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Legislative Developments 3-13-2023

Article 9 and lien-related legislation

Florida: Senate Bill 1574 was introduced on 3/7/2023 to adopt the Judgment Lien Improvement Act. This bill would specify that payment intangibles, accounts, and the proceeds thereof are subject to judgment liens. The bill also would set the procedures related to judgment liens against titled motor vehicle and vessels and make various other changes to existing law. Committee assignment is pending introduction.

Missouri: Senate Bill 676 was introduced on 2/27/2023 to increase the level of the criminal office for filing false documents, including Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) records and other liens, from a Class D felony to a Class C felony for a first offense and from a Class C to Class B felony for subsequent offenses. Committee assignment is pending.

Montana: House Bill 477, which would allow the secretary of state to charge a $25 fee for filing a UCC financing statement when the collateral is located within the boundaries of an Indian reservation and is subject to the laws of the governing body of the reservation, passed the House on 3/3/2023. The bill also would treat entities formed under the law of a federally-recognized Indian tribe as foreign entities under business entity law. The bill is pending in the Senate.

Other uniform laws legislation (includes the 2022 Amendments to the UCC with UCC Article 12–Controllable Electronic Records)

Arkansas: House Bill 1588 was introduced on 3/9/2023 to enact the 2022 Amendments to the UCC, including UCC Article 12, Controllable Electronic Records, and related amendments. The bill was assigned to the House Insurance and Commerce Committee.  

Colorado: Senate Bill 90, which would enact the 2022 Amendments to the UCC, passed the House with amendments on 3/6/2023 and was returned to the Senate for concurrence. The Senate concurred on 3/7/2023 and the bill is now awaiting delivery to the governor.

Hawaii: House Bill 525, which would enact the 2022 Amendments to the UCC, passed the House on 3/3/2023 and is now pending in the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.

Hawaii: Senate Bill 352, which would enact the 2022 Amendments to the UCC, passed the Senate on 3/7/2023 and is pending in the House.  

Iowa: House Study Bill 618 was introduced on 3/3/2023 to enact the 2022 Amendments to the UCC, including UCC Article 12–Controllable Electronic Records, and related amendments. If approved in committee, the study bill will be assigned a new bill number and be introduced in the House. The bill was assigned to the House Ways and Means Committee. Two similar study bills were introduced last month as House Study Bill 195 and Senate Study Bill 1177.

Iowa: Senate Bill 540 was introduced on 3/6/2023 to enact the 2022 Amendments to the UCC, including UCC Article 12–Controllable Electronic Records, and related amendments. This was formerly Senate Study Bill 1177.

Montana: Senate Bill 370, which would enact the 2022 Amendments to the UCC, passed the Senate on 3/3/2023 and is now pending in the House.    

Texas: Senate Bill 2075 was introduced on 3/9/2023 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.)

Missouri: Senate Bill 692 was introduced on 2/28/2023 to adopt the Digital Asset Mining Protection Act. This bill would prevent state and local government entities from prohibiting home digital asset mining or imposing any requirement on digital asset mining businesses that is not also a requirement for data centers. The bill would also prohibit the public service commission from establishing a rate schedule that creates discriminatory electric rates for digital asset mining businesses. Committee assignment is pending.

New York: Senate Bill 5564 was introduced on 3/8/2023 to establish a task force to study and report on the potential implementation of blockchain technology in state record keeping, information storage, and service delivery. The bill was assigned to the Senate Internet and Technology Committee.  

Oklahoma: House Bill 1600, which would adopt the Commercial Digital Asset Mining Act of 2023, passed the House on 3/6/2023 and is awaiting action in the Senate. The bill would provide tax incentives for commercial digital mining operations by treating them in the same manner as historic forms of manufacturing or industrial processing. 

Oklahoma: Senate Bill 750, which would adopt the Commercial Digital Asset Mining Act of 2023, passed the Senate on 3/9/2023 and is pending in the House. The bill would provide tax incentives for commercial digital mining operations by treating them in the same manner as historic forms of manufacturing or industrial processing. 

Utah: House Bill 470, which would require the Division of Technology Services to provide recommendations to government entities regarding digital verifiable records and credentials, plus create a pilot program for digital verifiable credentials, passed the Senate on 3/1/2023 and is pending delivery to the governor. 

Utah: Senate Bill 160, which would address fraudulent transactions on a blockchain, passed the House on 3/3/2023 and is pending delivery to the governor. The bill would (i) create a cause of action for fraudulent transactions that have been committed on a blockchain that has specific technology implemented to allow reversal of transactions; (ii) create an administrative agency action for fraudulent transactions that have been committed on a blockchain that has specific technology implemented to allow reversal of transactions; and (iii) authorize the Attorney General’s Office to operate a node on a blockchain that allows the Attorney General’s Office to reverse a fraudulent transaction on a blockchain.

Wyoming: The governor signed Senate Bill 76 on 3/9/2023 to provide for the registration of digital assets. The new law provides for registration of digital assets with the secretary of state. Upon registration, such digital assets shall be deemed located in the state for purposes of the state’s laws which may impact ownership rights of the digital asset or require transfer of the digital asset. The new law takes effect on 12/1/2023.

Business organization legislation

Georgia: Senate Bill 148, which would comprehensively revise, simplify, and modernize the Georgia nonprofit corporations code, passed the Senate on 3/2/2023 and is now in the House Judiciary Committee.

Oklahoma: Senate Bill 649, which was introduced on 2/6/2023 and originally addressed the execution of articles of organization, was amended in the Senate Judiciary Committee on 2/28/2023 to address series of LLCs. The amended bill would provide for the creation, regulation and governance of protected series and registered series of LLCs. Further action on the bill is pending in the Senate.  

Texas: House Bill 3768 was introduced on 3/7/2023 to authorize the formation of decentralized unincorporated associations. The bill also (i) defines “digital asset” and “smart contract” for purposes of the business organizations code; (ii) provides that a signature requirement is satisfied by submission of a blockchain that contains the signature or verifies the intent of the person; and (iv) provides that a company agreement may be composed of computer code and be maintained on a blockchain or distributed ledger technology under certain conditions. Committee assignment is pending.  

Notary legislation

Iowa: Senate Bill 515 was introduced on 3/6/2023 to require that if a notary elects to use identity proofing for purposes of performing remote notarial acts, the identity proofing must conform to standards established by the secretary of state. Committee assignment is pending. This bill appears similar to House Bill 397, which was introduced last month.

Kentucky: SB 123, which would authorize Kentucky notaries to perform notarial acts in other states under certain circumstances, passed the Senate on 3/7/2023 and is pending in the House.    

Massachusetts: House Bill 57, which included provisions to authorize and regulate electronic and remote notarization, was amended and reintroduced on 3/1/2023 as House Bill 58. The new bill passed the House on 3/1/23. The bill then passed the Senate as amended on 3/9/2023 and was returned to the House for concurrence. The amendments incorporate text from Senate Bill 23 (see below) but do not appear to affect the notary portions of this large appropriations bill.  

Massachusetts: Senate Bill 23 was introduced on 3/6/2023 as an appropriations bill but includes provisions to authorize and regulate electronic and remote notarization. This appears similar House Bill 57 and House Bill 58.  The bill was assigned to the Senate Ways and Means Committee.  

Nevada: Senate Bill 223 was introduced on 3/7/2023 to revise the requirements for recording a notice of lis pendens in relation to foreclosure of a mortgage or deed of trust. The bill was assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee.  

Oklahoma: Senate Bill 556, which would require a notary to maintain an electronic record of notarial acts, passed the Senate on 3/2/2023. The bill would further provide that failure to keep such records would be grounds to deny, refuse to renew or revoke a notary commission. The bill also would provide that a notary who performs a notarial act without first making in good the required identification of the person appearing before them is guilty of a misdemeanor. The bill is now pending in the House.  

North Dakota: House Bill 1054, which would provide a form of application for a notary commission and provide that a notary commission may be renewed within 60 days of expiration in the same manner as an original commission, passed the Senate on 3/3/2023 and is pending delivery to the governor.    

North Dakota: House Bill 1083, which would revise the remote notary provisions of the state’s version of the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, passed the Senate on 3/9/2023 and is pending delivery to the governor.    

Texas: House Bill 3657 was introduced on 3/6/2023 to make it an offense for a notary public to knowingly perform any notarization when the person for whom the notarization is performed did not personally appear at the time of the notarization. The offense is a class A misdemeanor unless it involves the transfer of residential property, in which case it is a felony. Committee assignment is pending.  

Texas: Senate Bill 1780 was introduced on 3/7/2023 to make changes to online notarization requirements and procedures. The bill would also establish procedures for online notarization of tangible documents. Committee assignment is pending.  

Real estate recording-related legislation

Idaho: House Bill 238, which would adopt the Unfair Service Agreements Act, passed the House on 3/3/2023 and is pending in the Senate. The bill would prohibit the recording of unfair service agreements and provide remedies for a person with an interest in the property subject to such agreement.  

Iowa: House Bill 475, which would prohibit unfair service agreements for residential real property, passed the House on 3/7/2023. The bill would allow a county recorder to refuse to record an unfair service agreement. The bill is now pending in the Senate.

Montana: Senate Bill 330, which would provide that a county clerk, in the role of recorder, shall accept electronic notarizations completed in accordance with the state’s version of the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, passed the Senate on 3/3/2023. The bill is now pending in the House.

Oklahoma: Senate Bill 57, which would change margin requirements for recording certain documents, passed the Senate on 3/6/2023 and is pending in the House.  

Utah: House Bill 309, which would provide for redaction of certain information on recorded real estate documents, passed the Senate on 3/3/2023. The bill is now pending delivery to the governor.

Other items and legislation of interest

No developments to report.  

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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.