MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1997 Regular Session

To: Ways and Means

By: Representative Robinson (63rd)

House Bill 1641

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 27-41-59, 27-41-79, 27-41-81, 27-43-1, 27-45-1, 27-45-3, 27-45-13, 27-45-17, 27-45-19, 27-45-21, 21-33-69, 25-7-21, 29-1-21, 29-1-123, 51-29-81, 51-31-131 AND 69-27-217, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT LANDS OFFERED FOR SALE BY THE COUNTY FOR DELINQUENT TAXES SHALL BE STRUCK OFF TO THE COUNTY IF NOT SOLD TO AN INDIVIDUAL; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 27-41-59, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-41-59. (1) Except as otherwise provided in Section 27-41-2, on the first Monday of April, if the tax collector has exercised his option to hold a tax sale on that day, and on the last Monday of August, as the case may be, if the taxes remain unpaid, the tax collector shall proceed to sell, for the payment of taxes then remaining due and unpaid, together with all fees, penalties and damages provided by law, the land or so much and such parts of the land of each delinquent taxpayer to the highest and best bidder for cash as will pay the amount of taxes due by him and all costs and charges. He shall first offer one hundred sixty (160) acres or a smaller separately described subdivision, if the land is less than one hundred sixty (160) acres. If the first parcel so offered does not produce the amount due, then he shall offer as an entirety all the land constituting one (1) tract. Each separate assessment as it appears and is described on the assessment roll shall constitute one (1) tract for the purpose of sale for taxes, notwithstanding the fact that the person who is the owner thereof, or to whom it is assessed, is the owner of or is assessed with other lands, the whole of which constitutes one (1) entire tract but appears on the assessment roll in separate subdivisions. Upon offering the land of any delinquent taxpayer constituting one (1) tract, if no person will bid for it, the whole amount of taxes and all costs incident to the sale, the tax collector shall strike it off to the county. The sale shall be continued from day to day within the hours from 8:30 o'clock in the forenoon and 4:30 o'clock in the afternoon until completed; but neither a failure to advertise, nor error in the advertisement, nor error in conducting the sale, shall invalidate a sale at the proper time and place for taxes of any land on which the taxes were due and not paid, but a sale made at the wrong time or at the wrong place shall be void. Any person sustaining damages by reason of any failure or error by the tax collector may recover damages therefor on his official bond.

(2) If the property is not redeemed within the redemption period set forth in Section 27-45-3, the county shall institute proceedings to confirm title to the property which has vested in and matured in the county as provided by law. After title is confirmed to property which has vested in and matured in the county, the property may be offered for sale; and, if so offered for sale it shall be offered at public auction at the door of the courthouse in which county the property is located on the first Monday of November following. Sale shall be made to the highest and best bidder for cash; however, no bid shall be accepted which is less than eighty percent (80%) of the value of the land as certified by the tax assessor. The tax collector shall conduct the sales and shall receive a fee of Five Dollars ($5.00) for each separately assessed parcel of land sold by the county. He shall advertise the sale by publication of notice in at least one (1) newspaper having a general circulation in the county in which the land is located for at least one (1) time each week for three (3) consecutive weeks preceding the date of the sale and, in addition thereto, post notice in three (3) public places in the county, one (1) of which shall be the courthouse. If there are no acceptable bids submitted at such sale, the land may be disposed of by the tax collector as he deems appropriate with the approval of the board of supervisors. Under no condition shall any land be sold under this subsection for less than the sum obtained by adding two (2) years' delinquent taxes plus penalties and fees. All land sold at public auction at the county courthouse shall be paid for in full by cashier's check payable to the order of the respective county prior to receiving any right, title or interest to the property.

(3) When any county shall strike off property for delinquent taxes, such county is hereby authorized to issue notes, bonds or certificates of indebtedness in the amount of the tax due, for a period of time not to exceed two (2) years after the period provided for the redemption of such land; and, in addition to pledging the full faith, credit and resources of the county therefor, such county may pledge the taxes and damages which may be received by the redemption or the subsequent sale of the property. When the notes, bonds or certificates of indebtedness are issued, funds collected on the delinquent taxes and damages which may be received by the redemption or the subsequent sale of the property, in the event the title ripens in the county, in an amount necessary to pay the annual principal of and interest on the evidences of indebtedness shall be set aside as a special fund for the retirement of the notes, bonds or certificates of indebtedness. The remainder of such funds shall be deposited into the county general fund. The rate of interest of the notes, bonds or certificates of indebtedness shall not exceed the overall maximum interest rate to maturity allowed in Section 75-17-105.

SECTION 2. Section 27-41-79, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-41-79. The tax collector shall on or before the second Monday of May and on or before the second Monday of October of each year, transmit to the clerk of the chancery court of the county separate certified lists of the lands struck off by him to the county and that sold to individuals, specifying to whom assessed, the date of sale, the amount of taxes for which sale was made, and each item of cost incident thereto and, where sold to individuals, the name of the purchaser, such sale to be separately recorded by the clerk in a book kept by him for that purpose. All such lists shall vest in the county or in the individual purchaser thereof a perfect title to the land sold for taxes but without the right of possession for the period of and subject to the right of redemption; but a failure to transmit or record a list or a defective list shall not affect or render the title void. If the tax collector or clerk shall fail to perform the duties herein prescribed, he shall be liable to the party injured by such default in the penal sum of Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00), and also on his official bond for the actual damage sustained. The lists hereinabove provided shall, when filed with the clerk, be notice to all persons in the same manner as are deeds when filed for record. The lists of lands hereinabove referred to shall be filed by the tax collector in May for sales made in April and in October for sales made in September, respectively.

SECTION 3. Section 27-41-81, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-41-81. The tax collector shall on or before the first Monday of June transmit to the clerk of the chancery court of the county separate certified lists of the lands struck off by him to the county and that sold to individuals, specifying to whom assessed, the day of the sale, the amount of taxes for which the sale was made and each item of cost incidental thereto and, where sold to individuals, the name of the purchaser, to be separately recorded by the clerk in books kept by him for that purpose. The said lists shall vest in the county or the individual purchaser thereof a perfect title to the land sold for taxes, but without the right of possession and subject to the right of redemption; but a failure to transmit or record a list, or a defective list, shall not affect or render the title void. If the tax collector or clerk shall fail to perform the duties herein prescribed, he shall be liable to the party injured by such default in the penal sum of Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00), and also on his bond for the actual damages sustained.

The list hereinabove provided shall, when filed with the clerk, be notice to all persons in the same manner as are deeds when filed for record.

SECTION 4. Section 27-43-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-43-1. The clerk of the chancery court shall, within one hundred eighty (180) days and not less than sixty (60) days prior to the expiration of the time of redemption with respect to land sold, either to individuals or to the county, be required to issue notice to the record owner of the land sold as of one hundred eighty (180) days prior to the expiration of the time of redemption, in effect following, to wit:

"State of Mississippi, To __________________________,

County of __________________

You will take notice that ________ (here describe lands) lands assessed to you or supposed to be owned by you, was, on the _____ day of _____ sold to _____ for the taxes of _____ year _____, and that the title to said land will become absolute in _____ unless redemption from said tax sale be made on or before _____ day of _____.

This _____ day of _____ 19____

_________________________ Clerk."

SECTION 5. Section 27-45-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-45-1. Redemption of land sold for taxes shall be made through the chancery clerks of the respective counties. Where the land was sold to the county, the clerk, out of the amount necessary to redeem, shall first pay to the officers entitled thereto the costs, fees, and damages which are allowed said officers by law in cases of lands sold to individuals; second, he shall pay the state the amount of state taxes with the interest and additional charges thereon allowed by law to the state; and, third, he shall pay to the county the sums computed in like manner which belong to the county and the various taxing districts thereof. Where the land was sold to an individual, the clerk, out of the amount necessary to redeem, shall pay over first to the state and county as provided in the preceding sentence insofar as said items have not already been paid, either by the tax purchaser or by some other person, and the balance he shall pay over to the purchaser. The clerk shall make his redemption settlements within twenty (20) days after the end of each month and shall make a complete report thereof to the board of supervisors, a true copy of which he shall file with the State Auditor. For a failure so to report or to pay over the sums to the parties entitled thereto as herein required, he shall be liable on his official bond to a penalty of one percent (1%) per month on the amount withheld. The chancery clerk shall also note each redemption on the public record of delinquent tax lands, on the day payment of taxes is made, with the date, name and the amount of redemption money paid.

SECTION 6. Section 27-45-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-45-3. The owner, or any persons for him with his consent, or any person interested in the land sold for taxes, may redeem the same, or any part of it, where it is separable by legal subdivisions of not less than forty (40) acres, or any undivided interest in it, at any time within two (2) years after the day of sale, by paying to the chancery clerk, regardless of the amount of the purchaser's bid at the tax sale, the amount of all taxes for which the land was sold, with all costs incident to the sale, and five percent (5%) damages on the amount of taxes for which the land was sold, and interest on all such taxes and costs at the rate of one and one-half percent (1-1/2%) per month, or any fractional part thereof, from the date of such sale, and all costs that have accrued on the land since the sale, with interest thereon from the date such costs shall have accrued, at the rate of one and one-half percent (1-1/2%) per month, or any fractional part thereof; saving only to infants who have or may hereafter inherit or acquire land by will and persons of unsound mind whose land may be sold for taxes, the right to redeem the same within two (2) years after attaining full age or being restored to sanity, from the county or any purchaser thereof, on the terms herein prescribed, and on their paying the value of any permanent improvements on the land made after the expiration of two (2) years from the date of the sale of the lands for taxes. Upon such payment to the chancery clerk as hereinabove provided, he shall execute to the person redeeming the land a release of all claim or title of the county or purchaser to such land, which said release shall be attested by the seal of the chancery clerk and shall be entitled to be recorded without acknowledgment, as deeds are recorded. Said release when so executed and attested shall operate as a quitclaim on the part of the state or purchaser of any right or title under said tax sale.

SECTION 7. Section 27-45-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-45-13. When anyone, designing and endeavoring to pay the taxes due on his own land, shall by mistake pay the taxes due on other land than his own, in consequence whereof his own land shall have been sold for taxes, such person may, within the two (2) years allowed for redemption, make affidavit of the facts, and if the taxes for which his land was sold, and the costs of such sale exceed the amount he had so paid, he shall pay the tax collector of the county the difference, and also all taxes subsequently accrued on such land and not before paid, and shall protect the state and county against any loss by reason of the mistake. He shall obtain the receipt in duplicate of such collector for what he shall pay him, which receipt it shall be the duty of the collector to give him, specifying particularly on what account such payment was made. Said receipts need not be from the book of receipts required to be kept. He shall deposit one (1) of said receipts with the chancery clerk, together with said affidavit setting forth the facts of such mistake; and thereupon it shall be the duty of the chancery clerk to release to such person the title of the county or individual purchaser to such land, and, where the land was sold to the county, to notify the auditor to make proper entry on the assessment roll in his office. The auditor and the chancery clerk shall charge the tax collector with the amount due on the transaction to the state and county, respectively, and the collector shall also make proper entry on the assessment roll in his office.

SECTION 8. Section 27-45-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-45-17. If the owner, or any person interested in any land sold for taxes, shall at any time within two (2) years after the sale for taxes produce a receipt of the tax collector showing payment of the taxes, for which the land was sold, before the sale, and shall pay to the chancery clerk all subsequently accrued taxes, the said clerk shall release to the owner or person interested the title of the county or individual purchaser to such land. The land so released shall thereafter be dealt with as lands redeemed are required to be, and the tax collector, whose receipt was so produced, shall be charged with the taxes collected by him as in the case of other taxes.

SECTION 9. Section 27-45-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-45-19. The tax collector shall keep a record of lands struck off to the county for taxes for his convenience in collecting taxes and making settlements with the state and county. The chancery clerk, when he releases such lands upon redemption, shall immediately notify the auditor and tax collector, giving name of person redeeming, date of redemption, and description of the land, and the auditor and collector, when they receive such notice, shall at once make entry thereof upon their records.

SECTION 10. Section 27-45-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-45-21. It shall be the duty of the chancery clerk, within thirty (30) days after the period of redemption has expired, to certify to the Secretary of State a list, on forms provided by the Secretary of State, of all lands struck off to the county for taxes, which have not been redeemed. Such list shall show a description of the land, all costs, officer's and printer's fees, the tax for which it sold, segregated as to state, county, levee and drainage districts, and of all taxes due on such lands for the year in which it was struck off to the county, segregated as to state, county, levee and drainage districts, a total of two (2) years' taxes listed separately (the taxes for which it sold and accrued taxes for one (1) year). If any chancery clerk shall fail or neglect to transmit such lists within the time specified, he shall be liable to the state on his official bond in the penalty of Fifty Dollars ($50.00) for each day that he is in default, said penalty to be collected by the State Tax Commission, or by the Attorney General, in a suit instituted for that purpose upon request of the Secretary of State; provided that the Secretary of State, if so requested by any chancery clerk before the expiration of ten (10) days and for good cause shown, may grant a reasonable extension of the time within which such clerk shall transmit his list.

SECTION 11. Section 21-33-69, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

21-33-69. Except as otherwise provided in Section 27-41-2, where lands are offered for sale for unpaid municipal taxes or special improvement taxes or municipal separate school district taxes, and a person will not bid therefor the amount of taxes, damages, and costs due, the same shall be struck off to the municipality and otherwise, where applicable, dealt with as lands are which are sold to the county for delinquent state and county taxes. The governing authorities shall be authorized to pay the state and county taxes on lands thus acquired by the municipality, and to collect the money thus paid, with the same damages and interest allowed individuals in similar cases under the general revenue laws of the state thereon from the date of such payment, upon the redemption of the lands from the municipal sale.

Where lands have heretofore been, or may hereafter be struck off to a municipality for unpaid municipal taxes or special improvement taxes or municipal separate school districts taxes, and such lands have also been sold or struck off to an individual or to the county for unpaid state, county, or taxing district taxes, the governing authorities of such municipality are hereby authorized to redeem such lands from the sale for delinquent state, county, or taxing district taxes by paying to the chancery clerk of the county where such lands are situated the amount necessary to redeem same and to collect the money thus paid, together with interest thereon at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum from the date of such payment, upon the redemption of such lands from the municipal sale. Such lands may be redeemed from the municipal sale for unpaid municipal taxes or special improvement taxes by the owner or other person interested in such lands, including the person to whom such lands were struck off or sold at the sale for state, county, or taxing district taxes.

When lands have heretofore or may hereafter be struck off to a municipality for unpaid municipal taxes or special improvement taxes or municipal separate school district taxes, and the title to such lands has matured or may hereafter mature in the county by virtue of a sale for unpaid state, county, or taxing district taxes, the governing authorities of such municipality may purchase said lands from the county at a price to be agreed upon by the county board of supervisors. * * *

SECTION 12. Section 25-7-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

25-7-21. (1) From and after October 1, 1985, there will be no fees for the services of the tax collector, with the exception of taxes collected for taxing authorities other than the board of supervisors. For collecting taxes for authorities other than the board of supervisors, the fee shall be five percent (5%) of the taxes collected or an amount authorized by contract between the county and the outside taxing authority. A tax collector shall keep a complete account of every such fee collected and shall file an itemized statement thereof monthly, under oath, with the clerk of the board of supervisors of the county who shall preserve same as a part of the records of the office. The tax collector shall make a remittance to the clerk of the board of supervisors of the county on or before the twentieth of each month for deposit into the general fund of the county of all said fees collected during the preceding month.

(2) For the purpose of the limitations set forth in Section 27-39-321, commissions for levies set by the board of supervisors shall be added to base collections of the general county fund for the 1984-1985 year only.

(3) Fees of publisher for publication - To the publishers, payable by the delinquent taxpayer, and to be collected and paid over by the tax collectors * * *:

For each separate publication advertising lands

for sale for taxes, for each separately described

subdivision, as described and set out in the

assessment rolls for the county $1.50

(4) Fees of chancery clerk for collection of delinquent taxes:

(a) For abstracting the list of lands sold for

taxes, for each separately described section

or subdivision $1.00

(b) For filing and recording deed to land sold

for taxes $6.00

(c) For abstracting each deed in the sectional

index, per section or subdivision $1.00

(d) For recording redemption of each $6.00

(e) For abstracting each redemption in the

sectional index, per section or subdivision $1.00

(f) And, in addition, one percent (1%) on the amount necessary to redeem.

The several officers' fees shall be collected by the tax collector or chancery clerk and paid over to those entitled to same.

SECTION 13. Section 29-1-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

29-1-21. The Secretary of State, on receiving from the chancery clerk the list of unredeemed lands sold to the state for taxes, shall enter the same in the register of tax lands by counties and in the regular order of townships, ranges and sections; and if the description of any of the lands be indefinite or defective and need to be made good by reference to the assessment roll under which it was sold, the Secretary of State may add to the description such alternative description as will clearly designate the land, prefacing the same with words "being as appears by the assessment roll of said county, for the year ___." The Secretary of State, with the approval of the Governor, may sell the tax lands in the manner provided in this chapter, at such prices and under such terms and conditions as the Secretary of State with the approval of the Governor may fix, subject to the limitations imposed in this chapter * * *.

Beginning January 1, 1997, delinquent tax lands not sold to individuals shall be struck off to the county instead of the state in accordance with Section 27-41-59.

SECTION 14. Section 29-1-123, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

29-1-123. Immediately after March 26, 1936, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to prepare or cause to be prepared accurate and complete lists of all lands in each county which have been forfeited to the state for the nonpayment of taxes, the title to which has matured in the state. Such lists shall be prepared for each county separately and embrace and include all lands heretofore sold to the state for delinquent taxes in such county and now held or claimed by the state; and such lists shall be made up in the regular order of townships, ranges, and sections as now appearing on the records of his office. Such lists shall show the date of the tax sale to the state, the amount of taxes, damages, costs, and special assessments of every kind whatsoever for which such lands were sold. No lands heretofore stricken by the Secretary of State, with the approval of the Attorney General, from the lists of lands sold to the state for delinquent taxes in his office under the provisions of Section 29-1-31 shall be included in the lists of lands to be compiled under the provisions of this section.

Such lists, when completed, shall be examined by the Attorney General; and the Secretary of State, with the approval of the Attorney General, shall strike from such lists and from the land book or books in his office all lands which, by reason of insufficient description or other cause, in the opinion of the Attorney General are not the property of the state. The title to the state to such lands as may be thus stricken off shall be thereby relinquished. When such lists shall have been completed, they shall be duly recorded by the Secretary of State in a record book provided by him for that purpose in his office, the lists of such lands for each county to be recorded in a separate book, and the Secretary of State shall certify to the correctness of such lists as thus recorded.

The Secretary of State, after recording in his office such lists of lands sold to the state for delinquent taxes and held or claimed by the state, shall prepare and mail to the chancery clerk of the county in which such lands are situated a certified copy of such lists, * * * and the chancery clerk shall record the same in a separate record book in his office provided for that purpose. In counties having two (2) judicial districts, such lists shall be recorded in the office of the chancery clerk of each such judicial district. For recording such lists, the chancery clerk shall be allowed Five Cents (54) for each tract of land formerly included as a single assessment embraced in such lists, to be paid out of the county treasury upon allowance of the board of supervisors.

Beginning January 1, 1997, delinquent tax lands not sold to individuals shall be struck off to the county instead of the state in accordance with Section 27-41-59.

SECTION 15. Section 51-29-81, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

51-29-81. All taxes levied under the terms of this chapter shall be payable at the same time the state and county taxes are payable. The tax collector shall place the same upon the tax receipt along with the state and county and other taxes, shall collect all of the taxes due on said land together, and shall not accept payment of any sum less than the entire aggregate amount of all state, county, drainage, and other taxes due upon said lands. Should said taxes, including the drainage taxes, be not paid at maturity, the tax collector shall sell said lands for all taxes due thereon, including drainage taxes, at the time and in the manner now provided for the sale of land for taxes due thereon to the state and county. Such sale shall be subject to the provisions of law for the sale of land for state and county taxes, and the owner of said land shall have the right to redeem from said sale as now provided by law.

When any lands situated in a drainage district are sold for nonpayment of taxes thereon, the drainage district in which same is situated may, in the discretion of its board of commissioners, appear at said sale and purchase said land in the name of the drainage district in the same manner as an individual, and in that event shall pay to the tax collector the amount of said purchase price out of the funds of the district.

If upon offering the land of any delinquent taxpayer constituting one (1) tract, no person will bid for it the whole amount of taxes and all costs, the collector shall strike same off to the county in the same manner as provided for in case of sales for state and county taxes.

When any land shall be sold to the county for taxes due thereon and the same shall not be redeemed within the time provided by law, the same may be sold or contracted for sale by the county board of supervisors.

Except as herein otherwise provided, the provisions of the law relative to the sale of delinquent land for taxes, the title thereto, and the handling and sale of lands sold to the county for taxes shall apply to all sales under this chapter.

When any drainage district shall have purchased lands at any tax sale under the terms of this chapter, the board of commissioners thereof, after the period of redemption has expired, may sell, lease, or rent the lands so purchased. The deed or lease shall be executed by the president and secretary of the board of commissioners under the seal of the district. But said lands shall not be sold for an amount less than the price paid therefor and all subsequently accrued state, county, drainage, and other taxes. However, the drainage commissioners with the consent of the bondholders may sell the lands of the drainage district for an amount less than the price paid therefor and all subsequently accrued state, county, drainage, and other taxes.

The drainage district shall pay all state and county and other taxes assessed against said land purchased by it at tax sales under the provisions of this chapter, and may pay the same out of any funds belonging to the district.

The chancery clerks of the counties in which are located drainage districts, or parts thereof, shall account to the commissioners of such drainage districts for money received in the redemption of lands sold for taxes belonging to such districts, in the same manner as for state and county taxes. Any lands sold for any drainage taxes may be redeemed in the same manner and within the same time as provided by law for the redemption of lands sold for state and county taxes upon the payment of all costs, five percent (5%) damages on the amount of taxes for which the land was sold, and interest on all such taxes at the rate of one percent (1%) per month or any fractional part thereof, from the date of such sale.

Lands purchased by the board of drainage commissioners of any drainage district at a tax sale and lands purchased by the board of drainage commissioners of any drainage district from the county shall be liable thereafter for state and county taxes levied and assessed against the same to the same extent as if owned by a natural person or a private corporation. And it shall be the duty of the tax assessor to assess said lands for taxes in the same manner as other lands are assessed; and if the taxes are not paid when due, such lands shall be sold by the tax collector for the delinquent taxes due and unpaid at the time and in the manner provided by law.

SECTION 16. Section 51-31-131, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

51-31-131. When lands are offered for sale for unpaid drainage district taxes and no person will bid therefor the amount of taxes, damages, and costs due, the same shall be struck off to the drainage district wherein the land lies, and otherwise dealt with as lands which are sold to the county for delinquent state and county taxes. The drainage commissioners shall be authorized to pay the state and county taxes on lands thus acquired by it, to redeem the same from state and county tax sales, and to collect the money thus paid with the same damage and interest allowed individuals in similar cases under the general revenue laws of the state therein from the date of such payment, upon the redemption of lands from the drainage district sale.

SECTION 17. Section 69-27-217, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

69-27-217. It shall be the duty of the tax collector to preserve all assessments so certified to him, to note upon the real property assessment roll of the county or county district upon which ad valorem taxes are to be collected for the year in which said work was done, the fact that said land is subject to a special soil erosion fund tax, and to collect with the other taxes payable on February 1, giving a separate receipt therefor, the amount of the special soil erosion fund tax then due accordingly, and to so continue from year to year until such a special tax has been paid in full. If said special tax was to be paid in one (1) payment within one (1) year after completion of the work, the assessment shall be made accordingly, and the tax shall be then payable, and shall be collected at the time shown by the assessment. In the event said tax or any part thereof is not paid when due, the tax collector shall advertise and sell the land liable therefor as in the case of lands sold for the nonpayment of drainage district taxes, and all provisions of law applicable to such drainage district tax sales shall be applied in the case of soil erosion fund tax sales, except that if there are no other bidders the soil erosion committee shall become the purchaser on behalf of and in the name of the county, a sale or sales may be made on the first Monday of any month, and such sales shall be subordinate to all other sales of taxes, prior or subsequent, to the same extent as sales for other special improvements. * * *

SECTION 18. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after January 1, 1997.