Bill Text: FL S1288 | 2010 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Official Records/Electronic Documents [SPSC]
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2010-04-30 - Died in Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations [S1288 Detail]
Download: Florida-2010-S1288-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2010 CS for SB 1288 By the Committee on Judiciary; and Senator Negron 590-03225-10 20101288c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to electronic documents recorded in 3 the official records; amending s. 695.27, F.S.; 4 providing for the inclusion of an additional statute 5 in the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act; 6 delaying the termination of the Electronic Recording 7 Advisory Committee; creating s. 695.28, F.S.; 8 declaring that certain electronic documents accepted 9 for recordation are deemed validly recorded; providing 10 intent to clarify existing law; providing for 11 retroactive application; providing an effective date. 12 13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 14 15 Section 1. Section 695.27, Florida Statutes, is amended to 16 read: 17 695.27 Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act.— 18 (1) SHORT TITLE.—This section and s. 695.28 may be cited as 19 the “Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act.” 20 (2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section and s. 695.28: 21 (a) “Document” means information that is: 22 1. Inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an 23 electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable 24 form; and 25 2. Eligible to be recorded in the Official Records, as 26 defined in s. 28.222, and maintained by a county recorder. 27 (b) “Electronic” means relating to technology having 28 electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, 29 electromagnetic, or similar capabilities. 30 (c) “Electronic document” means a document that is received 31 by a county recorder in an electronic form. 32 (d) “Electronic signature” means an electronic sound, 33 symbol, or process that is executed or adopted by a person with 34 the intent to sign the document and is attached to or logically 35 associated with a document such that, when recorded, it is 36 assigned the same document number or a consecutive page number 37 immediately following such document. 38 (e) “Person” means an individual, corporation, business 39 trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, 40 association, joint venture, public corporation, government or 41 governmental subdivision, agency, instrumentality, or any other 42 legal or commercial entity. 43 (f) “State” means a state of the United States, the 44 District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin 45 Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the 46 jurisdiction of the United States. 47 (3) VALIDITY OF ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS.— 48 (a) If a law requires, as a condition for recording, that a 49 document be an original, be on paper or another tangible medium, 50 or be in writing, the requirement is satisfied by an electronic 51 document satisfying the requirements of this section. 52 (b) If a law requires, as a condition for recording, that a 53 document be signed, the requirement is satisfied by an 54 electronic signature. 55 (c) A requirement that a document or a signature associated 56 with a document be notarized, acknowledged, verified, witnessed, 57 or made under oath is satisfied if the electronic signature of 58 the person authorized to perform that act, and all other 59 information required to be included, is attached to or logically 60 associated with the document or signature. A physical or 61 electronic image of a stamp, impression, or seal need not 62 accompany an electronic signature. 63 (4) RECORDING OF DOCUMENTS.— 64 (a) In this subsection, the term “paper document” means a 65 document that is received by the county recorder in a form that 66 is not electronic. 67 (b) A county recorder: 68 1. Who implements any of the functions listed in this 69 section shall do so in compliance with standards established by 70 rule by the Department of State. 71 2. May receive, index, store, archive, and transmit 72 electronic documents. 73 3. May provide for access to, and for search and retrieval 74 of, documents and information by electronic means. 75 4. Who accepts electronic documents for recording shall 76 continue to accept paper documents as authorized by state law 77 and shall place entries for both types of documents in the same 78 index. 79 5. May convert paper documents accepted for recording into 80 electronic form. 81 6. May convert into electronic form information recorded 82 before the county recorder began to record electronic documents. 83 7. May agree with other officials of a state or a political 84 subdivision thereof, or of the United States, on procedures or 85 processes to facilitate the electronic satisfaction of prior 86 approvals and conditions precedent to recording. 87 (5) ADMINISTRATION AND STANDARDS.— 88 (a) The Department of State, by rule pursuant to ss. 89 120.536(1) and 120.54, shall prescribe standards to implement 90 this section in consultation with the Electronic Recording 91 Advisory Committee, which is hereby created. The Florida 92 Association of Court Clerks and Comptrollers shall provide 93 administrative support to the committee and technical support to 94 the Department of State and the committee at no charge. The 95 committee shall consist of nine members, as follows: 96 1. Five members appointed by the Florida Association of 97 Court Clerks and Comptrollers, one of whom must be an official 98 from a large urban charter county where the duty to maintain 99 official records exists in a county office other than the clerk 100 of court or comptroller. 101 2. One attorney appointed by the Real Property, Probate and 102 Trust Law Section of The Florida Bar Association. 103 3. Two members appointed by the Florida Land Title 104 Association. 105 4. One member appointed by the Florida Bankers Association. 106 (b) Appointed members shall serve a 1-year term. All 107 initial terms shall commence on the effective date of this act. 108 Members shall serve until their successors are appointed. An 109 appointing authority may reappoint a member for successive 110 terms. A vacancy on the committee shall be filled in the same 111 manner in which the original appointment was made, and the term 112 shall be for the balance of the unexpired term. 113 (c) The first meeting of the committee shall be within 60 114 days of the effective date of this act. Thereafter, the 115 committee shall meet at the call of the chair, but at least 116 annually. 117 (d) The members of the committee shall serve without 118 compensation and shall not claim per diem and travel expenses 119 from the Secretary of State. 120 (e) To keep the standards and practices of county recorders 121 in this state in harmony with the standards and practices of 122 recording offices in other jurisdictions that enact 123 substantially this section and to keep the technology used by 124 county recorders in this state compatible with technology used 125 by recording offices in other jurisdictions that enact 126 substantially this section, the Department of State, in 127 consultation with the committee, so far as is consistent with 128 the purposes, policies, and provisions of this section, in 129 adopting, amending, and repealing standards, shall consider: 130 1. Standards and practices of other jurisdictions. 131 2. The most recent standards adopted by national standard 132 setting bodies, such as the Property Records Industry 133 Association. 134 3. The views of interested persons and governmental 135 officials and entities. 136 4. The needs of counties of varying size, population, and 137 resources. 138 5. Standards requiring adequate information security 139 protection to ensure that electronic documents are accurate, 140 authentic, adequately preserved, and resistant to tampering. 141 (f) The committee shall terminate on July 1, 20132010. 142 (6) UNIFORMITY OF APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION.—In applying 143 and construing this section, consideration must be given to the 144 need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its 145 subject matter among states that enact it. 146 (7) RELATION TO ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES IN GLOBAL AND 147 NATIONAL COMMERCE ACT.—This section modifies, limits, and 148 supersedes the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and 149 National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. ss. 7001 et seq., but this 150 section does not modify, limit, or supersede s. 101(c) of that 151 act, 15 U.S.C. s. 7001(c), or authorize electronic delivery of 152 any of the notices described in s. 103(b) of that act, 15 U.S.C. 153 s. 7003(b). 154 Section 2. Section 695.28, Florida Statutes is created to 155 read: 156 695.28 Validity of recorded electronic documents.— 157 (1) A document that is otherwise entitled to be recorded 158 and that was or is submitted to the clerk of the court or county 159 recorder by electronic means and accepted for recordation is 160 deemed validly recorded and provides notice to all persons 161 notwithstanding: 162 (a) That the document was received and accepted for 163 recordation before the Department of State adopted standards 164 implementing s. 695.27; or 165 (b) Any defects in, deviations from, or the inability to 166 demonstrate strict compliance with any statute, rule, or 167 procedure to submit or record an electronic document in effect 168 at the time the electronic document was submitted for recording. 169 (2) This section does not alter the duty of the clerk or 170 recorder to comply with s. 695.27 or rules adopted pursuant to 171 that section. 172 Section 3. This act is intended to clarify existing law and 173 applies prospectively and retroactively. 174 Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
