Amended
IN
Senate
June 04, 2024 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
May 20, 2024 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
May 02, 2024 |
Introduced by Assembly Member Low |
February 16, 2024 |
Existing law establishes various county offices, including the office of the recorder. Existing law requires the recorder to, among other things, accept for recordation any instrument, paper, or notice that is authorized or required to be recorded, as provided. Existing law requires the recorder to maintain various indices of specified documents and records. Existing law, the Electronic Recording Delivery Act of 2004, authorizes, among other things, a county recorder, upon approval by a resolution of the board of supervisors and system certification by the Attorney General, to establish an electronic recording delivery system for the delivery and recording of specified digitized and digital electronic records, subject to specified conditions.
This bill would authorize, until January 1, 2030, the recorder to
cross-reference any property record using blockchain technology, as defined. The bill would require the county board of supervisors, before the county recorder is authorized to use blockchain technology for the purposes of these provisions, to adopt a resolution detailing findings, as specified. The bill would require any use of blockchain technology under these provisions to be consistent with applicable requirements under the Electronic Recording Delivery Act of 2004.
(a)(1)(A)The recorder shall, upon payment of proper fees and taxes, accept for recordation any instrument, paper, or notice that is authorized or required by statute, or court order to be recorded, or authorized or required to be recorded by a local ordinance that relates to the recordation of any instrument, paper, or notice that relates to real property, if the instrument, paper, or notice contains sufficient information to be indexed as provided by statute, meets recording requirements of state statutes and local ordinances, and is photographically reproducible. The county recorder shall not refuse to record any instrument, paper, or notice that is authorized or required by statute, court order, or local ordinance
that relates to the recordation of any instrument, paper, or notice that relates to real property to be recorded on the basis of its lack of legal sufficiency.
(B)“Photographically reproducible,” for purposes of this division, means all instruments, papers, or notices that comply with standards as recommended by the American National Standards Institute or the Association for Information and Image Management for recording of records.
(2)(A)A person of or related to the record may request that the recorder correct the information contained in an index of a record. The request shall identify the exact location of an error within a specifically identified index entry.
(B)If the person making the
request provides sufficient evidence to the recorder to determine that there is an error in the index that needs to be corrected, the recorder shall correct that index entry within 30 business days of receiving the request.
(C)The corrected index entry shall be entered into the public index to reflect both the error and the correction. The recorder shall note that an index entry has been corrected in accordance with local policy.
(b)(1)Each instrument, paper, or notice shall contain an original signature or signatures, except as otherwise provided by law, or be a certified copy of the original.
(2)A facsimile signature shall be accepted on a lien recorded by a governmental agency when that
facsimile signature has been officially adopted by that agency. The lien shall have noted on its face a statement to that effect. The officially adopted facsimile signature shall be provided to the county recorder by a letter from the agency. A facsimile signature shall continue to be valid until the agency notifies the county recorder that the facsimile signature has been revoked.
(c)(1)Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), the recorder may cross-reference any property record
using blockchain technology.
(2)Before a recorder may use blockchain technology for the purposes specified in paragraph (1), the county board of supervisors shall first adopt a resolution detailing findings that the use of such technology is at least as secure and privacy protective as any other electronic system of indexing a record currently used by recorders in the state.
(3)Any use of blockchain technology pursuant to this subdivision shall be consistent with applicable requirements under the Electronic Recording Delivery Act of 2004 (Article 6 (commencing with Section 27390)) and any implementing regulations adopted pursuant to that act.
(4)For purposes of this subdivision, “blockchain technology”
means a decentralized data system, in which the data stored is mathematically verifiable, that uses distributed ledgers or databases to store specialized data in the permanent order of transactions recorded.
(d)(1)Each instrument, paper, or notice that is rerecorded shall be executed and acknowledged or verified as a new document, in addition to any previous execution and acknowledgment or verification, unless any of the following apply:
(A)The instrument, paper, or notice is otherwise exempted by Section 27287 or any other law.
(B)The instrument, paper, or notice is presented solely to correct a recording sequence. The intent of the parties with regard to the priority of recorded
documents shall be controlling regardless of the sequence of recording by a county recorder or the sequence of recording specified in instructions given by a submitter to a county recorder. This subparagraph is declaratory of existing law, and any rerecording of documents to change the sequential numbers assigned to a document by the recorder shall not require the
document to be executed and acknowledged or verified as a new document.
(C)(i)The instrument, paper, or notice is presented solely to make a minor correction with a corrective affidavit. The corrective affidavit shall satisfy all of the following:
(I)Be attached to the original recorded instrument, paper, or notice.
(II)Set out the information corrected.
(III)Be certified by the party submitting the affidavit under penalty of perjury.
(IV)Be acknowledged pursuant to Section 27287.
(ii)For
purposes of this subparagraph, “minor correction” includes any of the following:
(I)An incorrect or missing address of the party to which the instrument, paper, or notice is to be returned following recording pursuant to Section 27361.6.
(II)A clarification of illegible text pursuant to Section 27361.7.
(III)An incorrect or missing printed or typed name of an individual or entity near the signature pursuant to Section 27280.5.
(IV)An incorrect or missing documentary transfer tax amount due pursuant to Section 11932 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(2)Each rerecorded instrument, paper, or notice shall
include a cover sheet that complies with Section 27361.6 and shall state the reason for rerecording on the cover sheet.
(e)This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2030, and as of that date is repealed.
(a)(1)(A)The recorder shall, upon payment of proper fees and taxes, accept for recordation any instrument, paper, or notice that is authorized or required by statute, or court order to be recorded, or authorized or required to be recorded by a local ordinance that relates to the recordation of any instrument, paper, or notice that relates to real property, if the instrument, paper, or notice contains sufficient information to be indexed as provided by statute, meets recording requirements of state statutes and local ordinances, and is photographically reproducible. The county recorder shall not refuse to record any instrument, paper, or notice that is authorized or required by statute, court order, or
local ordinance that relates to the recordation of any instrument, paper, or notice that relates to real property to be recorded on the basis of its lack of legal sufficiency.
(B)“Photographically reproducible,” for purposes of this division, means all instruments, papers, or notices that comply with standards as recommended by the American National Standards Institute or the Association for Information and Image Management for recording of records.
(2)(A)A person of or related to the record may request that the recorder correct the information contained in an index of a record. The request shall identify the exact location of an error within a specifically identified index entry.
(B)If the
person making the request provides sufficient evidence to the recorder to determine that there is an error in the index that needs to be corrected, the recorder shall correct that index entry within 30 business days of receiving the request.
(C)The corrected index entry shall be entered into the public index to reflect both the error and the correction. The recorder shall note that an index entry has been corrected in accordance with local policy.
(b)(1)Each instrument, paper, or notice shall contain an original signature or signatures, except as otherwise provided by law, or be a certified copy of the original.
(2)A facsimile signature shall be accepted on a lien recorded by a governmental agency
when that facsimile signature has been officially adopted by that agency. The lien shall have noted on its face a statement to that effect. The officially adopted facsimile signature shall be provided to the county recorder by a letter from the agency. A facsimile signature shall continue to be valid until the agency notifies the county recorder that the facsimile signature has been revoked.
(c)(1)Each instrument, paper, or notice that is rerecorded shall be executed and acknowledged or verified as a new document, in addition to any previous execution and acknowledgment or verification, unless any of the following apply:
(A)The instrument, paper, or notice is otherwise exempted by Section 27287 or any other law.
(B)The instrument, paper, or notice is presented solely to correct a recording sequence. The intent of the parties with regard to the priority of recorded documents shall be controlling regardless of the sequence of recording by a county recorder or the sequence of recording specified in instructions given by a submitter to a county recorder. This subparagraph is declaratory of existing law, and any rerecording of documents to change the sequential numbers assigned to a document by the recorder shall not require the document to be executed and acknowledged or verified as a new document.
(C)(i)The instrument, paper, or notice is presented solely to make a minor correction with a corrective affidavit. The corrective affidavit shall satisfy all of the following:
(I)Be attached to the original recorded instrument, paper, or notice.
(II)Set out the information corrected.
(III)Be certified by the party submitting the affidavit under penalty of perjury.
(IV)Be acknowledged pursuant to Section 27287.
(ii)For purposes of this subparagraph, “minor correction” includes any of the following:
(I)An incorrect or missing address of the party to which the instrument, paper, or notice is to be returned following recording pursuant to Section 27361.6.
(II)A clarification of illegible text
pursuant to Section 27361.7.
(III)An incorrect or missing printed or typed name of an individual or entity near the signature pursuant to Section 27280.5.
(IV)An incorrect or missing documentary transfer tax amount due pursuant to Section 11932 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(2)Each rerecorded instrument, paper, or notice shall include a cover sheet that complies with Section 27361.6 and shall state the reason for rerecording on the cover sheet.
(d)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2030.