By: Lucio S.B. No. 1203
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the recording of certain documents by electronic means
1-2 and to the creation of an electronic recording advisory committee.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Chapter 205, Local Government Code, is amended by
1-5 adding Section 205.010 to read as follows:
1-6 Sec. 205.010. ELECTRONIC RECORDING ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
1-7 (a) In this section, "real property records" means the deed
1-8 records, deed of trust records, and other records maintained by a
1-9 county clerk relating to real property located in the county.
1-10 (b) The electronic recording advisory committee is created.
1-11 The advisory committee consists of 16 members appointed or selected
1-12 as follows:
1-13 (1) four county clerks selected by the County and
1-14 District Clerks Association of Texas, or their designees;
1-15 (2) four persons selected by the Texas Land Title
1-16 Association, or their designees, one of whom is employed by or is
1-17 an officer of a rural or small urban agent, one of whom is employed
1-18 by or is an officer of a metropolitan agent, and one of whom is
1-19 employed by or is an officer of a title insurer;
1-20 (3) two persons selected by the County Judges and
1-21 Commissioners Association of Texas, or their designees;
1-22 (4) one person selected by the Independent Title
1-23 Association of Texas, Incorporated, or the person's designee; and
2-1 (5) the following state officers or the officer's
2-2 designee:
2-3 (A) the attorney general;
2-4 (B) the comptroller;
2-5 (C) the executive director of the General
2-6 Services Commission;
2-7 (D) the executive director of the Department of
2-8 Information Resources; and
2-9 (E) the director and librarian of the Texas
2-10 State Library and Archives Commission.
2-11 (c) The director and librarian of the Texas State Library
2-12 and Archives Commission is the presiding officer of the advisory
2-13 committee.
2-14 (d) Notice of the selection of the members of the advisory
2-15 committee shall be provided to the Texas State Library and Archives
2-16 Commission on or before September 1, 1997. If a member of the
2-17 advisory committee selected by an association under Subsection (b)
2-18 resigns, fails or refuses to serve, or is unable to serve for any
2-19 reason, the association that selected the original member shall
2-20 select a replacement member.
2-21 (e) A meeting of the advisory committee shall be held at the
2-22 call of the presiding officer. A meeting is subject to Chapter
2-23 551, Government Code.
2-24 (f) The advisory committee may make recommendations under
2-25 this section only if:
3-1 (1) nine or more members of the advisory committee are
3-2 present; and
3-3 (2) all present members, except three or fewer
3-4 members, vote in favor of making the recommendation.
3-5 (g) The advisory committee may make written recommendations
3-6 to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission on or before
3-7 December 31, 1997, concerning the adoption of rules relating to the
3-8 recording of instruments or documents in real property or official
3-9 public records by electronic means. The recommendations:
3-10 (1) shall provide that accessibility by electronic
3-11 means shall be made with existing and generally accepted
3-12 technological systems, including through the Internet or other
3-13 means;
3-14 (2) may not require any proprietary cost or investment
3-15 expenses for accessibility by electronic means to any person who in
3-16 the normal course of business is responsible for presenting
3-17 instruments or documents for recording; and
3-18 (3) may not allow any cost or charge for a computer
3-19 software program needed to facilitate accessibility by electronic
3-20 means to any person, other than the cost of copying or reproducing
3-21 the program.
3-22 (h) If the advisory committee makes written recommendations
3-23 under this section, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission
3-24 may adopt rules to permit a county clerk to record instruments or
3-25 documents by electronic means in the real property or official
4-1 public records. The rules may not prohibit recording instruments
4-2 or documents by other lawful means.
4-3 (i) If the Texas State Library and Archives Commission
4-4 adopts rules under Subsection (h), the county clerk may, in the
4-5 clerk's discretion, accept for recording by electronic means in
4-6 accordance with the rules an instrument or document eligible for
4-7 recording in the real property or official public records. The
4-8 county clerk who accepts an electronic filing under this subsection
4-9 must require that the original instrument or document also be filed
4-10 or that a paper copy of the instrument or document be generated by
4-11 that county clerk in order for the electronic filing to be
4-12 effective.
4-13 (j) If an instrument or document is recorded under
4-14 Subsection (i), the electronic filing is considered to have been
4-15 recorded in compliance with any law relating to the recording of
4-16 instruments or documents in the real property or official public
4-17 records as of the date of the receipt of the original paper
4-18 instrument or document or the generation of a paper copy of the
4-19 instrument or document. The county clerk shall maintain a paper,
4-20 microfilm, or optical image of the instrument or document under any
4-21 other applicable law other than this section. If the original
4-22 paper instrument or document or the generated paper copy of the
4-23 instrument or document conflicts with an electronic filing of the
4-24 instrument or document, the original paper instrument or document
4-25 or the generated paper copy controls.
5-1 (k) A county clerk shall collect filing fees as provided by
5-2 Section 118.011 and any other law for an instrument or document
5-3 filed under this section regardless of whether the original
5-4 instrument or document is also filed or a paper copy is generated
5-5 by the clerk. The clerk may not charge an additional fee for
5-6 recording an instrument under this section. The advisory committee
5-7 may include in its recommendation under Subsection (m) an amount
5-8 for fees to be charged for the electronic filing of instruments.
5-9 (l) The retention and other disposition of instruments or
5-10 documents recorded by electronic means and the original or paper
5-11 copies of the instruments or documents required by this section is
5-12 controlled by the rules adopted by the Texas State Library and
5-13 Archives Commission under Sections 203.048, 204.004, and 205.003 of
5-14 this code and Section 441.158, Government Code. An electronically
5-15 recorded instrument or document or an original or paper copy of the
5-16 instrument or document is a local government record under Section
5-17 201.003(8)(A).
5-18 (m) The advisory committee may make written recommendations
5-19 to the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of
5-20 representatives, and the Texas State Library and Archives
5-21 Commission on or before December 31, 1998, concerning any statutory
5-22 changes relating to the recording of instruments or documents by
5-23 electronic means in the real property or official public records.
5-24 (n) This section and any rules adopted under this section
5-25 expire January 1, 2000. On and after that date, an instrument or
6-1 document may not be recorded by electronic means unless allowed by
6-2 another law.
6-3 SECTION 2. Section 441.165, Government Code, is amended to
6-4 read as follows:
6-5 Sec. 441.165. CERTAIN COMMISSION RULES. Rules and any
6-6 revisions to the rules developed under Sections 203.048, 204.004,
6-7 [and] 205.003, and 205.010, Local Government Code, must be approved
6-8 by the local government records committee established under Section
6-9 441.161.
6-10 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
6-11 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-12 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-13 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-14 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
6-15 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
6-16 passage, and it is so enacted.