78R12282 KCR-D
By: Lewis H.B. No. 2930
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2930:
By: Lewis C.S.H.B. No. 2930
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the confidentiality of and access to certain personal
information contained in instruments recorded with a county clerk.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 11, Property Code, is amended by adding
Section 11.008 to read as follows:
Sec. 11.008. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION IN REAL PROPERTY
RECORDS. (a) In this section, "instrument" means a deed, mortgage,
or deed of trust.
(b) An instrument executed on or after January 1, 2004,
transferring an interest in real property to or from an individual
may not be recorded unless a notice appears on the first page of the
instrument in 12-point boldfaced type or 12-point uppercase letters
and reads substantially as follows:
NOTICE OF CONFIDENTIALITY RIGHTS: IF YOU ARE A NATURAL
PERSON, YOU MAY REMOVE OR STRIKE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING
INFORMATION FROM THIS INSTRUMENT BEFORE IT IS FILED
FOR RECORD IN THE PUBLIC RECORDS: YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY
NUMBER OR YOUR DRIVER'S LICENSE NUMBER.
(c) The validity of an instrument as between the parties to
the instrument and the notice provided by the instrument are not
affected by a party's failure to include the notice required under
Subsection (b).
(d) The county clerk may not reject an instrument presented
for recording because the instrument contains or fails to contain a
social security number or driver's license number. If the county
clerk accepts an instrument for recording, the recording of the
instrument creates a conclusive presumption that the requirements
of this section have been met.
(e) The county clerk shall post a notice in the county
clerk's office stating that instruments recorded in the real
property or official public records or the equivalent of the real
property or official public records of the county and executed on or
after January 1, 2004:
(1) are not required to contain a social security
number or driver's license number; and
(2) are public records available for review by the
public.
(f) All instruments recorded under this section are subject
to inspection by the public.
(g) Unless this section is cited in a law enacted after
September 1, 2003, this section is the exclusive law governing the
confidentiality of personal information contained in the real
property or official public records or the equivalent of the real
property or official public records of a county.
(h) To the extent that federal law conflicts with this
section, an instrument must contain the information required by and
must be filed in a manner that complies with federal law.
SECTION 2. Section 13.002, Property Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 13.002. EFFECT OF RECORDED INSTRUMENT. An instrument
that is properly recorded in the proper county is:
(1) notice to all persons of the existence of the
instrument; and
(2) subject to inspection by the public.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003, and
applies only to a deed, mortgage, or deed of trust executed on or
after January 1, 2004.