Article 9 and lien-related legislation
No developments to report.
Other uniform laws legislation (includes the 2022 Amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) with UCC Article 12-Controllable Electronic Records)
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 Senate on 3/21/2024 and is now pending delivery to the governor.
Louisiana: House Bill 232, which would amend the state’s version of UCC Articles 3 and 4 regarding transfer and presentment warranties, passed the House on 4/2/2024. The bill would make the warrantor liable for expenses and attorney’s fees for failure to pay a claim within 30 days of demand.
Louisiana: Senate Bill 110, which would enact the 2022 Amendments to the UCC, including Article 12-Controllable Electronic Records and conforming amendments, passed the Senate on 4/3/2024.
Kentucky: The governor signed Senate Bill 155 on 3/26/2024 to enact the 2022 Amendments to the UCC, including UCC Article 12-Controllable Electronic Records and related amendments. The new law takes effect on 1/1/2025.
Pennsylvania: Senate Bill 1084 was introduced on 3/22/2024 to enact the 2022 Amendments to the UCC, including UCC Article 12-Controllable Electronic Records, and related amendments.
Tennessee: Senate Bill 479, which would enact the 2022 Amendments to the UCC, including UCC Article 12-Controllable Electronic Records and related amendments, passed the Senate on 3/21/2024.
Tennessee: Senate Bill 2219, which would amend the state’s version of UCC § 1-201 with respect to central bank digital currency, passed the House on 4/1/2024. The amendment would add a definition for “central bank digital currency” and exclude central bank digital currency from the definition of “money.” The bill is pending delivery to the governor.
West Virginia: The governor signed House Bill 4837 on 3/27/2024 to amend the state’s version of UCC § 3-118. The amendment provides that the statute of limitation for actions to enforce the obligation of a note reflects a bank’s duty to retain and produce records of such note. The new law takes effect 90 days after passage, which appears to be 6/6/2024.
Wisconsin: The governor signed Senate Bill 450 on 3/27/2024 to enact the Uniform Voidable Transactions Act. The new law took effect 3/29/2024.
Emerging technology legislation (blockchain, distributed ledger technology, cryptocurrency, etc.)
Louisiana: House Bill 488, which would adopt the Blockchain Basics Act, passed the House on 4/2/2024. This bill would (i) prohibit any agency or political subdivision of the state from accepting or requiring payment using a central bank digital currency; (ii) limit state and local government ability to regulate the use of digital asset storage and use as a method of payment; (iii) establish that it is legal to participate in home digital asset mining; (iv) limit the ability of state and local government to regulate digital asset mining; and (v) exempt digital asset mining services from licensing as a money transmitter and securities and investment laws.
Business organization legislation
Alabama: Senate Bill 112, which would amend the Alabama Business and Nonprofit Entities Code, passed the Senate on 4/4/2024. The bill would clarify that the location of a registered agent must be in the state and make other amendments to be consistent with Delaware law changes.
Alabama: Senate Bill 204, which would repeal the statute requiring corporations to provide an annual report to the Secretary of State, passed the Senate on 4/4/2024.
Louisiana: House Bill 892 was introduced on 4/2/2024 to adopt the Louisiana Decentralized Unincorporated Nonprofit Association Act. The bill would provide for the formation and administration of decentralized unincorporated nonprofit associations.
Rhode Island: House Bill 8116 was introduced on 3/29/2024 to repeal and replace the state’s Limited Liability Company Act with a newer and updated model act. This appears similar to Senate Bill 2782, which was introduced in early March.
Notary legislation
Alabama: Senate Bill 289 was introduced on 4/4/2024 to explicitly recognize that the prohibition of a notary public from acknowledging a document that is required for a transaction in which the notary has a financial interest does not apply to professionals such as attorneys, accountants, or real estate brokers, or their employees, who may lawfully notarize the documents that are a necessary part of the professional services for which they are paid.
Georgia: House Bill 1292, which would require notaries to review certain identification documents, passed the Senate on 3/28/2024 and is pending delivery to the governor.
Minnesota: House Bill 5169 was introduced on 3/25/2024 to expand the authority of notaries to perform remote notarization and remote witnessing to health care directives.
Oregon: The governor signed House Bill 4020 on 3/27/2024 to require an applicant for a commission as a notary public to complete a course of study offered by the Secretary of State. The requirement would apply even if the applicant already holds a commission in Oregon. The new law takes effect on 1/1/2025.
Virginia: The governor signed House Bill 986 on 4/2/2024 to increase the fee a notary may charge. The new law provides 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 a copy of a document from $5 to $10. The new law takes effect on 7/1/2024.
Wisconsin: The governor signed Assembly Bill 1099 on 3/29/2024 to reconcile statutory inconsistencies with respect to a notary’s official stamp. The new law took effect on 3/31/2024.
Real estate recording-related legislation
Alaska: Senate Bill 179, which would prohibit a city and the state from levying a tax on the transfer of real property, passed the Senate on 4/3/2024.
Arizona: The governor signed House Bill 1218 on 4/2/2024 to prohibit the recording of exclusive property engagement agreements. The new law takes effect 91 days after adjournment.
California: Assembly Bill 3108, which originally addressed licensing of lenders and brokers, was amended on 3/21/2024 to address mortgage fraud. The amended bill would prohibit the filing of any document with the recorder of any county known to contain a material misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission. The bill also expands the definition of “mortgage fraud.”
Hawaii: Senate Bill 2861, which would prohibit the recording of unfair exclusive listing agreements, passed the House as amended on 4/4/2024 and was returned to the Senate for concurrence.
Kentucky: House Bill 488, which would provide detailed requirements for documents to be recorded with a county clerk, passed the Senate on 3/28/2024 and is pending delivery to the governor. The bill also requires a statement on an affidavit of amendment to a recorded mortgage that the document was prepared by an attorney licensed in Kentucky.
New York: Assembly Bill 9763 was introduced on 4/4/2024 to make deed theft a felony criminal offense.
Tennessee: House Bill 2047, which would add former public officials to the list of persons entitled to contest allegedly fraudulent liens on real property, passed the Senate on 3/28/2024 and is pending delivery to the governor.
West Virginia: The governor signed House Bill 4721 on 3/26/2024 to require land surveyors to offer to record maps and plats of measured parcels of land made by the surveyor. The new law takes effect 90 days after passage, which appears to be 6/6/2024.
West Virginia: The governor signed House Bill 5326 on 3/26/2024 to prohibit unfair real estate service agreements. The new law will prohibit recording of such agreements and allow a county recorder to refuse to record such unfair service agreements. The new law takes effect 90 days after passage, which appears to be 6/6/2024.
Other items and legislation of interest
Maryland: Senate Bill 534, which would repeal the Electronic Transactions Protection Act, passed the House on 4/2/2024 and is awaiting delivery to the governor. The Act provides the attorney general with tools and enforcement authority to protect online privacy. House Bill 611, which is identical, passed the Senate on 4/3/2024 and is also awaiting delivery to the governor.
West Virginia: The governor vetoed House Bill 5338 on 3/27/2024. This bill would have created the Consumer Data Protection Act.
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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.