Article 9 and Lien-Related Legislation
No developments to report this week.
Other Uniform Laws Legislation
Illinois: HB 3205 (2021), which originally would have adopted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), was amended in the Senate to replace UETA with provisions for the regulation of retail food delivery and then passed the Senate on 4/1/2022. The bill is pending concurrence in the House but it appears UETA will not be reinstated in this bill.
Emerging Technology Legislation (Blockchain, DLT, Cryptocurrency, etc.)
Hawaii: SB 2695, which would establish a blockchain and cryptocurrency task force, passed the House on 4/7/2022 as amended and was returned to the Senate for concurrence. 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.
Tennessee: HB 2645 passed the House on 4/4/2022 to provide for the formation, conversion or qualification of an LLC as a decentralized organization. The bill also provides that a membership interest in such an organization may be a digital asset. The bill then passed the Senate on 4/6/2022 and is pending delivery to the governor.
Business Organization Legislation
Virginia: The governor signed HB 691 on 4/5/2022 to clarify provisions related to entity conversion in various business entity acts. The new law takes effect 7/1/2022.
Notary Legislation
Georgia: SB 96 (2021), which would provide that that a veterans health identification card constitutes satisfactory evidence of identity for a document signer, passed the House on 4/1/2022 and is pending delivery to the governor.
Louisiana: House Bill 903 was introduced on 4/4/2022 to change current law regarding the location of a remote notarial act. The bill provides that a remote online notarial act is deemed to be executed in the parish where the notary public is physically located at the time of the remote online notarization. The remote notary must also have jurisdiction in the designated parish. Committee assignment is pending.
Real-Estate-Recording-Related Legislation
Alabama: The governor signed SB 299 on 4/7/2022 to increase the special recording fee charged by the Bullock County judge of probate for document recording from $7 to $10. The new law takes effect on 8/1/2022.
Georgia: HB 974, which would address methods of recording with the clerks, passed the Senate as amended on 4/4/2022. The amended bill would simply require that all clerks have electronic recording capability for real estate records but stops short of mandating electronic recording. The House concurred in the Senate amendments on 4/4/2022 and the bill is now awaiting action by the governor.
Illinois: HB 4270, which addresses the form and effect of a special warranty deed, passed the Senate on 4/6/2022 and is pending delivery to the governor.
Other Items/Legislation of Interest
No developments to report this week.
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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.