Article 9 and Lien-Related Legislation
Mississippi: Senate Bill 2482 was introduced on 1/16/2023 to authorize the department of revenue to transmit and receive liens and satisfactions of liens electronically for motor vehicles and manufactured homes. The bill was assigned to the Senate Finance Committee.
New York: Senate Bill 1977 was introduced on 1/17/2023 to provide for an employee’s lien for wage claims. Claimant must file a notice of lien and a UCC financing statement to perfect the lien. The bill was assigned to the Assembly Judiciary Committee. This appears similar to Assembly Bill 46, which was introduced earlier this month. Similar bills have been introduced during the past few legislative sessions.
Oklahoma: House Bill 1848 was pre-filed on 1/18/2023 to amend provisions related to the Food Security Act to allow central notification searches by the last six digits of the debtor’s social security number. Committee assignment is pending.
Other Uniform Laws Legislation (Includes the 2022 Amendments to the UCC with UCC Article 12―Controllable Electronic Records)
California: Senate Bill 95 was introduced on 1/18/2023 to enact the 2022 Amendments to the UCC, including UCC Article 12, Controllable Electronic Records, and related amendments. Committee assignment is pending.
Hawaii: Senate Bill 352 was introduced on 1/19/2023 to enact the 2022 Amendments to the UCC, including UCC Article 12, Controllable Electronic Records, and related amendments. Committee assignment is pending.
Indiana: Senate Bill 468 was introduced on 1/18/2023 to enact the 2022 Amendments to the UCC, including UCC Article 12, Controllable Electronic Records, and related amendments. The bill was assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
New Mexico: House Bill 90 was introduced on 1/17/2023 to enact the 2022 Amendments to the UCC, including UCC Article 12, Controllable Electronic Records, and related amendments. The bill is pending in the Judiciary and Commerce and Economic Development Committees.
Oklahoma: House Bill 2776 was pre-filed on 1/19/2023 to enact the 2022 Amendments to the UCC, including UCC Article 12, Controllable Electronic Records, and related amendments. Committee assignment is pending.
Emerging Technology Legislation (Blockchain, Distributed Ledger Technology, Cryptocurrency, etc.)
Mississippi: House Bill 848 was introduced on 1/16/2023 to create the State Digital Asset Mining Act. Prohibits political subdivisions of the state from placing certain limitations on home digital asset mining and business digital asset mining operations. The bill was assigned to the House Banking and Financial Services Committee. A similar bill was introduced as Senate Bill 2603 the same day and is pending in the Senate Finance Committee.
Mississippi: House Bill 849 was introduced on 1/16/2023 to exempt a person who develops, sells, or facilitates the exchange of an open blockchain token from certain securities and money transmission laws. The bill was assigned to the House Ways and Means Committee.
Montana: Senate Bill 178 was introduced on 1/16/2023 to protect both business and home digital asset mining. This bill (i) prohibits utilities from charging higher energy rates for digital asset mining operations; (ii) prohibits local governments from imposing additional taxes on digital assets used as payment; and (iii) limits a local government’s power to prohibit digital asset mining or impose additional requirements on such operations. Committee assignment is pending.
New York: Assembly Bill 1052 was introduced on 1/13/2023 to amend certain provisions of the state business development law to include creation of blockchain and distributed ledger technology and businesses that develop such technology. The bill was assigned to the Assembly Economic Development, Job Creation, Commerce, and Industry Committee.
New York: Senate Bill 1891 was introduced on 1/17/2023 to establish the New York state cryptocurrency and blockchain study task force to provide lawmakers with information on the effects of the widespread use of cryptocurrencies and other forms of digital currencies and their ancillary systems, including but not limited to blockchain technology. The bill was assigned to the Senate Banks Committee. The bill is similar to Assembly Bill 954, which was introduced earlier this month.
Wyoming: Senate Bill 127 was introduced on 1/17/2023 to adopt the Wyoming Stable Token Act. The bill creates the Wyoming stable token commission; provides for the issuance of Wyoming stable tokens, which shall be redeemable for one U.S. dollar held in trust by the state of Wyoming and shall only be issued in exchange for dollars; and provides that all stable token funds held by the state shall be invested in U.S. treasury bills. Committee assignment is pending.
Business Organization Legislation
Indiana: House Bill 1581 was introduced on 1/19/2023 to amend certain state business organization laws to (i) apply to business trusts and agricultural cooperatives; (ii) remove the requirement that articles of incorporation for agricultural cooperatives be acknowledged before a notary; and (iii) remove requirements for licensure of principal managers. The bill was assigned to the House Financial Institutions Committee.
Wyoming: Senate Bill 75, which would amend the state’s corporations law with respect to decentralized autonomous organizations, passed the Senate on 1/19/2023 and is pending in the House. The bill would provide for a publicly available identifier to identify a smart contract.
Notary Legislation
Connecticut: House Bill 6244 was introduced on 1/19/2023 to authorize remote notarization by electronic means. The full text of the bill is not yet available. The bill was assigned to the Joint Government Administration and Elections Committee.
Connecticut: Senate Bill 459 was introduced on 1/17/2023 to increase the fees that may be charged for any act by a notary public from $5 to $7. The bill was assigned to the Joint Judiciary Committee.
Mississippi: House Bill 821 was introduced on 1/16/2023 to make non-residents eligible for a notary commission if they are an employee in or have a practice in Mississippi. The bill was assigned to the House Accountability, Efficiency, and Transparency Committee.
New Mexico: Senate Bill 39 was introduced on 1/18/2023 to provide that a person who is authorized to solemnize a contract of marriage is authorized to perform notarial acts as a notary public pursuant to the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts at the time solemnization of a marriage contract is sought. The bill is pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
New York: Senate Bill 2271 was introduced on 1/19/2023 to clarify the requirements for acknowledgements, proofs, oaths, and affirmations without the state. The bill is pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Real Estate Recording-Related Legislation
Arizona: Senate Bill 1110 was introduced on 1/18/2023 to require that a county recorder provide a system for notifying a property owner whenever any document is recorded against the owner’s property. The system will be voluntary for the property owner and the notice will be provided by email, text message or similar means. The bill was assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Connecticut: House Bill 6132 was introduced on 1/18/2023 to create a commission to study the processes, costs, and benefits of a state-wide system for the online recording of land records and maps, including the indexing of such records on a state-wide basis. The bill was assigned to the Joint Planning and Development Committee.
Florida: House Bill 237 was pre-filed on 1/18/2023 to require that an assignment of leases and rents be perfected against the mortgagor in addition to third parties under certain conditions. The bill also makes other changes regarding assignments of leases and rents. Committee assignment is pending. A similar bill, Senate Bill 286, was also pre-filed on 1/19/2023.
Kansas: House Bill 2101 was introduced on 1/19/2023 to adopt the Kansas Contract for Deed Act. The bill provides that a contract for deed or affidavit of interest may be recorded by any interested person. Committee assignment is pending.
Maryland: Senate Bill 163 was introduced on 1/18/2023 to make several changes to the real estate recording process, including (i) set margin requirements for printed documents to be recorded; (ii) limit the need for an instrument to be endorsed by the assessment office to only those transfers subject to an agricultural land transfer tax; (iii) establish that a deed of trust or mortgage presented for recordation is not required to be accompanied by an intake sheet or information that would otherwise be provided in an intake sheet unless required by a clerk of the circuit court; (iv) provide that a certain wage lien statement may be released in the same manner as certain other liens; and (v) make other changes relating to the recordation of instruments affecting real property and land records. The bill was assigned to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee.
New York: Senate Bill 2300 was introduced on 1/19/2023 to prohibit a recording officer from accepting any conveyance of real estate consisting of a one-to-four-unit residential property where an LLC is the grantor or grantee unless it is accompanied by a document which identifies the names and business addresses of all members, managers, and any other authorized persons, if any, of such LLC. The bill is pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Utah: House Bill 211 was pre-filed on 1/13/2023 to void certain residential property service agreements and prohibit the recording of such void agreements and that recordation in violation of this provision may be a violation of the Wrongful Lien Act. Committee assignment is pending.
Washington: House Bill 1420 was introduced on 1/17/2023 to clarify that any mortgage or deed of trust shall have priority over all liens, mortgages, deeds of trust, and other encumbrances that have not been recorded before the recording of the mortgage or deed of trust to the extent of all sums secured by the mortgage or deed of trust regardless of when the same are disbursed or whether the disbursements are obligatory. The bill is not intended to repeal any statute that expressly provides for special priority over mortgages or deeds of trust. The bill is pending in the Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee. A companion bill, Senate Bill 5443, was also introduced in the Senate on 1/17/2023 and is pending in the Senate Law and Justice Committee.
West Virginia: House Bill 2307 was introduced on 1/13/2023 to adopt the West Virginia Title Protection Act, which would provide that when an individual presents a fraudulent deed to the clerk for recording or is able to get a loan against the property, that the rightful owner shall retain title to their property, free of encumbrances, regardless of the action of the fraudulent filer. The bill was assigned to the House Judiciary Committee.
Other Items/Legislation of Interest
Minnesota: Senate Bill 365 was introduced on 1/13/2023 to prohibit corporate entities from directly or indirectly obtaining an interest in single-family residential property and converting it to one rental unit. Committee assignment is pending.
Mississippi: House Bill 880 was introduced on 1/16/2023 to adopt the Mississippi Consumer Privacy Act. The bill was assigned to the House Judiciary Committee.
Utah: House Bill 216 was introduced on 1/17/2023 to establish the Business and Chancery Court, which will have jurisdiction over a wide variety of contract, business organization disputes, and other commercial claims. Committee assignment is pending.
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Note that this update provides only a short summary of the listed bills, which are often lengthy and complex. It is 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.