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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 05152001 - C.42 CONTRA COSTA TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS G �•rr:, ""'`: '�:� COUNTY i if FROM: John Sweeten, County Administrator • - YEA�[•UVZi1� DATE: May 15, 2001 SUBJECT: Support SB 407 (Sher) SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION(S): SUPPORT SB 407 (Sher), which would authorize electronic recording of real property documents as recommended by Stephen L. Weir, County Clerk-Recorder. BACKGROUND/REASON(S) FOR RECOMMENDATION(S): The County's Legislative Platform includes the following position: Continue to support legislation that would authorize the County Recorder to accept digitized image of a recordable instrument under specked terms and conditions. Contra Costa is currently sponsoring AB 478 (Canciamilla), which authorizes the Contra Costa Recorder to accept digitized images of recordable instruments under specified terms and conditions. AB 478 applies only to Contra Costa County. After the introduction of AB 478, State Senator Byron Sher introduced SB 407, which allows for electronic recording of real property documents for all county recorders in the State of California, including Contra Costa County. Steve Weir, County Clerk Recorder, has indicated that this bill would meet his needs and, consequently, Assemblyman Canciamilla has made AB 478 a two-year bill. SB 407 (Sher) authorizes Clerk Recorders in California to accept for indexing and electronic recording, electronic records of recordable instruments affecting the right, title or interest in real property. It also provides that County Recorders must consider at minimum whether accepting electronically recorded documents for the requestor is in the best interest of the county and the public and whether, in order to protect the county and the public, the requestor has effective security precautions addressing potential fraud and forging of documents in the electronic recordation process. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: _ RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR_RECOMMENDAT 0 BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BOARD ON My-15, 2001 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED XK OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS XX -------- I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A UNANIMOUS(ABSENT 1 TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF AN AYES: NOES: ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ON MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. Contact:Sara Hoffman,335-1090 ATTESTED May 15. 2001 JOHN SWEETEN,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY A MINI TRATOR cc: CAO Steve Weir,Clerk-Recorder B PUTY BACKGROUND/REASON(S) FOR RECOMMENDATION (Cont'd): Mr. Weir recommends that the County support SB 407 (Sher) as well as AB 1641 (Campbell), which would similarly provide for electronic recording. According to Mr. Weir, the electronic recording pilot program authorized by the Legislature in 1996 (AB 3296) for Orange and San Bernardino County Recorders has shown that service to the public is greatly enhanced and the costs of those local government services are lowered by applying modern technology to a process that has changed little, if at all, over the past 60 years. Also demonstrated by the results of the pilot program, under which more than one million documents have been recorded electronically, is that proper security measures employed within the electronic recording system reduce the risk of fraudulent practices. Consumers in this case, chiefly California homeowners and other buyers of real estate, have their business tended to promptly and securely. The need for modernization and employment of new technology in County Recorder's Offices in California has been apparent to the Legislature for many years. As far back as 1984, for example, the Legislature allowed Recorders to charge customers additional fees to be used solely for the automation and modernization. The added fee charged to the public indicated the need to bring Recorders' operations up to date. The pilot program of Orange County proves without doubt that electronic recording can be of great benefit to both the public and government. Electronic recording is simply a good government issue for Contra Costa County. 2 AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 1, 2001 SENATE BILL No. 407 Introduced by Senator Sher February 21, 2001 An act to add Section 27279.5 to the Government Code, relating to county recorders. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 407, as amended, Sher. County recorders: digitized images. Existing law generally provides that the recorder of any county may, in lieu of a written paper, accept for recording a digitized image of a recordable instrument, subject to specified conditions. This bill would additionally e specify that, , 2903; a county recorder may, in the exercise of his or her discretion, Fefuse te accept for indexing and electronic recording of a ~eeer-d ble ifts ffie t electronic records of recordable instruments affecting the right, title, or interest in real property. -mer title, digitized fefffi-. Beeause this bill would impose new deties eft eaunty elefk-s, it weuld The California Constitution feqeir-es the state to reift-tbufse leeal the b state. to pay the eests of fflandates that do not exeeed $1,000,000 statewide 98 SB 407 —2— and 2— 1;890;900- This bill would pfavide that, if the G ft State Man detefinifies that the bill eenfaifls eests mandated by the , feinibufsement fef these eests shall be made punumt to these statu"..,' pIe - This bill would provide factors the county recorder must consider when determining whether to accept those electronically recordable instruments. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes no. State-mandated local program: ye�5 no. The people of the State of California do enact as follows: 1 SECTION 1. Section 27279.5 is added to the Government 2 Code, to read: 3 27279.5. (a) Until januafy 4, 2003, A county recorder may, 4 in the exercise of his or her discretion, _ accept for indexing 5 and electronic recording a digitized image e electronic records of 6 a recordable instfument instruments affecting the right, title, or 7 interest in real property. 8 , on and aftef 9 januafy 1, 10 11 , 12 pfapefty solely beeattse the doeuffient, of any peft of it, is fift 13 digitize faf f •b• 14 SEC. 2. NotwithstandingBeebe" ,�'rrr4610-of the Gever-n ren 15 Gede, if the Gaffifflission on State Mandates Eleteffflines that t 16 aet eantains easts mandated by the state, reimbufsement to le 17 18 20 , 21 feiffibufsefflent shall be fflade frefft the State Mandate-, Glaifft�� 22 Fund.- 23 (b) Factors the county recorder shall consider in determining 24 whether to accept electronically recorded documents, include, but 25 are not limited to, both of the following: 26 (1) Whether accepting electronically recorded documents from 27 the requester is in the best interest of the county and the public. 98 -3— SB 407 1 (2) Whether, in order to protect the county and the public, the 2 requester has effective security precautions addressing potential 3 fraud and forging of documents in the electronic recordation 4 process. O 98