Article 9 and lien-related legislation
Utah: Senate Bill 43, which would amend the state’s version of Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) § 9-513, passed the House on 2/28/2024. The amendment would add a new section that requires a filing office to notify the secured party of record if the debtor files a termination statement. The bill is pending delivery to the governor.
Other uniform laws legislation (includes the 2022 Amendments to the UCC with UCC Article 12-Controllable Electronic Records)
Arizona: Senate Bill 1281, which would amend the UCC with respect to central bank digital currency, passed the Senate on 2/29/2024. This bill would (i) define “central bank digital currency” and what constitutes legal tender in the state; (ii) prohibit the use of central bank digital currency within the state; and (iii) amend the state’s version of UCC § 1-201 to exclude central bank digital currency from the definition of “money.”
Georgia: House Bill 1240, which would enact the 2022 Amendments to the UCC, including UCC Article 12-Controllable Electronic Records, and related amendments, passed the House on 2/26/2024 and is now in the Senate.
Maryland: Senate Bill 509, which would adopt the Small Business Truth in Lending Act, passed the Senate on 2/29/2024.
Minnesota: Senate Bill 4372 was introduced on 2/28/2024 to amend the state’s version of UCC § 1-201 to add a definition for “central bank digital currency” and exclude central bank digital currency from the definition of “money.”
Louisiana: House Bill 232 was introduced on 2/27/2024 to amend the state’s version of UCC Articles 3 and 4 regarding transfer and presentment warranties. The bill would make the warrantor liable for expenses and attorney’s fees for failure to pay a claim within 30 days of demand.
South Dakota: The governor signed House Bill 1163 on 2/27/2028 to enact the 2022 Amendments to the UCC, including UCC Article 12-Controllable Electronic Records, and related amendments. This bill also adds a definition for “central bank digital currency” and a non-uniform definition of “money” that states that “the term is not intended and cannot be construed to create or adopt a central bank digital currency.” These changes appear intended to address concerns that led to the governor vetoing a similar bill last year. The new law takes effect on 7/1/2024.
Emerging technology legislation (blockchain, distributed ledger technology, cryptocurrency, etc.)
Alabama: Senate Bill 187 was introduced on 2/29/2024 to prohibit the state from (i) restricting the use or storage of digital assets; (ii) levying additional taxes on digital assets; (iii) restricting digital asset mining; or (iv) enacting zoning restrictions or noise restrictions specific to digital asset mining. The bill would also exempt digital asset mining, staking, and the operation of a node from classification as a security or money transmission. This appears similar to House Bill 214, which was reported last week.
Kentucky: House Bill 741 was introduced on 2/26/2024 to regulate blockchain digital assets. This bill would authorize home digital asset mining if certain conditions are met and exempt from taxation capital gains and losses on digital asset transactions of less than $200.
Wyoming: Senate Bill 52, which would amend the Wyoming Stable Token Act, passed the Senate on 2/27/2024. The amendments would (i) allow for investments in cash and government securities; (ii) authorize the Wyoming stable token commission to issue different types and amounts of stable tokens and to contract with financial service providers; and (iii) require reporting only for fully reserved stable tokens.
Business organization legislation
Alabama: House Bill 228 was introduced on 2/27/2024 to revise the Alabama Business and Nonprofit Entities Code. The bill would eliminate references to the old Alabama Nonprofit Corporation Law, clarify that the address of registered agents must be in the state, clarify that the certificate of formation must set forth the county of the registered agent in accordance with current practice, and streamline and clarify the ratification process of certain actions in accordance with Delaware law changes.
Alabama: House Bill 230 was introduced on 2/27/2024 to repeal the statute requiring corporations to provide an annual report to the Secretary of State.
Connecticut: House Bill 5301 was introduced on 2/28/2024 to reduce the fee charged by the Secretary of the State for issuing documents of authentication and apostilles, and eliminate the fees for filing a foreign limited liability company certificate of withdrawal and for reissuance of notary commission certificates.
Washington: Senate Bill 5786, which would make numerous changes to the Washington Business Corporations Act, passed the House on 2/27/2024 and is pending delivery to the governor.
Notary legislation
Florida: Senate Bill 356, which would require that a notarial certificate contain the printed names of all signatories, including witnesses, passed the Senate on 2/28/2024. The bill also includes a new journal requirement.
New York: Assembly Bill 9294 was introduced on 2/23/2024 to increase the fee a notary public may charge for certain notarial acts from $2 to $5.
New York: Senate Bill 8663 was introduced on 2/27/2024 to provide that a notary shall not be required to create or retain any notarial record of a notarial act, except for records required for electronic and remote notarial acts.
South Dakota: Senate Bill 211, which would amend notary law to authorize and set the requirements for electronic and remote notarial acts, passed the House on 2/27/2024 and is pending delivery to the governor.
Virginia House Bill 986, which would increase the fee a notary may charge, passed the Senate on 2/26/2024 and is pending delivery to the governor. The bill would provide for an increase in the fee 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.
Virginia: The Senate concurred in House amendments to Senate Bill 8 on 2/23/2024. This bill would remove the oath requirement from the application for recommission of a notary, provided that the notary is in good standing and not subject to any investigation or proceeding. The bill is pending delivery to the governor.
Real estate recording-related legislation
Arizona: House Bill 1218, which would prohibit the recording of exclusive property engagement agreements, passed the Senate on 2/29/2024.
Connecticut: Senate Bill 266 was introduced on 2/28/2024 to increase the state conveyance tax upon residential properties sold to buyers who are not individuals.
Indiana: House Bill 1222, which would prohibit the recording of residential real estate service agreements, passed the Senate 2/28/2024 and is pending delivery to the governor.
Maine: Senate Bill 960 was introduced on 2/28/2024 to address deed fraud. Among other provisions, the bill would (i) make it a crime to record or attempt to record with a register of deeds a false deed, mortgage, lien or other instrument; (ii) provide for equitable relief for individuals who have been impacted by a forged or fraudulently recorded instrument; and (iii) require that any instrument affecting title to real property and recorded with a register of deeds be acknowledged before a person authorized to perform notarial acts in Maine, rather than an out-of-state notarial officer.
Minnesota: House Bill 4399 and Senate Bill 4395 were introduced on 2/28/2024 to require that a mortgagee or mortgage servicer issue a good and valid satisfaction of mortgage in recordable form and submit it to the county recorder within 45 days of full payment or performance of a loan secured by a mortgage.
West Virginia: House Bill 4721, which would require land surveyors to offer to record maps and plats of measured parcels of land made by the surveyor, passed the House on 2/28/2024.
Other items and legislation of interest
Florida: Senate Bill 1616, which would require that clerks of court make certain official records available through a database searchable on the clerk’s official website, passed the Senate on 2/28/2024.
Minnesota: House Bill 4348 and Senate Bill 4376 were introduced on 2/28/2024 to provide standards, protections, and notification obligations for non-bank financial institutions to safeguard customer information.
Washington: Senate Bill 5840, which would require that to be recorded a lease or memorandum of lease must have the lessee and lessor signatures acknowledged, passed the House on 2/27/2024 and is pending delivery to the governor.
West Virginia: House Bill 5338, which would create the Consumer Data Protection Act, passed the House on 2/28/2024.
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Note that this update provides only a short summary of the listed bills, which are often lengthy and complex. It 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.