Bill > H3502

This bill, concerning tax titles in the town of East Bridgewater, aims to validate certain land transfers and tax sales that may have had technical legal deficiencies. Specifically, if East Bridgewater has conveyed or holds a tax title (a legal claim to property due to unpaid taxes) for land that meets five criteria – including being documented by a recorded instrument, located on specific assessor's maps (85, 86, 87, 95, 96, 104, 105, or 115), and referencing a particular 1888 plan – then any defects in the notice, procedure, or recording of that transfer, even a failure to properly foreclose the right of redemption (the owner's right to reclaim the property after a tax sale), will not invalidate the transfer. This means the instrument of transfer will be considered effective and will extinguish all rights of redemption, as if no such deficiencies existed, unless an instrument of redemption was already recorded before this act becomes law. This provision applies to fiscal years up to and including 2012 and does not affect legal proceedings already underway where a party is claiming the right to redeem. The act will take effect one year after its enactment.