By Laura Weber, Michigan Public Radio Network
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-854863.mp3
EAST LANSING, MI – State House Democrats have unveiled legislation that would help people living well below the poverty line deal with unpaid property taxes instead of going into foreclosure.
The lawmakers say this is part two of a mortgage foreclosure relief plan passed through the Legislature earlier this year. This plan would give homeowners living well below the poverty line an opportunity to work with their local government on a timeline or payment plan to pay down unpaid property taxes.
State Representative Gabe Leland is from Detroit. He says many people have already paid off their mortgage, but now can't afford their taxes.
"The property taxes are very high in my community," he says. "And unfortunately this economy, we have a lot of folks that have fallen on hard times."
But similar legislation struggled to pass through the House a couple years ago and never made it to the Republican-controlled Senate floor. And negotiations on the mortgage foreclosure plan were hard fought between the two chambers, so the future for any further foreclosure relief is unclear.