The alternative method; to that of bringing a chancery suit; available to a county or city for effecting the sale of lands upon which real estate taxes have become delinquent is the sale thereof by the local treasurer resulting in the execution and delivery of a deed by the clerk of court to the purchaser, that is, the so-called "clerk's tax deed". Titles derived through such proceedings have always been suspect. Furthermore, such proceedings, to say the least, are very cumbersome. Consequently, the General Assembly at its 1968 Regular Session House Joint Resolution No. 30, directing the Virginia Advisory Legislative Council to make a study of sales of delinquent tax lands.

Garnett S. Moore, of Pulaski, a member of the House of Delegates and a member of the Council, was selected as Chairman of the Committee to make the preliminary study and report to the Council. The following persons were chosen to serve as members of the Committee with Mr. Moore: L. A. Clements; Commissioner of the Revenue of Southampton County, Courtland; Edward M. Holland, Attorney at Law, Arlington; W. Tayloe Murphy, Jr., Attorney at Law, Warsaw; Lucas D. Phillips, Attorney at Law, and a member of the House of Delegates, Leesburg; A. L. Philpott, Attorney at Law, and a member of the House of Delegates, Bassett; Donald R. Taylor, Attorney at Law, and Judge of the County Court of James City County and of the Civil Justice and Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts of the City of Williamsburg; and Edward E. Willey, Jr., Attorney at Law, Richmond.

The Committee met and organized, and elected Mr. Phillips, Vice-Chairman.

The Division of Statutory Research and Drafting, represented by Wildman S. Kincheloe, Jr., served as Secretariat for the Committee.

A public hearing was held by the Committee in the State Capitol Building. Representatives of the Treasurers Association of Virginia, the Virginia Court Clerks Association, and title insurance companies attended the hearing and addressed the Committee. Also addressing the Committee at this bearing was an assistant city attorney for one of the large cities in the State who said he had discussed this problem previously with the officials of several neighboring cities.

With the unanimous approval of the Committee, Judge Taylor made arrangements with the Dean of the Law School of the College of William and Mary for two of the Senior students in that School to conduct research concerning the problems involved in this study and to furnish a brief, including suggestions, to the Committee. Included in this research was an examination of the applicable statutes of Virginia and the comparable statutes of some of the other states. These students also personally discussed these problems with officials of title insurance companies in the city of Richmond. The students spent a considerable amount of time on this project and presented to the Committee a very excellent and exhaustive report.

The Committee met and considered the suggestions made at the public hearing, the report of the students and suggestions made by members of the Committee itself.

The Committee, after completing its deliberations, made its Report to the Council. Having reviewed that Report, the Council now makes its Report.