Senate committee hears split testimony on bill to require recording of deeds with historic meets-and-bounds descriptions

BISMARCK — At a hearing of the Senate Committee on Industry and Business, supporters and opponents debated Senate Bill 2356, which would direct county recorders to accept and record deeds that use previously accepted meets-and-bounds legal descriptions rather than rejecting them and requiring replatting or a new survey.

Supporters — including title companies, banks and realtors — told the committee that rejected recordings can leave buyers exposed to federal and state tax liens, child‑support liens and other claims that can attach after a closing but before county recording. Opponents, primarily professional land surveyors, warned the bill’s language could allow ambiguous or new parcel splits to be recorded without subdivision review or necessary field surveying, creating risks for adjoining property owners and future boundary disputes.

Senator Scott Meyer, sponsor of the bill and a former mortgage lender, told the panel the measure is aimed at preventing late rejections of deeds that delay recording and expose new owners to liens and other claims. Representatives of the North…