BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                    Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
          
                                           578 (Leno)
          
          Hearing Date:  8/26/04          Amended: 8/24/04       
          Consultant:  Karen French           Policy Vote: Judiciary   
          6-0                      
          ____________________________________________________________ 
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          BILL SUMMARY: 
          
          AB 578, and urgency measure, enacts the Electronic  
          Recording Delivery Act of 2004, for the purpose of  
          establishing a system to record digital electronic records  
          of real property instruments, which may be used statewide.  
          The bill requires the Attorney General (AG) to adopt  
          regulations for certification and oversight of electronic  
          delivery systems and associated software and other  
          services.   The bill authorizes the county to pay for AG  
          costs associated with regulation and oversight and to  
          collect a $1 fee from every recording of an instrument in  
          the county to pay for costs associated with the system. The  
          bill authorizes a county recorder, upon approval by the  
          board of supervisors and AG certification of the system to  
          establish an electronic recording delivery system. 
          ____________________________________________________________ 
          ___
                          Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions                    2004-05             2005-06   
                      2006-07            Fund

           AG regulation and 
           Enforcement          --------------Unknown,  
          significant-------------    General
                                                             Offset  
          by county reimbursement
          County                           ----------Unknown, not  
          reimbursable--------         Local
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          STAFF COMMENTS:  
          
          Pursuant to AB 1906 of 1998, Orange County instituted, as a  
          pilot project, an electronic recording system that uses  










          dedicated transmission lines between specified escrow/title  
          companies and the county recorder's office.  According to  
          the report of the Attorney General's Task Force on  
          Electronic Recordation, the results of the Orange County  
          pilot project have been promising:  decreased costs of  
          doing business, decreased document processing times, and  
          expedited public access to records.

          Staff notes, the author proposes a correction amendment as  
          follows:

          On page 11, line 35, strike "other than those specified  
          in", strike line 36, and insert:
                        submitted pursuant to Section 27391 (b).