BILL ANALYSIS Ó
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2143|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2143
Author: Irwin (D)
Amended: 6/28/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FIN. COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/15/16
AYES: Hertzberg, Nguyen, Beall, Hernandez, Lara, Moorlach,
Pavley
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/21/16
AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Anderson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning,
Wieckowski
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 5/23/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: County recorder: electronic recording
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill expands, until January 1, 2027, the scope of
the state law that allows for the digitized electronic delivery,
recording, and return of some types of recordable instruments.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
AB 2143
Page 2
1)Allows a county recorder to accept for recording, in lieu of a
written paper, digitized images, digital images, or both, of a
recordable instrument, subject to specified conditions.
2)Authorizes, pursuant to the Electronic Recording Delivery Act
(ERDA), the digitized electronic delivery, recording, and
return of specified types of instruments submitted by title
insurers, underwritten title companies, institutional lenders,
and government entities through an electronic record delivery
system (ERDS) upon approval by the county board of supervisors
and certification by the Attorney General.
This bill:
1)Allows a county recorder to accept for recording a "digital"
electronic record, which means a record containing information
that is created, generated, sent, communicated, received, or
stored by electronic means, but not created in original paper
form.
2)Allows a county recorder to accept, through an ERDS, records
that are submitted by an authorized submitter other than a
title insurer, underwritten title company, institutional
lender, or an entity of local, state, or federal government.
3)Requires that the authorized submitter and any agent
submitting documents on behalf of the authorized submitter
must provide proof of financial responsibility by providing a
certificate of insurance evidencing an amount of general
liability coverage reasonably adequate to protect against
liability and cover potential losses.
4)Requires the Attorney General to adopt regulations governing
the requirements for general liability coverage, including
adopting a rule or regulation setting the amount of required
liability coverage.
AB 2143
Page 3
5)Clarifies that yearly statistical reports submitted by county
recorders to the Office of the Insurance Commissioner must
include electronically transmitted documents and requires
county recorders to count and report documents in the same
manner without regard to method of transmission.
6)Clarifies that language in existing law referring to "an
instrument affecting a right, title, or interest in real
property" means an instrument that is authorized or required
to be recorded pursuant to a specified statute.
7)Makes additional technical and conforming changes to state
law.
8)Directs that the changes it makes to current law will remain
in effect only until January 1, 2027, and as of that date are
repealed.
Background
County recorders accept, officially record, and return copies of
legal documents, notices, or papers. Among the papers that they
record are "instruments," which are written papers signed and
delivered by one person to another that transfer the title to or
create a lien on property, or give a right to a debt or duty.
A recorder of any county may, in lieu of a written paper, accept
for recording digitized images, digital images, or both, of a
recordable instrument, subject to specified conditions (AB 3264,
Frazee, Chapter 400 of the Statutes of 1988). The ERDA (AB 578,
Leno, Chapter 621, Statutes of 2004) authorizes the digitized
electronic delivery, recording, and return of specified types of
instruments submitted by title insurers, underwritten title
companies, institutional lenders, and government entities
AB 2143
Page 4
through an ERDS upon approval by the county board of supervisors
and certification by the Attorney General. The Act requires the
State Attorney General, in consultation with interested parties,
to adopt regulations for the review, approval, and oversight of
ERDSs.
County recorders want the Legislature to expand state law to
allow additional types of instruments to be recorded though an
ERDS and additional types of entities to submit instruments
through an ERDS.
Comments
Purpose of the bill. The process of recording digital and
digitized documents submitted through the electronic delivery
systems is faster and more efficient than the recording process
for paper documents. The 2004 ERDA authorized specified
entities to electronically record documents. Millions of
documents have been recorded by means of an ERDS since the
enactment of ERDA. In California, there are no known instances
of fraud perpetrated by use of ERDSs. By expanding both the
types of entities that state law authorizes to electronically
record documents and the types of electronic documents that can
be recorded, this bill will allow all of the parties in the
recording process to save even more time and money through the
use of ERDSs.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified8/1/16)
California Association of Realtors
California Mortgage Association
California State Association of Counties
County Recorders' Association of California
Southwest California Legislative Council
AB 2143
Page 5
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/1/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 5/23/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow,
Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos,
Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh,
Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth,
Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk,
Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Arambula, Eggman, Patterson
Prepared by:Brian Weinberger / GOV. & F. / (916) 651-4119
8/3/16 18:56:58
**** END ****