Article 9 and lien-related legislation
Tennessee: House Bill 1662 was introduced on 1-9-2024 to amend the definition of “Deposit Account” in the state’s version of UCC § 9-102, so the term excludes United States central bank digital currency.
Virginia: House Bill 404 was pre-filed on 1-8-2024 to prohibit a clerk of the circuit court from charging a separate fee for indexing a document that may serve as two or more instruments with independent legal purposes, including a record of mortgage effective as a financing statement under the state’s version of UCC § 9-502.
Other uniform laws legislation (includes the 2022 Amendments to the UCC with UCC Article 12 – Controllable Electronic Records)
Virginia: House Bill 1286 was introduced on 1-10-2024 to enact the 2022 Amendments to the UCC, including UCC Article 12, Controllable Electronic Records, and related amendments.
Emerging technology legislation (blockchain, DLT, cryptocurrency, etc.)
Nebraska: Legislative Bill 991 was introduced on 1-3-2024 to adopt the Blockchain Basics Act. This bill would provide that (i) an individual may engage in home digital asset mining without registration under the Nebraska Money Transmitters Act; (ii) a digital asset mining business may operate in any area zoned for industrial use; (iii) limit local government ability to regulate digital asset mining; and (iv) limit state and local government ability to impose additional taxes or charges on controllable electronic records used as a method of payment.
Virginia: Senate Bill 148 was pre-filed on 1-5-2024 to exempt an issuer or seller of a digital token from the securities registration requirements under certain conditions. However, the issuer or seller would first have to file a notice of intent with the commission before it would qualify as exempt.
Virginia: Senate Bill 339 was introduced on 1-9-2024 to provide that it shall be legal to participate in home digital asset mining and to limit local government ability to regulate digital asset mining.
Business organization legislation
Georgia: House Bill 876 was introduced on 1-8-2024 to revise the incorporation process for banks and trust companies.
New Hampshire: House Bill 645 (2023), which would authorize the creation of distributed autonomous organizations as legal entities in the state, passed the House on 1-3-2024 and is pending in the Senate.
New York: Senate Bill 8059 was introduced on 1-5-2024 to amend the limited liability company beneficial owner disclosure requirements recently enacted by Senate Bill 995 (2023), which the governor signed in December. The bill would expand the reporting requirements to include reporting of applicants and other requirements.
Notary legislation
Arizona: House Bill 2409 was introduced on 1-11-2024 to require that every deed or conveyance of real property executed after the effective date be acknowledged in person before the notary and that a grantor may not use remote notary for this purpose.
Virginia: House Bill 986 was introduced on 1-9-2024 to increase the fee a notary may charge for taking and certifying the acknowledgment of any writing, or administering and certifying an oath, or certifying affidavits and depositions of witnesses, or certifying that a copy of a document from $5 to $10.
Wisconsin: Senate Bill 898 was introduced on 1-11-2024 to authorize remote notarization of various documents, including estate planning documents, remote witnessing of a declaration to health care professionals, an authorization for final disposition, a power of attorney for health care, a power of attorney for finances and property, or a will.
Real estate recording-related legislation
Florida: House Bill 621 was introduced on 1-9-2024 to abolish the doctrine of adverse possession of real property and revise provisions concerning unlawful detention of real property by a transient person.
Georgia: House Bill 888 was introduced on 1-8-2024 to provide that a clerk may require an individual who presents a deed or other instrument for recording, either in person or electronically, to produce government issued photo ID.
Hawaii: Senate Bill 2044 was pre-filed on 1-10-2024 to provide that the transfer of a controlling interest in an entity shall be considered a taxable transaction of the entity’s real property.
Missouri: House Bill 2377 was introduced on 1-10-2024 to require that each recorder of deeds create a system to provide an individual or entity with notice when any document is recorded with such person is named a party to the document. Enrollment in the notification program will be voluntary for notice recipients.
New Jersey: Assembly Bill 200 was pre-filed on 1-9-2024 to eliminate the supplemental realty transfer fee and 1% fee on sale of certain commercial property and the tax on sale of controlling interests in certain commercial property.
New Jersey: Assembly Bill 790 was pre-filed on 1-9-2024 to eliminate general purpose transfer fee and 1% fee on sale of certain residential property.
New Jersey: Assembly Bill 792 was pre-filed on 1-9-2024 to eliminate the supplemental realty transfer tax.
New Jersey: Assembly Bill 836 was pre-filed on 1-9-2024 to promote prompt recording of residential deeds.
New Jersey: Assembly Bill 1233, Assembly Bill 1240, Senate Bill 276, and Senate Bill 278 were all pre-filed on 1-9-2024 to require LLCs to disclose beneficial ownership when submitting a deed for recording. Full text of the bills is not yet available.
New Jersey: Assembly Bill 1784 was pre-filed on 1-9-2024 to provide additional protection against fraudulent deed recordings. This appears to be identical to bills introduced during the previous session. If enacted, the bill would require (i), the country recording officer to notify the transferor at the time of recording a deed; (ii) require the person recording the deed to submit an affidavit of title as a prerequisite to recording; and (iii) authorize a $2 increase in fees to cover the recording officer costs.
Tennessee: Senate Bill 1646 was pre-filed on 1-5-2024 to add former public officials to the list of persons entitled to contest allegedly fraudulent liens on real property.
Wisconsin: Senate Bill 872 was introduced on 1-5-2024 to increase the fees for recording and filing instruments with registers of deeds. This appears to be similar to Assembly Bill 915, which was reported last week.
Other items and legislation of interest
Florida: Senate Bill 1616 was pre-filed on 1-5-2024 to require that clerks of court make certain official records available through a database searchable on the clerk’s official website. A similar bill, House Bill 1443 was pre-filed on 1-7-2024.
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Note that this update provides only a short summary of the listed bills, which are often lengthy and complex. It’s not intended to include all potentially relevant provisions of each bill. For full details, please review the bill on the applicable state legislative web site.