AN ACT Relating to irrigation districts; and amending RCW 87.03.310.

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

Sec. 1. Section 25, page 684, Laws of 1889-90 as last amended by section 87, chapter 469, Laws of 1985 and RCW 87.03.310 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) On or before the ((~~thirty-first~~)) fifteenth day of December of each year, the treasurer of each ((~~county~~)) irrigation district shall post and publish the delinquency list((, which shall contain the names of persons to whom the property is assessed and a description of the property delinquent and the amount of the assessment and costs due, opposite each name and description.

The treasurer shall append to and post with the list a notice, at least twenty days before the sale, that unless the assessments together with costs and accrued interest are paid, the property will be sold at public auction. One copy thereof shall be posted in the county courthouse, and the treasurer shall provide four copies to the irrigation district in which the property is located. The irrigation district shall post one copy in the irrigation district office and three copies in public places in the district. The notice shall be published once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. Notices shall designate the time and place of sale. The time of sale shall be not less than twenty-one nor more than thirty-five days from the date of posting and from the date of the first publication of the notice thereof, and the place of the sale shall be at some point designated by the treasurer. At least ten days prior to the date of the public auction, the treasurer shall send by first class mail a notice to the taxpayer or owner of record of the land having a delinquent assessment. The notice shall contain a statement of the amount of the delinquent assessment plus interest as provided in RCW 87.03.270, as now or hereafter amended, accruing from the date of delinquency; a ten dollar delinquency charge owing on the land; the time, date, and place of the sale of properties having delinquent assessments; and a statement that failure to pay the assessment prior to the date of sale will result in a sale of the property)). The delinquency list shall contain the following:

(a) The name or names of the owner of record;

(b) The legal description, tax lot number, or parcel number of the property with the delinquent assessment;

(d) The amount of costs and interest provided in RCW 87.03.270 accruing from the date of delinquency; and

(e) A ten-dollar delinquency charge owing on the property.

(2) The delinquency list shall contain a notice that unless all assessments, charges, and accrued interest against the parcels listed are paid on or before 10:00 a.m. on the day of the sale, the parcels will be sold at public auction. The notice contained on the delinquency list shall further include the following:

(a) The date, time, and place of sale. The date of sale shall not be less than twenty-one days nor more than sixty days from the date notice is first published as provided by this chapter;

(b) That any owner of record may protest the foreclosure of the district lien as to such owner's interest. The protest shall be in written form, filed with the district, and shall include the identification of the parcel to which the protest is addressed. The protest shall also include the name and address of the owner, the owner's interest in the parcel, and the grounds of the owner's protest;

(c) The date, time, and place of the hearing as established by the board of directors to hear and determine any protest filed;

(d) That, in addition to assessments, interest and costs provided by statute, the cost of service and publication of notice as required by statute will also be taxed against the delinquent parcel;

(e) That, in the event a parcel is sold as herein provided, the owner, or any party in interest, has the right to redeem pursuant to RCW 87.03.340 or 87.03.355.

(3) (a) The delinquency list with such notice shall be posted in the courthouse of the county in which the property is located and in the office of the irrigation district. The delinquency list with such notice shall be published once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the district. In addition to the posting and publication requirements, the treasurer shall send by first class mail at least ten days prior to the date of sale, to each owner of record on the delinquency list, a copy of the delinquency list with such notice, provided that such delinquency list and notice need only identify the parcel in which the owner of record has an interest and need not refer to those parcels in which such owner does not have an interest.

(b) At the hearing established by the board of directors, each owner protesting the foreclosure may present evidence in support of such owner's objections. The board of directors, shall hear and determine such objections and shall take such action as it determines to be just. The board of directors shall give written notice of its decision to the owner protesting the foreclosure within five days from the date of hearing. If the board denies the relief requested, the written decision of the board shall further state that unless the decision is appealed to the superior court of the county in which the property is located within twenty days from the date of mailing the board's decision to the owner, the district treasurer will proceed with the sale of the parcel which was the subject matter of the protest without further notice.

(c) Any owner having actual notice of the opportunity for hearings on the proposed foreclosure of district lien and sale of property shall not complain of any defect in the giving of notice to such owner.