BILL NUMBER: SB 878	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 12, 2010
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 7, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Liu

                        JANUARY 12, 2010

   An act to amend  , repeal, and add  Sections 27297.6 and
27387.1 of the Government Code, relating to local government.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 878, as amended, Liu. Local government: Los Angeles County:
notice of recordation.
   (1) Existing law authorizes the Los Angeles County Recorder,
following the adoption of an authorizing resolution by the Los
Angeles County Board of Supervisors, to mail a notice of recordation
to the party or parties executing a deed, quitclaim deed, or deed of
trust within 30 days of the recording of one of those documents.
   This bill  , until January 1, 2015,  would modify that
authorization to also include notice of recordation, provided by mail
by the recorder or a designee of the board, to a party or parties
executing a deed, quitclaim deed, or deed of trust, within 30 days of
recordation, or to a party or parties subject to a notice of default
or notice of sale of a property, including the occupants of that
property, within  5 days, but in any event no more than  20
days  ,  of recordation.  If the board of supervisors
adopts an authorizing resolution, as specified, the bill would
require the County of Los Angeles to submit a report with prescribed
information to certain committees of the Legislature on or before
January 1, 2014. 
   (2) Existing law also authorizes the Los Angeles County Recorder
to collect a fee for mailing notice of recordation from any party
filing a deed, quitclaim deed, or deed of trust, unless that party is
a government entity. Existing law prohibits this fee from exceeding
the cost of mailing the notice of recordation or $7.
   This bill  ,   until January 1, 2015,  would
additionally authorize the recorder to collect a fee for notice of
recordation from any party other than a government entity that files
a notice of default or notice of sale. The bill would also authorize
the recorder to use a portion of the collected fee to pay the actual
cost, if any, of providing information, counseling, and assistance to
a person who receives the notice.
   (3) This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as
to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Los Angeles.

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


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 27297.6 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
   27297.6.  (a) (1) Following adoption of an authorizing resolution
by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the Los Angeles
County Recorder, or a designee or designees authorized by the board
of supervisors, may notify the following by mail:
   (A) The party or parties executing a deed, quitclaim deed, or deed
of trust, within 30 days of recordation.
   (B) The party or parties subject to a notice of default or notice
of sale, including the occupants of that property, within  20
days   five days, but in any event no more than 20
days,  of recordation.
   (2) The recorder may require, as a condition of recording, that a
deed, quitclaim deed, deed of trust, notice of default, or notice of
sale indicate the assessor's identification number or numbers that
fully contain all, or a portion of, the real property described in
the legal description. If the description contains more than one
assessor's parcel, all assessor's parcels shall be indicated. The
form of the entry shall be substantially as follows:
Assessor's Identification Number __-__-__.

   (b) This section shall not apply to the recordation of any
document where the federal government, or state, county, city, or any
subdivision of the state acquires title.
   (c) The failure of the county recorder to provide the notice as
permitted by this section shall not result in any liability against
the recorder or the county. In the event that the notice is returned
to the recorder by the postal service as undeliverable, the recorder
is not required to retain the returned notice.
   (d) Where the county recorder contracts with any party or parties
for the performance of the processing or the mailing of the notice,
or both, as authorized by this section, the contract shall be awarded
by competitive bid. The county recorder shall solicit written bids
for the contract in a newspaper of general circulation in the county,
and all bids received shall be publicly opened and the contract
awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. If the county recorder or
his or her designee deems the acceptance of the lowest responsible
bid is not in the best interest of the county, all bids may be
rejected. 
   (e) If the board of supervisors adopts an authorizing resolution,
pursuant to subdivision (a), that includes notification of the
parties described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision
(a), the County of Los Angeles shall, on or before January 1, 2014,
submit a report to the Committee on Judiciary in each house of the
Legislature that shall include, but not be limited to, the following
information:  
   (1) A copy of each type of notice mailed pursuant to subparagraph
(B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).  
   (2) The number of filed notices of default and notices of sale for
which a fee was collected pursuant to Section 27387.1.  
   (3) The amount of fees collected, pursuant to Section 27387.1, for
the filing of notices of default and notices of sale.  
   (4) The amount of fees spent to provide the housing information,
counseling, and assistance, described in Section 27387.1.  
   (f) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2015, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2015, deletes or extends
that date. 
   SEC. 2.    Section 27297.6 is added to the  
Government Code   , to read:  
   27297.6.  (a) Following adoption of an authorizing resolution by
the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the Los Angeles County
Recorder may, within 30 days of recordation of a deed, quitclaim
deed, or deed of trust, notify by mail the party or parties executing
the document. The recorder may require, as a condition of recording,
that a deed, quitclaim deed, or deed of trust indicate the assessor'
s identification number or numbers that fully contain all, or a
portion of, the real property described in the legal description. If
the description contains more than one assessor's parcel, all
assessor's parcels shall be indicated. The form of the entry shall be
substantially as follows:
Assessor's Identification Number __-__-__.

   (b) This section shall not apply to the recordation of any
document where the federal government, or state, county, city, or any
subdivision of the state acquires title.
   (c) The failure of the county recorder to provide the notice as
permitted by this section shall not result in any liability against
the recorder or the county. In the event that the notice is returned
to the recorder by the postal service as undeliverable, the recorder
is not required to retain the returned notice.
   (d) Where the county recorder contracts with any party or parties
for the performance of the processing or the mailing of the notice,
or both, as authorized by this section, the contract shall be awarded
by competitive bid. The county recorder shall solicit written bids
for the contract in a newspaper of general circulation in the county,
and all bids received shall be publicly opened and the contract
awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. If the county recorder or
his or her designee deems the acceptance of the lowest responsible
bid is not in the best interest of the county, all bids may be
rejected.
   (e) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2015. 
  SEC. 2.   SEC. 3.   Section 27387.1 of
the Government Code is amended to read:
   27387.1.   (a)    In addition to any other
recording fee, the recorder  , pursuant to Section 27297.6, 
may collect a fee from the party filing a deed, quitclaim deed, deed
of trust, notice of default, or notice of sale, unless that party is
a government entity. The fee shall not exceed the mailing cost of
the notice specified in Section 27297.6 and the actual cost, if any,
to provide information, counseling, or assistance to a person who
receives the notice, not to exceed seven dollars ($7). 
   (b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2015, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2015, deletes or extends
that date. 
   SEC. 4.    Section 27387.1 is added to the  
Government Code   , to read:  
   27387.1.  (a) In addition to any other recording fee, the recorder
may collect a fee from the party filing a deed, quitclaim deed, or
deed of trust, other than a government entity, pursuant to Section
27297.6. The fee shall not exceed the mailing cost of the notice
specified in Section 27297.6, not to exceed seven dollars ($7).
   (b) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2015. 
   SEC. 3.   SEC. 5.   The Legislature
finds and declares that a special law is necessary and that a general
law cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of
Article IV of the California Constitution because the County of Los
Angeles is experiencing a foreclosure and real estate fraud crisis,
as discussed in the county's "Report and Recommendations to Address
Foreclosures and Real Estate Fraud" issued March 17, 2009, that
necessitates additional authority for the county to provide notice of
the recording of certain foreclosure-related real property
transactions to interested parties.