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Senate adds title-industry member to electronic-recording commission and passes SB79
Summary
Senate Bill 79, the Uniform Real Estate Electronic Recording Act, was amended to add a title-company representative to a six-member commission that will recommend recording surcharges and standards; the amendment and the first substitute passed and SB79 was sent to the House.
Senator Hilliard explained an amendment to the Uniform Real Estate Electronic Recording Act (SB79) that would add a title-industry representative as a sixth member of a commission otherwise composed of four county recorders and a county commissioner. The purpose, he said, is to harmonize electronic-recording practices across counties and states and to create a panel that will recommend implementation details and fees before the bill’s effective date.
"What this bill does... set a model for electronic recording by our county recorders so that you could access it without going to the county recorder's office," Senator Hilliard said, recounting earlier efforts to standardize recording systems. He described the amendment as adding a title-company (business) member so the commission would include industry perspectives alongside county recorders and a commissioner.
Floor discussion focused on fee authority and implementation. Hilliard clarified that the statutorily authorized surcharge is levied on persons recording documents, not on those merely accessing online records: "The surcharges are based on persons recording the documents, not persons accessing the record," he said, adding that the commission will recommend a rounded fee amount based on actual costs (for example, modest increases in the current recording fee rather than fractional cents).
The body adopted the amendment, waived the 3-reading rule under the Constitution, and, under suspension of the rules, passed the first substitute of SB79. The presiding officer announced that SB79 "having received 27 yea votes, 2 nay votes, 2 being absent" shall be sent to the House for their consideration.
