# Kentucky HB 600: AN ACT relating to the collection of delinquent tax bills. Kentucky HB 600, AN ACT relating to the collection of delinquent tax bills., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Mary Beth Imes (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-04-07 (signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 48)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-HB600-2026RS - As of: 2026-11-01 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Kentucky HB 600 - State: Kentucky - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: AN ACT relating to the collection of delinquent tax bills. - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2026-02-09 - Last action: 2026-04-07, signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 48) - Sponsor: Mary Beth Imes (Republican) - Cosponsors: 0 - Subjects: Attorney, County, Counties, State Agencies, Taxation, Taxation, Property, Local Mandate - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 2 (119 yes, 12 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 12 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Payment plans and stop third‑party buys: benefit, medium. County attorneys must accept installment payments and may enter payment plans. You can ask in writing to waive or reduce fees and penalties for good cause if the taxing unit agrees, and default can still lead to court action. When a lawsuit is filed or a payment plan exists, the clerk marks the cer… - Extra safeguards for minors and disabled: benefit, low. The law bars taking a minor’s or an adjudicated disabled person’s personal belongings to pay real‑property taxes. A court must appoint a guardian ad litem before selling that person’s real estate during the disability. If the property was inherited, gifted, from a decedent’s settlement, or owned be… - Clearer public lists of tax delinquents: benefit, low. Each July, cities prepare a list of unpaid property tax bills with parcel details and interest and penalty rates. The list also shows when a lawsuit was filed, the case number, and the date. The tax bill itself must be marked when a case is filed. Courts index each parcel separately so people can f… - Higher collection fees and court costs: cost, high. If the county attorney collects, a 20% fee is added to what you owe for each taxing unit. That 20% is waived only if you pay in full within five days of filing. If the attorney sues, you also owe the greater of documented reasonable attorney fees and costs or an extra 13% of the certificate amount;… - Cities can sue and force a sale: cost, high. If city land taxes stay unpaid for six months, the city can sue in Circuit Court and use in‑rem actions against the property. The petition must list each parcel and all recorded interests, and other tax cases about the same land are merged into this case. The city must publish notice twice within 3… - Cities can use commissioner sales: cost, medium. Urban‑county governments and home‑rule cities can use the commissioner’s sale process to collect any taxes they are owed. These actions must follow the statute of limitations in KRS 134.546. This expands the use of court‑ordered sales to collect delinquent taxes. - County and state share collections duties: cost, low. Counties can use state rules to collect any county tax bill, within the statute of limitations. The state offers collection work to county attorneys unless past performance was poor. County attorneys must sign a new contract each year to do this work. - $0.50 clerk fee per parcel: cost, low. In a tax enforcement case, the circuit clerk charges $0.50 for each separately indexed parcel. This amount is taxed and paid as court costs. Your total equals $0.50 times the number of indexed parcels. - Redemption, appeals, and sale proceeds: mixed, high. You can pay the full amount before the sale to discharge the lien or satisfy the judgment. If the sale price is less than the most recent certified assessed value, you can redeem within 60 days by paying the purchaser the original price plus 18% yearly interest, pro‑rated by days. The court applies… - Stronger final title after tax sales: mixed, high. After a court confirms a tax sale and the redemption period ends, the buyer gets full ownership and immediate possession. The new title is still subject to some tax liens that attached before the case or before redemption ended, and to any U.S. redemption right; special tax-bill liens go to the sal… - Early notices, 12% interest, $1 fee: mixed, medium. Within 30 days of a delinquent tax certificate, the county attorney or the state mails you a notice that says the debt is a lien and earns 12% yearly interest. A second notice goes out within 60 days and warns of the sale date and possible extra fees if a third party pays your bill. If a notice com… - State takes over delinquent tax collections: mixed, medium. Contracts with county attorneys must list collection duties, and the Department of Revenue can take over if duties are not performed or no contract is made. The takeover includes pending lawsuits and active payment plans. The 20% collection fee is paid to the Department’s delinquent tax fund when i… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Mary Beth Imes (Republican), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-25 | Senate | 3rd reading, passed | pass | 37 | 1 | | | 2026-03-05 | House | 3rd reading, passed | pass | 82 | 11 | | ## Actions (20) - 2026-04-07: signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 48) - 2026-03-26: delivered to Governor - 2026-03-26: enrolled, signed by President of the Senate (House) - 2026-03-26: enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House (House) - 2026-03-26: received in House (House) - 2026-03-25: 3rd reading, passed 37-1 (Senate) - 2026-03-24: passed over and retained in the Consent Orders of the Day (Senate) - 2026-03-20: posted for passage in the Consent Orders of the Day for Tuesday, March 24 2026 (Senate) - 2026-03-19: 2nd reading, to Rules as a consent bill (Senate) - 2026-03-18: reported favorably, 1st reading, to Consent Calendar (Senate) - 2026-03-16: to State & Local Government (S) (Senate) - 2026-03-06: to Committee on Committees (S) (Senate) - 2026-03-06: received in Senate (Senate) - 2026-03-05: 3rd reading, passed 82-11 (House) - 2026-03-04: posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Thursday, March 05 2026 (House) - 2026-03-04: 2nd reading, to Rules (House) - 2026-03-03: reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar (House) - 2026-02-17: to Local Government (H) (House) - 2026-02-09: to Committee on Committees (H) (House) - 2026-02-09: introduced in House (House) ## Bill text - Current, 2026-03-05: [PDF](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/26RS/hb600/bill.pdf) - Introduced, 2026-03-05: [PDF](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/26RS/hb600/orig_bill.pdf) ## Related bills - SB 197: AN ACT providing funding and establishing conditions for state government agencies and institutions, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring an emergen… (became law) - SB 133: AN ACT relating to the fiscal reporting of local entities. (signed) - HB 869: AN ACT relating to fiscal matters and declaring an emergency. (signed) - HB 727: AN ACT relating to education and declaring an emergency. (signed) - SB 324: AN ACT relating to the entertainment industry. (signed) - SB 66: AN ACT relating to the operation of a motor vehicle. (signed) ## Sources - [Current (PDF)](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/26RS/hb600/bill.pdf) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/26RS/hb600/orig_bill.pdf) ## Related - [SB 197: AN ACT providing funding and establishing conditions for state government agenc…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-SB197-2026RS) - [SB 133: AN ACT relating to the fiscal reporting of local entities.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-SB133-2026RS) - [HB 869: AN ACT relating to fiscal matters and declaring an emergency.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-HB869-2026RS) - [HB 727: AN ACT relating to education and declaring an emergency.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-HB727-2026RS) - [SB 324: AN ACT relating to the entertainment industry.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-SB324-2026RS) - [SB 66: AN ACT relating to the operation of a motor vehicle.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-SB66-2026RS) - [Kentucky bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/kentucky/bills) - [Kentucky state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/kentucky) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-HB600-2026RS (as of 2026-11-01).