| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to real property electronic recording; |
| 3 | creating s. 695.27, F.S.; providing a short title; |
| 4 | providing definitions; providing for the validity of |
| 5 | electronic documents relating to real property; providing |
| 6 | for the recording of electronic documents by the county |
| 7 | recorder; granting the Department of State rulemaking |
| 8 | authority; creating the Electronic Recording Advisory |
| 9 | Committee; providing the committee with certain powers and |
| 10 | duties; providing for membership and meetings of the |
| 11 | committee; providing that committee members shall serve |
| 12 | without compensation and may not claim per diem and travel |
| 13 | expenses from the Secretary of State; providing guidelines |
| 14 | for the department, in consultation with the committee, to |
| 15 | consider in adopting, amending, and repealing standards; |
| 16 | providing a termination date for the committee; providing |
| 17 | for uniformity of application and construction; specifying |
| 18 | the relation to a federal act; amending s. 201.01, F.S.; |
| 19 | providing that certain electronic documents are subject to |
| 20 | the same taxes as paper documents; amending s. 201.022, |
| 21 | F.S.; providing for the electronic filing of certain |
| 22 | required returns; providing an effective date. |
| 23 |
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| 24 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 25 |
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| 26 | Section 1. Section 695.27, Florida Statutes, is created to |
| 27 | read: |
| 28 | 695.27 Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act.-- |
| 29 | (1) SHORT TITLE.--This section may be cited as the |
| 30 | "Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act." |
| 31 | (2) DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section: |
| 32 | (a) "Document" means information that is: |
| 33 | 1. Inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an |
| 34 | electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable |
| 35 | form; and |
| 36 | 2. Eligible to be recorded in the Official Records, as |
| 37 | defined in s. 28.222, and maintained by a county recorder. |
| 38 | (b) "Electronic" means relating to technology having |
| 39 | electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, |
| 40 | electromagnetic, or similar capabilities. |
| 41 | (c) "Electronic document" means a document that is |
| 42 | received by a county recorder in an electronic form. |
| 43 | (d) "Electronic signature" means an electronic sound, |
| 44 | symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with a |
| 45 | document such that, when recorded, it is assigned the same |
| 46 | document number or a consecutive page number immediately |
| 47 | following such document. |
| 48 | (e) "Person" means an individual, corporation, business |
| 49 | trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, |
| 50 | association, joint venture, public corporation, government or |
| 51 | governmental subdivision, agency, instrumentality, or any other |
| 52 | legal or commercial entity. |
| 53 | (f) "State" means a state of the United States, the |
| 54 | District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin |
| 55 | Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the |
| 56 | jurisdiction of the United States. |
| 57 | (3) VALIDITY OF ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS.-- |
| 58 | (a) If a law requires, as a condition for recording, that |
| 59 | a document be an original, be on paper or another tangible |
| 60 | medium, or be in writing, the requirement is satisfied by an |
| 61 | electronic document satisfying the requirements of this section. |
| 62 | (b) If a law requires, as a condition for recording, that |
| 63 | a document be signed, the requirement is satisfied by an |
| 64 | electronic signature. |
| 65 | (c) A requirement that a document or a signature |
| 66 | associated with a document be notarized, acknowledged, verified, |
| 67 | witnessed, or made under oath is satisfied if the electronic |
| 68 | signature of the person authorized to perform that act, and all |
| 69 | other information required to be included, is attached to or |
| 70 | logically associated with the document or signature. A physical |
| 71 | or electronic image of a stamp, impression, or seal need not |
| 72 | accompany an electronic signature. |
| 73 | (4) RECORDING OF DOCUMENTS.-- |
| 74 | (a) In this subsection, the term "paper document" means a |
| 75 | document that is received by the county recorder in a form that |
| 76 | is not electronic. |
| 77 | (b) A county recorder: |
| 78 | 1. Who implements any of the functions listed in this |
| 79 | section shall do so in compliance with standards established by |
| 80 | rule by the Department of State. |
| 81 | 2. May receive, index, store, archive, and transmit |
| 82 | electronic documents. |
| 83 | 3. May provide for access to, and for search and retrieval |
| 84 | of, documents and information by electronic means. |
| 85 | 4. Who accepts electronic documents for recording shall |
| 86 | continue to accept paper documents as authorized by state law |
| 87 | and shall place entries for both types of documents in the same |
| 88 | index. |
| 89 | 5. May convert paper documents accepted for recording into |
| 90 | electronic form. |
| 91 | 6. May convert into electronic form information recorded |
| 92 | before the county recorder began to record electronic documents. |
| 93 | 7. May agree with other officials of a state or a |
| 94 | political subdivision thereof, or of the United States, on |
| 95 | procedures or processes to facilitate the electronic |
| 96 | satisfaction of prior approvals and conditions precedent to |
| 97 | recording. |
| 98 | (5) ADMINISTRATION AND STANDARDS.-- |
| 99 | (a) The Department of State, by rule pursuant to ss. |
| 100 | 120.536(1) and 120.54, shall prescribe standards to implement |
| 101 | this section in consultation with the Electronic Recording |
| 102 | Advisory Committee, which is hereby created. The Florida |
| 103 | Association of Court Clerks and Comptrollers shall provide |
| 104 | administrative support to the committee and technical support to |
| 105 | the Department of State and the committee at no charge. The |
| 106 | committee shall consist of nine members, as follows: |
| 107 | 1. Five members appointed by the Florida Association of |
| 108 | Court Clerks and Comptrollers, one of whom must be an official |
| 109 | from a large urban charter county where the duty to maintain |
| 110 | official records exists in a county office other than the clerk |
| 111 | of court or comptroller. |
| 112 | 2. One attorney appointed by the Real Property, Probate, |
| 113 | and Trust Law Section of The Florida Bar Association. |
| 114 | 3. Two members appointed by the Florida Land Title |
| 115 | Association. |
| 116 | 4. One member appointed by the Florida Bankers |
| 117 | Association. |
| 118 | (b) Appointed members shall serve a 1-year term. All |
| 119 | initial terms shall commence on the effective date of this act. |
| 120 | Members shall serve until their successors are appointed. An |
| 121 | appointing authority may reappoint a member for successive |
| 122 | terms. A vacancy on the committee shall be filled in the same |
| 123 | manner in which the original appointment was made, and the term |
| 124 | shall be for the balance of the unexpired term. |
| 125 | (c) The first meeting of the committee shall be within 60 |
| 126 | days after the effective date of this act. Thereafter, the |
| 127 | committee shall meet at the call of the chair, but at least |
| 128 | annually. |
| 129 | (d) The members of the committee shall serve without |
| 130 | compensation and shall not claim per diem and travel expenses |
| 131 | from the Secretary of State. |
| 132 | (e) To keep the standards and practices of county |
| 133 | recorders in this state in harmony with the standards and |
| 134 | practices of recording offices in other jurisdictions that enact |
| 135 | substantially this section and to keep the technology used by |
| 136 | county recorders in this state compatible with technology used |
| 137 | by recording offices in other jurisdictions that enact |
| 138 | substantially this section, the Department of State, in |
| 139 | consultation with the committee, so far as is consistent with |
| 140 | the purposes, policies, and provisions of this section, in |
| 141 | adopting, amending, and repealing standards, shall consider: |
| 142 | 1. Standards and practices of other jurisdictions. |
| 143 | 2. The most recent standards adopted by national standard- |
| 144 | setting bodies, such as the Property Records Industry |
| 145 | Association. |
| 146 | 3. The views of interested persons and governmental |
| 147 | officials and entities. |
| 148 | 4. The needs of counties of varying size, population, and |
| 149 | resources. |
| 150 | 5. Standards requiring adequate information security |
| 151 | protection to ensure that electronic documents are accurate, |
| 152 | authentic, adequately preserved, and resistant to tampering. |
| 153 | (f) The committee shall terminate on July 1, 2010. |
| 154 | (6) UNIFORMITY OF APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION.--In |
| 155 | applying and construing this section, consideration must be |
| 156 | given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect |
| 157 | to its subject matter among states that enact it. |
| 158 | (7) RELATION TO ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES IN GLOBAL AND |
| 159 | NATIONAL COMMERCE ACT.--This section modifies, limits, and |
| 160 | supersedes the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and |
| 161 | National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. ss. 7001 et seq., but this |
| 162 | section does not modify, limit, or supersede s. 101(c) of that |
| 163 | act, 15 U.S.C. s. 7001(c), or authorize electronic delivery of |
| 164 | any of the notices described in s. 103(b) of that act, 15 U.S.C. |
| 165 | s. 7003(b). |
| 166 | Section 2. Section 201.01, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 167 | read: |
| 168 | 201.01 Documents taxable, generally.--There shall be |
| 169 | levied, collected, and paid the taxes specified in this chapter, |
| 170 | for and in respect to the several documents, bonds, debentures |
| 171 | or certificates of stock and indebtedness, and other documents, |
| 172 | instruments, matters, writings, and things described in the |
| 173 | following sections, or for or in respect of the vellum, |
| 174 | parchment, or paper, or any other medium, tangible, electronic, |
| 175 | or otherwise, upon which such document, instrument, matter, |
| 176 | writing, or thing, or any of them, is written, or printed, or |
| 177 | created electronically or otherwise, by any person who makes, |
| 178 | signs, executes, issues, sells, removes, consigns, assigns, |
| 179 | records, or ships the same, or for whose benefit or use the same |
| 180 | are made, signed, executed, issued, sold, removed, consigned, |
| 181 | assigned, recorded, or shipped in the state. Unless exempt under |
| 182 | s. 201.24 or under any state or federal law, if the United |
| 183 | States, the state, or any political subdivision of the state is |
| 184 | a party to a document taxable under this chapter, any tax |
| 185 | specified in this chapter shall be paid by a nonexempt party to |
| 186 | the document. The documentary stamp taxes shall be paid on all |
| 187 | recordable instruments requiring documentary stamp tax according |
| 188 | to law, prior to recordation. With respect to mortgages or trust |
| 189 | deeds which do not incorporate the certificate of indebtedness, |
| 190 | a notation shall be made on the note or certificate that the tax |
| 191 | has been paid on the mortgage or trust deed. |
| 192 | Section 3. Subsections (1) and (3) of section 201.022, |
| 193 | Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 194 | 201.022 Consideration for realty; filing of return |
| 195 | condition precedent to recordation; penalty; compensation of |
| 196 | clerks; failure to file does not impair validity.-- |
| 197 | (1) As a condition precedent to the recordation of any |
| 198 | deed transferring an interest in real property, the grantor or |
| 199 | the grantee or agent for grantee shall execute and file a return |
| 200 | with the clerk of the circuit court, who may accept the return |
| 201 | electronically. The return shall state the actual consideration |
| 202 | paid for the interest in real property. The return shall state |
| 203 | the parcel identification number maintained by the county |
| 204 | property appraiser in a manner prescribed by the department. If |
| 205 | the parcel is a split or cutout parcel, the return shall state |
| 206 | the parent parcel identification number if the parcel |
| 207 | identification number has not been assigned. The return shall |
| 208 | not be recorded or otherwise become a public record and shall be |
| 209 | confidential as provided by s. 193.074, and shall be exempt from |
| 210 | the provisions of s. 119.07(1), except that the Department of |
| 211 | Environmental Protection or, through the Department of |
| 212 | Environmental Protection, its contract appraiser, shall have |
| 213 | access to the return to verify the consideration paid in any |
| 214 | transfer of an interest in real property, when such transfer is |
| 215 | considered as part of an appraisal for a proposed land |
| 216 | acquisition project conducted pursuant to any Department of |
| 217 | Environmental Protection land acquisition program. The |
| 218 | Department of Environmental Protection or its contract appraiser |
| 219 | shall not disclose the contents of the return to any other |
| 220 | public or private entity. The original return shall be forwarded |
| 221 | to the Department of Revenue, and a copy shall be forwarded to |
| 222 | the property appraiser. |
| 223 | (3) If the return required by this section is not executed |
| 224 | and filed, the clerk of the circuit court is required to execute |
| 225 | and file the return, on paper or electronically, with the |
| 226 | department. The clerk shall be compensated 1.0 percent of the |
| 227 | tax paid on deeds as the cost of processing the return required |
| 228 | by this section in the form of a deduction from the amount of |
| 229 | the tax due and remitted by the clerk, and the department shall |
| 230 | allow the deduction to the clerk paying and remitting the tax in |
| 231 | the manner provided by the department. However, no deduction or |
| 232 | allowance shall be granted when there is a manifest failure to |
| 233 | maintain proper records or make proper reports. The compensation |
| 234 | provided herein shall be in addition to that provided in s. |
| 235 | 201.11(2). |
| 236 | Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |