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                                                                  S.B. No. 1559




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.





______________________________    ______________________________
President of the Senate             Speaker of the House
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1559 passed the Senate on 
May 6, 2003, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.




______________________________ 
   Secretary of the Senate             
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1559 passed the House on 
May 28, 2003, by a non-record vote.




______________________________ 
   Chief Clerk of the House            



Approved:


______________________________ 
            Date



______________________________ 
          Governor