Washington County's Legislative Package Considered
Last updated Tuesday, October 28, 2008 8:57 PM CDT in News
By Christopher Spencer
THE MORNING NEWS
FAYETTEVILLE -- Washington County leaders discussed their legislative wish list Tuesday, hoping to craft at least nine proposed bills into state laws during next year's General Assembly.
The county enjoyed modest success during the last legislative session in 2007 by getting three of a dozen bills passed, said Steve Zega, co-chairman of the county legislative committee. Before that session, committee members invited state legislators and presented their slate of bills and hoped they would be pushed in Little Rock.
This year, the committee is trying something more personal, he said.
During its next meeting Nov. 10, the committee will finalize its legislative package and assign the bills to committee members who will work individually to find state legislators that can champion the bills during the legislative session.
Zega said he hopes the new approach is more effective in getting the county's legislative wishes forged into law.
Two proposed bills received special attention Tuesday by the committee. They spent much of their time hammering out details on a proposed bill that would allow county collectors to hold property owners responsible for delinquent property taxes on a mobile or manufactured home on their land.
County collector David Ruff said the bill helps collectors statewide gather taxes on mobile and manufactured homes when ownership is unknown, as is sometimes the case.
Mobile and manufactured homes are considered real property, like land and permanent homes, but the cost of seizing and auctioning the mobile or manufactured home can often be higher than the actual cost of the structure, he explained.
Committee members and other justices of the peace Tuesday said they didn't like the idea that a land owner could be held financially responsible for another person's property on their land.
The committee decided instead to propose a bill that allows the collector to file suit to foreclose on the lien for delinquent property.
The committee will also propose a bill that mandates enrollment in Medicare among county government retirees who still maintain their county insurance. County administrator John Gibson said requiring those retirees to enroll in Medicare and list it as their primary insurance will not affect their coverage.
Retirees with county insurance will retain the same benefits and costs, but the county will have to deal with less claims administratively, he said.
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