In Louisiana, two competing bills are attempting to overhaul the State’s tax sale system. Both advocate for changing from a bid-down ownership lien auction to a bid-up premium, and a subsequent post-redemptive period, judicial lien-foreclosure process similar to Florida’s, and a processes that preserves surplus equity and homeowner rights to recover it, within limits.

However, a notable distinction of Senate Bill 505, championed by the Louisiana Land Title Association, and currently the leading version in the Senate, proposes a floating redemption period ending, similar to what’s used for mortgage foreclosures where the end is triggered by the earlier to occur of the filing of an action by the foreclosing lienholder after a different minimum passage of time or some much longer period (essentially a statute of limitations to foreclose), but also where, notwithstanding, the debtor can stop foreclosure with full payoff made a moment before the gavel drops to conclude the auction sale of the property.  Details on this bill can be found here, and it is scheduled for a hearing before the Ways and Means Committee today, with the lobbyist-supported U.S. Assets group planning to oppose it.

On the other hand, House Bill 871, sponsored by U.S. Assets and prevailing in the House, advocates for far fewer changes to the current system, leaning on time-tested, judiciary-approved elements such as the adequacy of private, notification efforts to terminate rights of interest-holders (in force since 2009), and having a strict duration for redemption, after which anyone seeking a redemption would need to bid at the deed auction to do so. A hearing date on the House bill is not yet set, but full details of the bill are available here.