Bill Text: FL S0230 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Website Notice of Foreclosure Action

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2012-03-09 - Died in Judiciary [S0230 Detail]

Download: Florida-2012-S0230-Introduced.html

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       Florida Senate - 2012                                     SB 230
       
       
       
       By Senator Wise
       
       
       
       
       5-00251A-12                                            2012230__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to website notice of foreclosure
    3         action; creating s. 50.015, F.S.; providing that a
    4         legal publication, advertisement, or notice of
    5         foreclosure action may be placed on a publicly
    6         accessible Internet website of a clerk of court in
    7         lieu of publication in any other form of media;
    8         providing criteria for the publicly accessible
    9         Internet website; providing for user access to the
   10         website; providing for access by clerks of court and
   11         chief judges; providing requirements for the website
   12         provider; providing posting requirements; authorizing
   13         the clerk of court to contract with a publicly
   14         accessible Internet website provider; providing for
   15         terms and revenue sharing in the contract; amending s.
   16         702.035, F.S.; providing for notice of foreclosure
   17         action to be posted on a publicly accessible Internet
   18         website; providing an effective date.
   19  
   20  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   21  
   22         Section 1. Section 50.015, Florida Statutes, is created to
   23  read:
   24         50.015 Legal publication, advertisement, or notice of
   25  foreclosure action on a publicly accessible Internet website.—
   26         (1) A legal publication, advertisement, or notice of
   27  foreclosure action required by s. 702.035 may be placed on a
   28  publicly accessible website of the clerk of court in lieu of
   29  publication in any other form of media.
   30         (2) For purposes of this section, a publicly accessible
   31  Internet website must:
   32         (a) Be approved for legal publication, advertisement, and
   33  notice by the Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation.
   34         (b)1. Maintain a legal publication, advertisement, or
   35  notice of foreclosure action for 90 days following the first day
   36  of posting or for as long as provided in paragraph (6)(b) or
   37  paragraph (6)(c).
   38         2. Maintain all legal publications, advertisements, or
   39  notice of foreclosure action searchable and accessible to users
   40  for 10 years following the first day of posting.
   41         (c) Receive at least 100,000 total impressions per month,
   42  which must be certified by a recognized Internet search engine.
   43  For the purpose of this paragraph, the term “impression” means
   44  the time at which a notice is viewed once by a visitor on an
   45  Internet web page.
   46         (d) Maintain 24-hour customer support, along with live
   47  electronic communication and telephone support for a minimum of
   48  12 hours per day during peak-time usage.
   49         (e) Post information other than the legal publication,
   50  advertisement, or notice of foreclosure action in English and
   51  Spanish.
   52         (f) Post online tutorials for users.
   53         (g) Be maintained on a data center that is compliant with
   54  the Statement on Auditing Standards No. 70. The website provider
   55  shall provide a certificate of compliance to each clerk of the
   56  court.
   57         (3)(a) A user may not be required to register with the
   58  website and may not be charged for access to postings of legal
   59  publications, advertisements, or notices of foreclosure actions
   60  which are posted as provided in subparagraph (2)(b)1.
   61         (b) A user may be required to register with the website in
   62  order to access postings of legal publications, advertisements,
   63  or notices of foreclosure actions which are posted as provided
   64  in subparagraph (2)(b)2. Each clerk of court may allow a fee and
   65  determine an amount that the website provider may charge a user
   66  to access postings of legal publications, advertisements, or
   67  notices of foreclosure actions which are posted as provided in
   68  subparagraph (2)(b)2.
   69         (4)(a) Each clerk of court and deputy clerk shall have 24
   70  hour access at no charge to all records relevant to the legal
   71  publications, advertisements, or notices of foreclosure action
   72  in the county of each clerk of court through a fully secure
   73  portal accessed by a distinct user name and password.
   74         (b) The chief judge of each judicial circuit, and his or
   75  her designee, shall have access at no charge to all documents
   76  published or maintained on the website.
   77         (5) The website provider shall develop and maintain on
   78  file, and provide to the clerk of court and the chief judge of
   79  each judicial circuit, a disaster recovery plan for the website.
   80         (6)(a) The website provider shall publish its affidavits
   81  electronically in substantial conformity with ss. 50.041 and
   82  50.051, and may use an electronic notary seal.
   83         (b) Legal publication, advertisement, or notice of
   84  foreclosure action shall be posted within 3 business days,
   85  excluding court holidays, after the date for the foreclosure
   86  sale is set, and shall continue for 10 days after the
   87  foreclosure sale or for 90 consecutive days, whichever period is
   88  longer. This paragraph does not affect the requirements for the
   89  manner and time for constructive service by publication provided
   90  by chapter 49 or the manner and time for notices of sale
   91  provided in s. 45.031 if the notice provided in this section
   92  continues for the 90-day period.
   93         (c) If the defendant refuses to accept or evades service or
   94  if the agent serving process is unable to effect service, legal
   95  publication, advertisement, or notice of foreclosure action
   96  shall be posted on the website beginning on the date that the
   97  affidavit of nonservice is recorded and shall continue through
   98  the conclusion of the action or for 90 consecutive days,
   99  whichever period is longer.
  100         (7) The legal publication, advertisement, or notice of
  101  foreclosure action on the website must conform substantially
  102  with the requirements of s. 50.011, unless inconsistent with
  103  this section.
  104         (8) Each clerk of court may contract with a publicly
  105  accessible Internet website provider for legal publication,
  106  advertisement, or notice of foreclosure action as required by s.
  107  702.035. Fees for publication shall be consistent with s.
  108  50.061.
  109         (a) The website provider shall provide to the clerk of
  110  court a quarterly accounting of revenue generated.
  111         (b) The website provider shall remit to the clerk of court
  112  50 percent of all net revenue generated from the publication
  113  fees for legal publication, advertisement, or notice of
  114  foreclosure action.
  115         (c) The website provider shall deposit, by electronic
  116  transfer at no cost to the clerk of court, the clerk of court’s
  117  share of the net revenue generated monthly by the 5th day of the
  118  following month. Between each monthly deposit, the revenue shall
  119  be held as provided by the contract between the website provider
  120  and the clerk of court.
  121         Section 2. Section 702.035, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  122  read:
  123         702.035 Legal notice concerning foreclosure proceedings.
  124  Whenever a legal advertisement, publication, or notice relating
  125  to a foreclosure proceeding is required to be placed in a
  126  newspaper or posted on a publicly accessible Internet website as
  127  provided in s. 50.015, it is the responsibility of the
  128  petitioner or petitioner’s attorney to place such advertisement,
  129  publication, or notice. Unless posted on a publicly accessible
  130  Internet website, for counties with more than 1 million total
  131  population as reflected in the 2000 Official Decennial Census of
  132  the United States Census Bureau as shown on the official website
  133  of the United States Census Bureau, any notice of publication
  134  required by this section shall be deemed to have been published
  135  in accordance with the law if the notice is published in a
  136  newspaper that has been entered as a periodical matter at a post
  137  office in the county in which the newspaper is published, is
  138  published a minimum of 5 days a week, exclusive of legal
  139  holidays, and has been in existence and published a minimum of 5
  140  days a week, exclusive of legal holidays, for 1 year or is a
  141  direct successor to a newspaper that has been in existence for 1
  142  year that has been published a minimum of 5 days a week,
  143  exclusive of legal holidays. The advertisement, publication, or
  144  notice shall be placed directly by the attorney for the
  145  petitioner, by the petitioner if acting pro se, or by the clerk
  146  of the court. Only the actual costs charged by the newspaper or
  147  Internet website provider for the advertisement, publication, or
  148  notice may be charged as costs in the action.
  149         Section 3. This act shall take effect April 1, 2012.