In 2021, the Government of Alberta amended the Municipal Government Act to clarify that municipalities have a special lien on linear and machinery and equipment property used by oil and gas companies. While the special lien provides municipalities with another tool that may help in recovering unpaid oil and gas property taxes, many RMA members expressed confusion on how to utilize special liens to recover taxes and how a special lien aligns with other tax recovery tools. In response to those concerns, the RMA and Brownlee created a guide for special liens.