EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
Underlining indicates amendments to bill.
Strike out indicates matter stricken from the bill by amendment or deleted from the law by
amendment.
*hb0953*
HOUSE BILL 953
Q1 5lr2639
By: Delegates Kaiser, Feldmark, Pasteur, and Woorman
Introduced and read first time: January 31, 2025
Assigned to: Ways and Means
Committee Report: Favorable with amendments
House action: Adopted
Read second time: March 4, 2025
CHAPTER ______
AN ACT concerning 1
Tax Sales – Homeowner Protection Program – Funding and Alterations 2
FOR the purpose of requiring each collector of taxes that maintains a website to include on 3
the collector’s website certain information and a certain link relating to the 4
Homeowner Protection Program; altering the information the State Department of 5
Assessments and Taxation is required to obtain and include in a certain annual 6
report regarding tax sales; requiring the State Tax Sale Ombudsman to take certain 7
actions to maximize enrollment in the Homeowner Protection Program; prohibiting 8
the Department from charging interest on unpaid taxes owed to the Department by 9
homeowners enrolled in the Homeowner Protection Program; requiring the Governor 10
to include in the annual budget bill a certain appropriation for the Homeowner 11
Protection Fund; requiring county governments collectively to pay a certain amount 12
to the Homeowner Protection Fund each fiscal year; and generally relating to tax 13
sales and the Homeowner Protection Program. 14
BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 15
Article – Tax – Property 16
Section 4–201.1(a) and 14–884 17
Annotated Code of Maryland 18
(2019 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 19
BY adding to 20
Article – Tax – Property 21
Section 4–201.1(e) 22
Annotated Code of Maryland 23 2 HOUSE BILL 953
(2019 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 1
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 2
Article – Tax – Property 3
Section 14–879(c) and (d), 14–880(a), 14–886(c), 14–887(e), 14–889, and 14–891 4
Annotated Code of Maryland 5
(2019 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 6
BY repealing 7
Article – Tax – Property 8
Section 14–885(e) 9
Annotated Code of Maryland 10
(2019 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 11
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 12
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 13
Article – Tax – Property 14
4–201.1. 15
(a) In this section, “Program” means the Homeowner Protection Pro gram 16
established under Title 14, Subtitle 8, Part VII of this article. 17
(E) EACH COLLECTOR THAT M AINTAINS A WEBSITE S HALL INCLUDE ON THE 18
COLLECTOR’S WEBSITE IN A CONSP ICUOUS LOCATION : 19
(1) A CONCISE DESCRIPTIO N OF THE PROGRAM; AND 20
(2) A LINK TO THE APPLICATION FOR THE PROGRAM. 21
14–879. 22
(c) The Department shall obtain the following information concerning each 23
county’s tax sale process for the second immediately preceding taxable year: 24
(1) each type of charge that the county collects through its tax sale process, 25
including property taxes, water and sewer charges, environmental charges, and any other 26
local government charges; 27
(2) THE TOTAL NUMBER OF REAL PROPERTY TAX AC COUNTS IN THE 28
COUNTY DURING THE SE COND IMMEDIATELY PRE CEDING TAXABLE YEAR AND THE 29
TOTAL NUMBER OF REAL PROPERTY TAX ACCOUNT S THAT BECAME DELINQ UENT 30
DURING THE SECOND IM MEDIATELY PRECEDING TAXABLE YEAR ; 31
HOUSE BILL 953 3
(3) THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF INTEREST ON OVERDUE COUNTY REAL 1
PROPERTY TAXES COLLE CTED DURING THE SECO ND IMMEDIATELY PRECE DING 2
TAXABLE YEAR; 3
[(2)] (4) the length of time the tax on a property is required to be overdue 4
before the county begins the process to sell the property under Part III of this subtitle; 5
[(3)] (5) how frequently the county conducts a tax sale and the time of 6
year when the tax sale occurs; 7
[(4)] (6) whether the county conducts tax sales on behalf of municipal 8
corporations in the county and, if applicable, which municipal corporations; 9
[(5)] (7) the rate of interest the county charges on overdue property taxes 10
under § 14–603 of this title; 11
[(6)] (8) the rate of redemption interest a property owner is required to 12
pay to redeem a property after a tax sale under § 14–820 of this subtitle; 13
[(7)] (9) the minimum threshold amount of unpaid taxes on a residential 14
property that will cause the county to put the property in tax sale under § 14–811(b) of this 15
subtitle; 16
[(8)] (10) regarding bid balance money in excess of the amount required 17
for the payment of taxes, interest, penalties, and costs of the sale of a property: 18
(i) the total aggregate amount of all bid balance money held by the 19
county in a special fund pending distribution to property owners under § 14–819(a) of this 20
subtitle; 21
(ii) the total aggregate amount of bid balance money distributed to 22
property owners under § 14–819(a) of this subtitle; and 23
(iii) the total aggregate amount of bid balance money transferred to 24
the county under § 14–819(b) and (c) of this subtitle; 25
[(9)] (11) whether the county has established a County Tax Sale 26
Ombudsman under § 2–112(e) of this article; and 27
[(10)] (12) a copy of the separate insert required to be mailed to property 28
owners under § 14–812(b) of this subtitle. 29
(d) The Department shall obtain: 30
4 HOUSE BILL 953
(1) the number of counties and municipal corporations that have withheld 1
from sale under [§ 14–811(e)] § 14–811(H) of this subtitle a dwelling owned by a 2
homeowner who is low–income, at least 65 years old, or disabled; 3
(2) the eligibility criteria used by each county and municipal corporation to 4
withhold a dwelling from sale under [§ 14–811(e)] § 14–811(H) of this subtitle; and 5
(3) the number of dwellings withheld from sale by each county and 6
municipal corporation under [§ 14–811(e)] § 14–811(H) of this subtitle. 7
14–880. 8
(a) Each year, the Department shall issue a report that includes: 9
(1) an analysis and summary of the information collected through the 10
survey under § 14–879 of this subtitle; and 11
(2) the following information concerning the activities of the State Tax Sale 12
Ombudsman established under § 2–112 of this article in the preceding taxable year: 13
(i) the number of homeowners who contacted the Ombudsman; 14
(ii) the number of homeowners assisted by the Ombudsman to apply 15
for each of the tax credits under § 9–104 or § 9–105 of this article; 16
(iii) the number of homeowners assisted by the Ombudsman to apply 17
for other discount programs or public benefits and a brief summary of those programs and 18
benefits; 19
(iv) the number of homeowners referred by the Ombudsman to legal 20
services, housing counseling, and other social services, and a brief summary of those 21
services; 22
(v) the number of homeowners enrolled in the Homeowner 23
Protection Program under Part VII of this subtitle; 24
(vi) a summary of the implementation of the Homeowner Protection 25
Program under Part VII of this subtitle, including outreach to homeowners under § 26
14–886(d) of this subtitle; 27
(VII) THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PERSONS MAKING A VOL UNTARY 28
DONATION TO THE HOMEOWNER PROTECTION PROGRAM UNDER PART VII OF THIS 29
SUBTITLE THROUGH THE WEBSITE UNDER § 4–201.1 OF THIS ARTICLE; 30
HOUSE BILL 953 5
(VIII) THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF VOLUNTARY DONATIONS MADE TO 1
THE HOMEOWNER PROTECTION PROGRAM UNDER PART VII OF THIS SUBTITLE 2
THROUGH THE WEBSITE UNDER § 4–201.1 OF THIS ARTICLE; 3
(IX) THE BALANCE OF FU NDS IN THE HOMEOWNER PROTECTION 4
FUND ESTABLISHED UNDE R § 14–891 OF THIS SUBTITLE AS OF THE DATE OF THE 5
REPORT, AND A DETAILED ACCOU NTING OF REVENUES RE CEIVED BY THE 6
HOMEOWNER PROTECTION FUND AND EXPENDITURES MADE FROM THE 7
HOMEOWNER PROTECTION FUND IN THE PRECEDING TAXABLE YEA R; 8
[(vii)] (IX) (X) any statutory or administrative changes the 9
Ombudsman recommends to improve the administration of the Homeowner Protection 10
Program under Part VII of this subtitle; and 11
[(viii)] (X) (XI) any other relevant information. 12
14–884. 13
(a) There is a Homeowner Protection Program administered by the Ombudsman 14
in the Department. 15
(b) The purpose of the Program is to divert vulnerable homeowners from the 16
private tax lien sale process under Part III of this subtitle into an alternative program with 17
the primary purpose of: 18
(1) minimizing tax collection costs to homeowners; 19
(2) assisting homeowners to pay their taxes; and 20
(3) allowing homeowners to remain in their homes. 21
14–885. 22
[(e) County or municipal governments may not be required to pay any costs of the 23
Program.] 24
14–886. 25
(c) The Ombudsman shall PRIORITIZE MAXIMIZIN G ENROLLMENT IN THE 26
PROGRAM BY : 27
(1) prominently [advertise] ADVERTISING the Program and [make] 28
MAKING applications available on the Ombudsman’s website; [and] 29
6 HOUSE BILL 953
(2) [collaborate] COLLABORATING with local governments, community 1
organizations, and public and private providers of social services and benefits to raise 2
awareness of the Program and disseminate applications; 3
(3) STRONGLY ENCOURAGING ALL HOME OWNERS WHO MEET THE 4
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREM ENTS TO ENROLL IN TH E PROGRAM; AND 5
(4) SCREENING EACH HOMEO WNER WHO CONTACTS TH E 6
OMBUDSMAN FOR ELIGIBI LITY FOR THE PROGRAM AND , IF THE HOMEOWNER 7
APPEARS TO BE ELIGIB LE, STRONGLY ENCOURAGING THE HOMEOWNER TO 8
COMPLETE AN APPLICAT ION FOR THE PROGRAM. 9
14–887. 10
(e) If a homeowner’s enrollment in the Program is canceled under [§ 14–886(d)] 11
§ 14–886(E) of this subtitle, the Department shall retain a lien on the homeowner’s 12
dwelling for the taxes owed to the Department but may not initiate any collection efforts or 13
otherwise act to enforce the lien until ownership of the dwelling is transferred. 14
14–889. 15
(a) [(1) The Department may charge interest on unpaid taxes owed to the 16
Department at a rate not exceeding 6%. 17
(2) The Ombudsman may set a lower interest rate or waive interest 18
entirely at the Ombudsman’s discretion.] THE DEPARTMENT MAY NOT CH ARGE 19
INTEREST ON UNPAID T AXES OWED TO THE DEPARTMENT . 20
(b) [Other than the interest specified in subsection (a) of this section, the] THE 21
Department may not impose any fees or costs on a homeowner in addition to the taxes 22
owed. 23
14–891. 24
(a) In this section, “Fund” means the Homeowner Protection Fund. 25
(b) There is a Homeowner Protection Fund. 26
(c) The purpose of the Fund is to finance the Program. 27
(d) The Department shall administer the Fund. 28
(e) (1) The Fund is a special, nonlapsing fund that is not subject to § 7–302 of 29
the State Finance and Procurement Article. 30
HOUSE BILL 953 7
(2) The State Treasurer shall hold the Fund separately, and the 1
Comptroller shall account for the Fund. 2
(f) The Fund consists of: 3
(1) tax and interest payments made to the Department by homeowners 4
enrolled in the Program; 5
(2) voluntary donations to the Fund under § 4–201.1 of this article; 6
(3) money appropriated in the State budget to the Fund; 7
(4) MONEY PAID BY COUNTY GOVERNMENTS UNDER SU BSECTION (H) 8
OF THIS SECTION; 9
[(4)] (5) interest earnings; and 10
[(5)] (6) any other money from any other source accepted for the benefit 11
of the Fund. 12
(g) For each [of] fiscal [years 2023, 2024, and 2025] YEAR, the Governor shall 13
include in the annual budget bill an appropriation of [$750,000] $500,000 $250,000 OF 14
THE INTEREST ON OVER DUE STATE PROPERTY TAX to the Fund. 15
(H) (1) FOR EACH F ISCAL YEAR , COUNTY GOVERNMENTS S HALL 16
COLLECTIVELY PAY $1,000,000 $500,000 TO THE FUND. 17
(2) THE AMOUNT REQUIRED T O BE PAID UNDER PARA GRAPH (1) OF 18
THIS SUBSECTION SHAL L BE ALLOCATED AMONG THE COUNTIES BASED O N THE 19
NUMBER OF REAL PROPE RTY ACCOUNTS IN EACH COUNTY AS A PERCENTA GE OF THE 20
TOTAL NUMBER OF REAL PROPERTY ACCOUNTS ST ATEWIDE AS OF JULY 1 OF THE 21
PRECEDING FISCAL YEA R. 22
(3) THE AMOUNT PAID BY EA CH COUNTY UNDER THIS SUBSECTION 23
SHALL BE DERIVED FRO M INTEREST ON OVERDU E COUNTY PROPERTY TA X. 24
(4) EACH COUNTY SHALL REMIT T O THE DEPARTMENT THE COUNTY ’S 25
SHARE OF THE AMOUNT REQUIRED UNDER PARAG RAPH (1) OF THIS SUBSECTION O N 26
OR BEFORE THE FIRST DAY OF EACH FISCAL Y EAR. 27
[(h)] (I) (1) The Fund may be used only for any expenses associated with the 28
Program. 29
(2) The Fund may not be used for any expenses of the office of the State 30
Tax Sale Ombudsman that are not directly related to the Program. 31 8 HOUSE BILL 953
[(i)] (J) (1) The State Treasurer shall invest the money of the Fund in the 1
same manner as other State money may be invested. 2
(2) Any interest earnings of the Fund shall be credited to the Fund. 3
[(j)] (K) Expenditures from the Fund may be made only in accordance with the 4
State budget. 5
[(k)] (L) The Fund is the exclusive source of funding for the Program. 6
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 7
1, 2025. 8
Approved:
________________________________________________________________________________
Governor.
________________________________________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Delegates.
________________________________________________________________________________
President of the Senate.