BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1698
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1698 (Wagner)
As Amended June 18, 2014
Majority vote
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |74-2 |(May 29, 2014) |SENATE: |36-0 |(August 11, |
| | | | | |2014) |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: PUB. S.
SUMMARY : Allows the court, upon motion of the prosecutor and
after a holding a hearing on the matter, to issue an order
voiding a false or forged instrument at its inception when a
defendant is convicted of filing, registering, or recording such
an instrument.
The Senate amendments :
1)Clarify that the copy of the instrument must be attached to
the order at the time it is issued.
2)Specify that the prosecuting agency is responsible for filing,
registering, or recording a copy of the order with the
appropriate public agency.
3)Allow the court to consider a party's status as a bona fide
purchaser of, or bona fide holder of an encumbrance on, the
affected property in determining whether to void a false or
forged instrument at its inception.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Makes it a felony to knowingly procure, or offer any false or
forged document to be filed, registered, or recorded in any
public office within this state, which instrument, if genuine
might be filed, registered or recorded under any law of this
state or of the United States.
2)States that each instrument offered to be filed, registered,
or recorded is a separate violation.
3)Provides that a person who, with intent to defraud, signs the
name of another person or of a fictitious person to specified
AB 1698
Page 2
items, knowing that he or she has no authority to do so, is
guilty of forgery.
4)Defines grand theft generally as when the value of the money,
labor or real or personal property taken is more than $950.
5)Makes participation in a fraudulent conveyance a misdemeanor.
6)Defines mortgage fraud for the purpose of criminal
prosecution.
7)Permits a party to file a civil action, commonly known as a
"quiet title action," to establish title against adverse
claims to real or personal property or any interest therein.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS :
Author's statement: "Penal Code (PC) Section 115 makes filing a
false or forged real estate deed or other instruments a felony.
But criminal courts can currently only void forged deeds, not
false ones. AB 1698 will amend PC [Section] 115 to specifically
allow courts to void false and forged deeds.
"A forged deed is where someone signs someone else's name
without permission. A false deed is where no forgery occurs,
but the deed is nonetheless false or untrue. In California, a
forged deed has long been held to be void under the law. But
there is no law that allows a judge to void a false deed. This
requires a homeowner or business who has been victimized by
false deeds to go to civil court for a 'quiet title action' at
their own expense, even after the bad guys are convicted in
criminal court.
"False deeds cost homeowners, business, and realtors unnecessary
time and money. False deeds create vacant homes in
neighborhoods, which leads to diminished property values,
blight, and potential for increased crime. The perpetrators of
these schemes tend to prey on vulnerable populations in the
poorest neighborhoods that have been hit hard by foreclosures.
"AB 1698 is an opportunity to help those victims without
AB 1698
Page 3
creating a new crime, enhancing sentences, increasing the prison
population, or putting additional strain on the state budget."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
FN: 0004137