Amended in Senate June 8, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 1974


Introduced by Assembly Member Gallagher

February 16, 2016


An act to amend Sections 27201 and 27288.1 of the Government Code, relating to the county recorder.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1974, as amended, Gallagher. County recorder: recordation of documents.

Existing law requires the county recorder, upon payment of proper fees and taxes, to record any instrument, paper, or notice that is authorized or required to be recorded, provided that the instrument, paper, or notice meets certain standards. Existing law also requires all documents authorized by law to be recorded in the official records of a county to contain specified information.

This bill would require the documents described above that are rerecorded to be executed and acknowledged or verified as new documents, unless otherwisebegin delete provided, and to contain a notation on the face specifying the reason for the rerecording.end deletebegin insert exempted, as specified, presented solely to correct a rerecording sequence, or presented solely to make a minor correction, as defined, with a corrective affidavit. The bill would require the corrective affidavit to satisfy certain requirements, including a requirement that the corrective affidavit be certified under penalty of perjury. The bill would require each rerecorded instrument, paper, or notice to include a cover sheet and to state the reason for rerecording.end insert

By imposing new duties upon local county officials with respect to the recordation ofbegin delete documents,end deletebegin insert documents and by expanding the crime of perjury,end insert this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

end delete
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This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

end delete
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The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

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This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

end insert
begin insert

With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 27201 of the Government Code is
2amended to read:

3

27201.  

(a) The recorder shall, upon payment of proper fees
4and taxes, accept for recordation any instrument, paper, or notice
5that is authorized or required by statute, or court order to be
6recorded, or authorized or required to be recorded by a local
7ordinance that relates to the recordation of any instrument, paper,
8or notice that relates to real property, if the instrument, paper, or
9notice contains sufficient information to be indexed as provided
10by statute, meets recording requirements of state statutes and local
11ordinances, and is photographically reproducible. The county
12recorder shall not refuse to record any instrument, paper, or notice
13that is authorized or required by statute, court order, or local
14ordinance that relates to the recordation of any instrument, paper,
P3    1or notice that relates to real property to be recorded on the basis
2of its lack of legal sufficiency.

3“Photographically reproducible,” for purposes of this division,
4means all instruments, papers, or notices that comply with
5standards as recommended by the American National Standards
6Institute or the Association for Information and Image Management
7for recording of records.

8(b) (1) Each instrument, paper, or notice shall contain an
9original signature or signatures, except as otherwise provided by
10law, or be a certified copy of the original.

11(2) A facsimile signature shall be accepted on a lien recorded
12by a governmental agency when that facsimile signature has been
13officially adopted by that agency. The lien shall have noted on its
14face a statement to that effect. The officially adopted facsimile
15signature shall be provided to the county recorder by a letter from
16the agency. A facsimile signature shall continue to be valid until
17the agency notifies the county recorder that the facsimile signature
18has been revoked.

19(c) begin insert(1)end insertbegin insertend insert Each instrument, paper, or notice that is rerecorded
20shall be executed and acknowledged or verified as a new document,
21in addition to any previousbegin insert execution andend insert acknowledgment or
22verification, unlessbegin delete otherwiseend deletebegin insert any of the following apply:end insert

23begin insert(A)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insertOtherwiseend insert exempted by Section 27287 or any otherbegin delete law, or
24if being presentedend delete
begin insert law.end insert

25begin insert(B)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insertPresentedend insert solely to correct a recording sequence.begin delete The
26instrument, paper, or notice shall contain a notation on its face
27specifying the reason for the rerecording.end delete

begin insert

28
(C) (i) Presented solely to make a minor correction with a
29corrective affidavit. The corrective affidavit shall satisfy all of the
30following:

end insert
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31
(I) Be attached to the original recorded instrument, paper, or
32notice.

end insert
begin insert

33
(II) Set out the information corrected.

end insert
begin insert

34
(III) Be certified by the party submitting the affidavit under
35penalty of perjury.

end insert
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36
(IV) Be acknowledged pursuant to Section 27287.

end insert
begin insert

37
(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, “minor correction”
38includes any of the following:

end insert
begin insert

39
(I) An incorrect or missing name of the party requesting
40recording pursuant to Section 27361.6.

end insert
begin insert

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(II) An incorrect or missing name and address of the party to
2which the instrument, paper, or notice is to be returned following
3recording pursuant to Section 27361.6.

end insert
begin insert

4
(III) A clarification of illegible text pursuant to Section 27361.7.

end insert
begin insert

5
(IV) An incorrect or missing printed or typed name of an
6individual or entity near the signature pursuant to Section 27280.5.

end insert
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7
(V) An incorrect or missing documentary transfer tax amount
8due pursuant to Section 11932 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

end insert
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9
(2) Each rerecorded instrument, paper, or notice shall include
10a cover sheet that complies with Section 27361.6 and shall state
11the reason for rerecording on the cover sheet.

end insert
12

SEC. 2.  

Section 27288.1 of the Government Code is amended
13to read:

14

27288.1.  

All documents described in this section now or
15hereafter authorized by law to be recorded in the official records
16of a county shall contain the following information in addition to
17any information as may be required by law pertaining to the
18particular document:

19(a) If the document effects or evidences a transfer or
20encumbrance of an interest in real property, the name or names in
21which the interest appears of record, except that a notice of
22assessment recorded pursuant to Section 3114 of the Streets and
23Highways Code, a notice of special tax lien recorded pursuant to
24Section 3114.5 of the Streets and Highways Code, and a notice of
25award of contract recorded pursuant to Section 5248 of the Streets
26and Highways Code, shall show the name or names of the assessed
27owners as they appear on the latest secured assessment roll.

28(b) If the document releases or terminates any interest,begin delete rightend delete
29begin insert right,end insert or encumbrance, it shall contain or have appended thereto
30all of the names of those persons and entities owning the title or
31interest being relieved by the document, or the names of the owners
32of that title or interest as they appeared at the time and in the
33document creating the interest,begin delete rightend deletebegin insert right,end insert or encumbrance.

34(c) In cases where the county tax collector is filing purchaser’s
35deeds with respect to a sale for defaulted taxes, those documents
36shall be deemed to constitute compliance with this section.

37No document subject to this section shall be recorded or indexed
38in the official records of a county unless it contains the information
39required by this section as well as any additional information
40 required by law pertaining to the particular document, but the
P5    1recorder may rely upon the information contained in, or appended
2to, the document being offered for record. The failure of any
3document to include all of the names required by this section shall
4not affect the constructive notice which would otherwise be
5afforded by the recording of the document. This section shall not
6apply to a vacation or abandonment by a public agency of a public
7highway or road.

8(d) If a document is rerecorded, it shallbegin delete be executed or
9acknowledged or verified as a new document, in addition to any
10previous acknowledgment or verification, unless otherwise
11exempted by Section 27287 or any other law, or if being presented
12solely to correct a recording sequence. The document shall contain
13a notation on its face specifying the reason for the rerecording.end delete

14
begin insert comply with subdivision (c) of Section 27201.end insert

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15

SEC. 3.  

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
16this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
17local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
18pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
194 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

end delete
20begin insert

begin insertSEC. 3.end insert  

end insert
begin insert

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
21Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for certain
22costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
23because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or infraction,
24eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime
25or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
26Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
27meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
28Constitution.

end insert
begin insert

29
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that
30this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement
31to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
32pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
334 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

end insert


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