79-3617. Collection of delinquent taxes; tax lien. Whenever any taxpayer liable to pay any sales or compensating tax, refuses or neglects to pay the tax, the amount, including any interest or penalty, shall be collected in the following manner. The secretary of revenue or the secretary's designee shall issue a warrant under the hand of the secretary or the secretary's designee and official seal directed to the sheriff of any county of the state commanding the sheriff to levy upon and sell the real and personal property of the taxpayer found within the sheriff's county to satisfy the tax, including penalty and interest, and the cost of executing the warrant and to return such warrant to the secretary or the secretary's designee and pay to the secretary or the secretary's designee the money collected by virtue thereof not more than 90 days from the date of the warrant. Firearms seized may be appraised and disposed of in the same manner prescribed in K.S.A. 79-5212, and amendments thereto. The sheriff shall, within five days, after the receipt of the warrant file with the clerk of the district court of the county a copy thereof, and thereupon the clerk shall either enter in the appearance docket the name of the taxpayer mentioned in the warrant, the amount of the tax or portion of it, interest and penalties for which the warrant is issued and the date such copy is filed and note the taxpayer's name in the general index. No fee shall be charged for either such entry. The amount of such warrant so docketed shall thereupon become a lien upon the title to, and interest in, the real property of the taxpayer against whom it is issued. The sheriff shall proceed in the same manner and with the same effect as prescribed by law with respect to executions issued against property upon judgments of a court of record, and shall be entitled to the same fees for services.

The court in which the warrant is docketed shall have jurisdiction over all subsequent proceedings as fully as though a judgment had been rendered in the court. A warrant of similar terms, force and effect may be issued by the secretary or the secretary's designee and directed to any officer or employee of the secretary or the secretary's designee, and in the execution thereof such officer or employee shall have all the powers conferred by law upon sheriffs with respect to executions issued against property upon judgments of a court of record and the subsequent proceedings thereunder shall be the same as provided where the warrant is issued directly to the sheriff. The taxpayer shall have the right to redeem the real estate within a period of 18 months from the date of such sale. If a warrant is returned, unsatisfied in full, the secretary or the secretary's designee shall have the same remedies to enforce the claim for taxes as if the state of Kansas had recovered judgment against the taxpayer for the amount of the tax. No law exempting any goods and chattels, land and tenements from forced sale under execution shall apply to a levy and sale under any of the warrants or upon any execution issued upon any judgment rendered in any action for sales or compensating taxes. Except as provided further, the secretary or the secretary's designee shall have the right after a warrant has been returned unsatisfied, or satisfied only in part, to issue alias warrants until the full amount of the tax is collected. No costs incurred by the sheriff or the clerk of the court shall be charged to the secretary or the secretary's designee.

If execution is not issued within 10 years from the date of the docketing of any such warrant, or if 10 years shall have intervened between the date of the last execution issued on such warrant, and the time of issuing another writ of execution thereon, such warrant shall become dormant, and shall cease to operate as a lien on the real estate of the delinquent taxpayer. Such dormant warrant may be revived in like manner as dormant judgments under the code of civil procedure.

History: L. 1937, ch. 374, § 17; L. 1953, ch. 448, § 1; L. 1976, ch. 145, § 245; L. 1977, ch. 109, § 42; L. 1984, ch. 147, § 23; L. 1989, ch. 291, § 9; L. 1998, ch. 130, § 35; L. 2005, ch. 141, § 6; July 1.