Working together, we were able to make historic commitments to better schools for our children, safer communities for our families and continued economic prosperity as we approach the 21st century. The two vetoed bills involve personal property tax liens and the collection of recordation taxes by clerks of the court. The Governor vetoed 99 other bills because they were duplicates of bills the Governor has signed or will sign into law. The final bill signing ceremony for legislation enacted this year will be held in the Governor's Reception Room on Thursday, May 21 at 2 p.m. Personal Property Tax Liens Senate Bill 536, which was cross-filed with House Bill 585, would have mandated that any personal property tax liens placed by a local government are subordinate to any previously filed liens, such as mortgages.
Current law states that a lien for personal property tax debt takes priority over other debts.
Governor Glendening said he vetoed this legislation because of the negative impact it would have upon the ability of local governments to collect much-needed revenue. For this reason, Governor Glendening received letters of opposition to this legislation from 13 counties and 38 municipalities. If the current lien is eliminated, local governments will lose critical leverage to collect unpaid personal property taxes. This will result in a substantial loss in revenue at a time when local governments are pressing to increase education funding and reduce class size in elementary and secondary schools. If passed, Senate Bill 291 would have mandated that clerks of Maryland's circuit courts would remain responsible for collecting recordation taxes due to a county in accordance with current law but would no longer be entitled to the fees they currently receive to cover the costs of this service.