Senate Bill sb2106c1
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Florida Senate - 2006 CS for SB 2106
By the Committee on Judiciary; and Senator Bennett
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1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to real property electronic
3 recording; creating s. 695.27, F.S.; providing
4 a short title; providing definitions; providing
5 for the validity of electronic documents
6 relating to real property; providing for the
7 recording of electronic documents by the county
8 recorder; granting the Department of State
9 rulemaking authority; creating the Electronic
10 Recording Council; requiring the department to
11 make specific written findings if any of the
12 council's recommendations are rejected;
13 providing for membership and meetings of the
14 council; providing that council members shall
15 serve without compensation and may not claim
16 per diem and travel expenses from the Secretary
17 of State; providing guidelines for the
18 department, in consultation with the council,
19 to consider in adopting, amending, and
20 repealing standards; providing for uniformity
21 of application and construction; specifying the
22 relation to a federal act; providing an
23 effective date.
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25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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27 Section 1. Section 695.27, Florida Statutes, is
28 created to read:
29 695.27 Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording
30 Act.--
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Florida Senate - 2006 CS for SB 2106
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1 (1) SHORT TITLE.--This section may be cited as the
2 "Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act."
3 (2) DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section:
4 (a) "Document" means information that is:
5 1. Inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in
6 an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in
7 perceivable form; and
8 2. Eligible to be recorded in the land records
9 maintained by a county recorder pursuant to s. 28.222.
10 (b) "Electronic" means relating to technology having
11 electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical,
12 electromagnetic, or similar capabilities.
13 (c) "Electronic document" means a document that is
14 received by a county recorder in an electronic form.
15 (d) "Electronic signature" means an electronic sound,
16 symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with a
17 document and executed or adopted by a person with the intent
18 to sign the document.
19 (e) "Logically associated" means information recorded
20 simultaneously with the document to which it pertains and
21 assigned the same document number or a consecutive page number
22 immediately following such document.
23 (f) "Person" means an individual, corporation,
24 business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability
25 company, association, joint venture, public corporation, or
26 government; governmental subdivision, agency, or
27 instrumentality; or any other legal or commercial entity.
28 (g) "State" means a state of the United States, the
29 District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin
30 Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the
31 jurisdiction of the United States.
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Florida Senate - 2006 CS for SB 2106
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1 (3) VALIDITY OF ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS.--
2 (a) If a law requires, as a condition for recording,
3 that a document be an original, be on paper or another
4 tangible medium, or be in writing, the requirement is
5 satisfied by an electronic document satisfying the
6 requirements of this section.
7 (b) If a law requires, as a condition for recording,
8 that a document be signed, the requirement is satisfied by an
9 electronic signature.
10 (c) A requirement that a document or a signature
11 associated with a document be notarized, acknowledged,
12 verified, witnessed, or made under oath is satisfied if the
13 electronic signature of the person authorized to perform that
14 act, and all other information required to be included, is
15 attached to or logically associated with the document or
16 signature. A physical or electronic image of a stamp,
17 impression, or seal need not accompany an electronic
18 signature.
19 (4) RECORDING OF DOCUMENTS.--
20 (a) In this subsection, the term "paper document"
21 means a document that is received by the county recorder in a
22 form that is not electronic.
23 (b) A county recorder:
24 1. Who implements any of the functions listed in this
25 section shall do so in compliance with standards established
26 by rule by the Department of State.
27 2. May receive, index, store, archive, and transmit
28 electronic documents.
29 3. May provide for access to, and for search and
30 retrieval of, documents and information by electronic means.
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Florida Senate - 2006 CS for SB 2106
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1 4. Who accepts electronic documents for recording
2 shall continue to accept paper documents as authorized by
3 state law and shall place entries for both types of documents
4 in the same index.
5 5. May convert paper documents accepted for recording
6 into electronic form.
7 6. May convert into electronic form information
8 recorded before the county recorder began to record electronic
9 documents.
10 7. May agree with other officials of a state or a
11 political subdivision thereof, or of the United States, on
12 procedures or processes to facilitate the electronic
13 satisfaction of prior approvals and conditions precedent to
14 recording.
15 (5) ADMINISTRATION AND STANDARDS.--
16 (a) The Department of State, by rule pursuant to ss.
17 120.536(1) and 120.54, shall prescribe standards to implement
18 this section in consultation with the Electronic Recording
19 Council, which is hereby created. The Secretary of State shall
20 provide administrative support to the council, appoint the
21 members of the council, and appoint the chair of the council.
22 The Department of State shall make specific written findings
23 if any of the council's recommendations are rejected. The
24 council shall consist of nine members, as follows:
25 1. Five clerks of circuit court or county recorders.
26 2. Two persons working in the title insurance industry
27 who are members of the Florida Land Title Association.
28 3. One banker who is a member of the Florida Bankers
29 Association.
30 4. One attorney who is a member of the Real Property,
31 Probate and Trust Law Section of The Florida Bar.
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1 (b) The first meeting of the council shall be held on
2 or before July 30, 2006. Thereafter, the council shall meet at
3 the call of the chair.
4 (c) The members of the council shall serve without
5 compensation and shall not claim per diem and travel expenses
6 from the Secretary of State.
7 (d) To keep the standards and practices of county
8 recorders in this state in harmony with the standards and
9 practices of recording offices in other jurisdictions that
10 enact substantially this section and to keep the technology
11 used by county recorders in this state compatible with
12 technology used by recording offices in other jurisdictions
13 that enact substantially this section, the Department of
14 State, in consultation with the council, so far as is
15 consistent with the purposes, policies, and provisions of this
16 section, in adopting, amending, and repealing standards, shall
17 consider:
18 1. Standards and practices of other jurisdictions.
19 2. The most recent standards adopted by national
20 standard-setting bodies, such as the Property Records Industry
21 Association.
22 3. The views of interested persons and governmental
23 officials and entities.
24 4. The needs of counties of varying size, population,
25 and resources.
26 5. Standards requiring adequate information security
27 protection to ensure that electronic documents are accurate,
28 authentic, adequately preserved, and resistant to tampering.
29 (6) UNIFORMITY OF APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION.--In
30 applying and construing this section, consideration must be
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1 given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with
2 respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.
3 (7) RELATION TO ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES IN GLOBAL AND
4 NATIONAL COMMERCE ACT.--This section modifies, limits, and
5 supersedes the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and
6 National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. ss. 7001 et seq., but this
7 section does not modify, limit, or supersede s. 101(c) of that
8 act, 15 U.S.C. s. 7001(c), or authorize electronic delivery of
9 any of the notices described in s. 103(b) of that act, 15
10 U.S.C. s. 7003(b).
11 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
12 law.
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Florida Senate - 2006 CS for SB 2106
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1 STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
2 Senate Bill 2106
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4 The committee substitute makes the following changes to the
underlying bill:
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-- Adds short title of "Uniform Real Property Electronic
6 Recording Act";
7 -- Clarifies the recorder of electronic documents is a
county recorder pursuant to s. 28.222;
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-- Adds definition for "logically associated" and "person"
9 to definition list;
10 -- Removes the phrase "relating to land records" after the
term "document";
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-- Removes provision allowing recorders to accept
12 electronically any fee or tax that the recorders are
authorized to collect
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-- Changes the administering body from the Electronic
14 Recording Commission to the Electronic Recording Council;
15 -- Provides that the Secretary of State provides
administrative support for the council and appoints the
16 members and chair of the council;
17 -- Clarifies the membership of the council to consist of
five clerks of circuit court or county recorders, two
18 persons working in the title insurance industry who are
members of the Florida Land Title Association, one banker
19 who is a member of the Florida Bankers Association, and
one attorney who is a member of the Real Property,
20 Probate and Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar;
21 -- Prohibits the Council from claiming per diem and travel
expenses from the Secretary of State;
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-- Adds to the list of things to consider in making
23 standards for electronic recording whether adequate
information security protection is in place to ensure the
24 safety and authenticity of electronic documents;
25 -- Changes the effective date to upon becoming a law.
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