforcement actions until the principal exceeds $4,000. Unlike liens
imposed by regional entities, for municipal WPCA liens, this threshold
is calculated separately for (1) use and connection charges and (2)
benefit assessments.
Current law provides no minimum amount below which a WPCA
lien cannot be assigned. But existing law generally prohibits assignees
from reassigning liens without a municipality’s consent (PA 21-143
established this requirement). Current law also authorizes several lien
enforcement options, which do not require waiting until the
delinquency exceeds a specific monetary threshold. However, existing
law prohibits assignees from bringing a foreclosure suit within one year
after acquiring the lien (PA 21-143 also established this requirement). By
law, WPCA liens (like property tax liens) become unenforceable if they
are not enforced within 15 years of becoming due (CGS § 12-175).
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2022, and applicable to actions filed on
or after that date.
ENFORCING WPCA LIENS
In addition to limiting lien assignments, the bill limits the 2022SB-00128-R000259-BA.DOCX
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enforcement actions available to collect on WPCA liens on owner-
occupied properties in the following ways:
1. municipal WPCA assessments cannot be enforced (e.g., through
foreclosure or non-judicial tax sale) until the combined principal
exceeds $4,000 (§ 1);
2. municipal WPCA charges cannot be foreclosed until the
combined principal exceeds $4,000 (§ 2); and
3. regional WPCA assessments and charges cannot be foreclosed or
subject to a civil recovery action until the combined principal
exceeds $4,000 (§ 3).
COMMITTEE ACTION
Planning and Development Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 18 Nay 8 (03/18/2022)