CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — An Assembly budget committee has passed a bill aimed at reducing the powers that homeowners associations have when they foreclose over unpaid dues.

The Assembly Ways and Means Committee voted to pass AB359 on Monday. The measure now goes for a vote of the full Assembly.

The Nevada Supreme Court ruled in September that unpaid HOA dues should not only be the first thing paid when a foreclosed home is sold, but that the mortgage itself can be wiped out in the process if a bank doesn’t pay the lien.

Realtors say mortgage “extinguishment” has led to expensive homes being auctioned for a fraction of their worth over relatively small HOA liens and could drag down other property values.

The bill prevents mortgages from being extinguished in a foreclosure. Read story: