Article 9 and Lien-Related Legislation
Florida: SB 336, which would amend UCC Article 9 to exclude a security interest in an ownership interest in a general partnership, limited partnership or LLC from certain provisions of UCC 9-406 and 9-408, passed the House on 3/4/2022 and is awaiting delivery to the governor.
Florida: SB 406, which would amend the state’s UCC § 9-108, passed the House on 3/4/2022. This bill would provide that a description of collateral by “accounts” is not sufficient for certain types of accounts and entitlements related to pensions, tax-free health savings accounts, education accounts, life insurance proceeds, disability benefits and similar assets. The bill is now pending delivery to the governor.
Illinois: HB 4500, which would amend UCC § 9-525 regarding filing fees, passed the House on 3/4/2022. The amendment would set the filing fee for a termination statement at $5. The bill also makes several changes to business organization laws (see below).
Kentucky: HB 523, which would provide that a purchase-money mortgage or deed of trust granted by a purchaser shall have priority over a prior lien against the purchaser, passed the House on 3/7/2022 and is pending committee assignment in the Senate.
Minnesota: Senate Bill 3920 was introduced on 3/10/2022 to address fraudulent UCC filing. The fraudulent filing provisions are based on the hip-pocket amendments to UCC Article 9. The bill was assigned to the Senate Civil Law and Data Practices Policy Committee. This bill appears similar to HB 3400, which was introduced in February.
Oklahoma: HB 3811, which would amend the law with respect to the central filing system for farm products under the federal Food Security Act, passed the House on 3/7/2022 and is pending in the Senate. The bill would authorize distribution of the master list via internet download and eliminate fees for those who access the list via internet download.
Tennessee: HB 1906, which would clarify the priority of a state tax lien relative to a recorded deed or deed of trust, passed the House on 3/7/2022. The Senate proceeded to pass the bill on 3/10/2022 and it is now pending delivery to the governor.
Tennessee: SB 2433, which would authorize the creation of a state tax lien registry, passed the Senate on 3/10/2022. If enacted, the registry, which would be maintained by the department of revenue, shall be used for purposes of recording state tax lien notices. The database will be available over the internet. A notice of lien recorded in the state tax lien registry will be effective statewide from the date and time the notice of lien is recorded. The recordation will constitute notice of both the original proposed assessment and all subsequent assessments of liability against the same taxpayer. Upon request, the department of revenue shall disclose the specific amount of liability at a given date to an interested party legally entitled to the information. The bill is now pending committee assignment in the House.
Virginia: SB 199, which would provide that a notice of sale of personal property to satisfy a lien may be made on a publicly available web site, passed the House as amended on 3/9/2022. The Senate concurred in the amendments on 3/10/2022 and the bill is now awaiting delivery to the governor.
Other Uniform Laws Legislation
Alabama: The Senate concurred in House amendments to SB 211, which would adopt the Uniform Certificate of Title for Vessels Act, on 3/8/2022. The bill is pending delivery to the governor.
Emerging Technology Legislation (Blockchain, DLT, Cryptocurrency, etc.)
Hawaii: SB 2695, which would establish a blockchain and cryptocurrency task force, passed the Senate on 3/8/2022 and is pending in the House. If enacted, the task force will review the scope of blockchain and cryptocurrency across the country and then report any findings, recommendations and proposed legislation to the legislature.
Hawaii: SB 3025, which would create a digital currency licensing program, passed the Senate on 3/8/2022. The program would be regulated by the department of commerce and consumer affairs’ division of financial institutions. The bill is now pending in the House.
Indiana: HB 1211, which would direct the department of administration to gather information on how blockchain technology could be used by a state agency, passed out of conference committee and was approved by both chambers on 3/8/2022. The purpose of the information gathering would be to: (i) achieve greater cost efficiency and cost effectiveness; and (ii) improve consumer convenience, experience, data security, and data privacy. The bill is pending delivery to the governor.
Kentucky: Senate Bill 340 was introduced on 3/3/2022 to provide tax incentives and streamlined approval process for commercial mining of cryptocurrency. Committee assignment is pending.
Louisiana: House Bill 802 was pre-filed on 3/4/2022 to authorize banks to provide custodial services for digital assets. The bill was assigned to the House Commerce Committee.
Louisiana: House Bill 804 was pre-filed on 3/4/2022 to define “open blockchain tokens” and provide that they are exempted from the registration, bond, records, and disclosure requirements of current law under certain conditions. The bill was assigned to the House Commerce Committee.
Massachusetts: House Bill 4513 was introduced on 3/3/2022 to establish a special commission on blockchain and cryptocurrency. The commission will report back to the legislature with a master plan of recommendations to foster a positive blockchain and cryptocurrency economic environment, together with drafts of legislation necessary to effect its recommendations. The bill passed the Joint Advanced Information Technology, The Internet and Cybersecurity Committee on 3/3/2022 and is pending further action.
Oklahoma: Senate Bill 590, which was introduced on 2/1/2022 to address gross production tax matters, was substituted on 3/3/2022 with new text to adopt the Commercial Digital Asset Mining Act of 2022. The substitute bill would provide tax incentives and streamlined approval process for commercial mining of digital assets. The bill passed the Senate Appropriations Committee on 3/3/2022 as substituted and awaits further action in the Senate.
Utah: HB 456, which would provide that the division of finance shall contract with a third party service provide to allow for the payment of taxes using digital assets, including virtual currency, passed the Senate with amendments on 3/4/2022. The House concurred on the same day and the bill is now awaiting delivery to the governor.
Washington: SB 5544, which would establish the Washington blockchain work group for the purpose of examining various potential applications for blockchain technology, passed the House on 3/4/2022 as amended and was returned to the Senate for concurrence. The Senate concurred on 3/7/2022. The scope of the work group’s inquiry includes, but is not limited to, applications in computing, banking and other financial services, the real estate transaction process, health care, supply chain management, higher education, and public recordkeeping. The bill is pending delivery to the governor.
Wyoming: the governor signed HB 70 on 3/8/2022 to establish civil and criminal penalties for the unlawful impersonation of a digital identity through electronic means. The new law takes effect 7/1/2022.
Wyoming: SB 55, which would establish an insurance sandbox program for the use of emerging technology with innovative insurance products or services, passed the House on 3/10/2022 as amended. The Senate concurred the same day so the bill is now pending delivery to the governor.
Wyoming: SB 68, which would amend provisions related to decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), passed the House on 3/7/2022 and was signed by the governor on 3/9/2022. The bill updates the DAO law enacted last year by (i) amending definitions; (ii) making technical corrections; (iii) amending the obligations of members and dissociated members; (iv) amending factors for dissolution of a decentralized autonomous organization; and (v) repealing definitions and provisions related to DAOs. The new law takes effect upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by the Wyoming Constitution.
Business Organization Legislation
Illinois: HB 4500, which would make several changes to business organization laws, passed the House on 3/4/2022 and is now pending committee assignment in the Senate. These changes include (i) requiring a report of interim changes for corporations subject to the General Not For Profit Corporation Act; (ii) amendment of the LLC Act to provide that a registered agent shall continue as the registered agent for five years after dissolution of the LLC; (iii) authorization for the secretary of state to submit interrogatories to LPs and LLPs to determine compliance with the applicable act; and (iv) provides for the name requirements of LPs and LLPs, as well as the use of assumed names. The bill also amends the filing fees in the state’s version of UCC § 9-525 (see above).
Rhode Island: House Bill 7774 was introduced on 3/3/2022 to make numerous technical amendments and clarifications to the statutes on taxes and corporations, associations and partnerships. The bill was assigned to the House Finance Committee.
Washington: SB 5489, which would make numerous changes to the state business organization laws, passed the House last week and is awaiting delivery to the governor.
Notary Legislation
Maine: House Bill 1503 was introduced on 3/9/2022 to adopt the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, including remote notary authorization for both electronic and tangible records. The bill includes both a journal and an examination requirement for notaries. The bill was assigned to the Joint Judiciary Committee.
Oklahoma: HB 3853, was substituted on 3/2/2022 with new text that would require the secretary of state to establish a digital logging system for use by notaries. The bill passed the House on 3/8/2022 and is pending in the Senate.
Real-Estate-Recording-Related Legislation
Indiana: The governor signed SB 357 on 3/7/2022. This bill provides that a county auditor shall not refuse to endorse an instrument simply because it is in electronic form. The new law takes effect on 7/1/2022 with some provisions effective by 12/31/2023.
Mississippi: HB 1351, which would specify requirements for an affidavit of scrivener’s error related to a document affecting the title to real property, passed the Senate as amended on 3/9/2022 and was returned to the House for concurrence.
Washington: The House concurred on 3/7/2022 in Senate amendments to HB 1376 (2021), which would repeal existing law regarding registered land and remove all lands from the title registration system. The bill is awaiting delivery to the governor.
Other Items/Legislation of Interest
New York: Assembly Bill 9415 was introduced on 3/7/2022 to amend the public authorities law to require disclosure of beneficial ownership information for an entity to which ownership of property is transferred. The bill appears similar to SB 4611 (2021), which passed the Senate on 2/7/2022. AB 9415 was assigned to the Assembly Corporations, Authorities and Commissions Committee.
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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.