79R7111 KCR-F

By:  Gattis                                                       H.B. No. 2867



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the effect of electronic or original signatures in 
certain documents.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 43.007(a), Business & Commerce Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
	(a)  A record or signature may not be denied legal effect or 
enforceability solely because it is in electronic form, if the 
record or signature is transmitted or received electronically.
	SECTION 2.  Section 11.004(a), Property Code, is amended to 
read as follows: 
	(a)  A county clerk shall:                                                     
		(1)  correctly record, as required by law, within a 
reasonable time after delivery, any instrument authorized or 
required to be recorded in that clerk's office that contains an 
original signature or signatures that are [is] proved, 
acknowledged, or sworn to according to law;
		(2)  give a receipt, as required by law, for an 
instrument delivered for recording;
		(3)  record instruments relating to the same property 
in the order the instruments are filed; and
		(4)  provide and keep in the clerk's office the indexes 
required by law.    
	SECTION 3.  Section 12.001(a), Property Code, is amended to 
read as follows: 
	(a)  An instrument concerning real or personal property may 
be recorded if the original signature or signatures contained in 
the instrument have [it has] been acknowledged by a notary public, 
sworn to with a proper jurat, or proved according to law.
	SECTION 4.  Section 193.001(c), Local Government Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
	(c)  If an instrument that contains an original signature or 
signatures is filed for recording is acknowledged or proved in the 
manner prescribed by law for record, the clerk shall make a record 
of the names of the parties to the instrument in alphabetical order, 
the date of the instrument, the nature of the instrument, and the 
time that the instrument was filed.  If required, the clerk shall 
give the person who files the instrument a receipt stating this 
information.
	SECTION 5.  (a) The change in law made by Section 43.007(a), 
Business & Commerce Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to a 
record or signature made or executed on or after the effective date 
of this Act. A record or signature made or executed before the 
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at the 
time the record or signature is made or executed, and that law is 
continued in effect for that purpose.
	(b)  The changes in law made by Sections 11.004(a) and 
12.001(a), Property Code, and Section 193.001(c), Local Government 
Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to an instrument filed or 
recorded on or after the effective date of this Act.  An instrument 
filed or recorded before the effective date of this Act is governed 
by the law in effect at the time the instrument was filed and 
recorded, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.