Article 9 and lien-related legislation
California: Assembly Bill 771 was introduced on 2/18/2025 to amend the state’s version of Uniform Commercial Code UCC § 9-502(c) with respect to individual debtors on a record of mortgage. The amendment would provide that a record of mortgage sufficiently provides the name of an individual debtor if the record provides the surname and first personal name of the individual. This would be the case even if the individual has been issued a driver’s license and § 9-503(a)(4) would otherwise apply.
Other uniform laws legislation (includes the 2022 amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code with UCC Article 12-Controllable Electronic Records)
Arkansas: The governor signed Senate Bill 133 on 2/17/2025 to add a definition for “central bank digital currency ” to UCC § 1-201(b) and exclude central bank digital currency from the definitions of “money” and “deposit account.” The new law takes effect 91 days after adjournment.
North Carolina: Senate Bill 117 was introduced on 2/18/2025 to enact the 2022 Amendments to the UCC, including UCC Article 12-Controllable Electronic Records and related amendments.
Emerging technology legislation (blockchain, distributed ledger technology, cryptocurrency, etc.)
Iowa: Senate File 403 was introduced on 2/20/2025 to authorize the state treasurer to invest in precious metals, certain digital assets, and stablecoins.
Kentucky: House Bill 701 was introduced on 2/19/2025 to provide that an individual shall not be prohibited from accepting digital assets as a method of payment or to store them in a digital wallet. The bill would also limit local regulation of digital asset mining and other activities.
New York: Assembly Bill 5585 was introduced on 2/18/2025 to establish a central depository database for governmental real property to compile, store, maintain, and secure government real estate records. Such database shall use distributed ledger technology for efficiency, security, and transparency.
West Virginia: Senate Bill 465 was introduced on 2/14/2025 to authorize the treasury board of investment to invest state funds in precious metals, certain digital assets, and stablecoins.
Business organization legislation
Arkansas: House Bill 1533 was introduced on 2/19/2025 to adopt the Decentralized Unincorporated Nonprofit Association Act. The bill would provide for the formation, administration, and regulation of such decentralized entities.
Delaware: Senate Bill 21 was introduced on 2/17/2025 to amend the Delaware General Corporations Law. The bill would address issues related to the independence and disinterestedness of directors and stockholders. The bill would also clarify the books and records that a stockholder may demand to inspect and allow the court of chancery to order production of additional documents if no such records exist.
Iowa: House Study Bill 211 was introduced on 2/19/2025 amend the Uniform Partnership Act. The amendments would provide for the conversion of a domestic partnership to any type of domestic or foreign organization subject to certain conditions. Current law only allows a domestic partnership to convert to a limited partnership.
Minnesota: Senate File 1431 was introduced on 2/17/2025 to modify the Minnesota Business Corporations Act with respect to defective corporate acts, emergency powers and other matters. A similar bill was introduced last week in the House as House File 747.
New York: Senate Bill 5305 was introduced on 2/20/2025 to provide for the creation of mutual holding companies by property and casualty insurers.
Notary legislation
Florida: Senate Bill 846 was introduced on 2/18/2025 to prohibit notaries public from using specified terms to describe themselves under certain circumstances. Prohibited terms include “notario publico,” “notario,” and other terms related to immigration assistance.
New York: Senate Bill 5177 was introduced on 2/19/2025 to require a notary or commissioner of deeds to create a record with specific details about the document and parties for every notarial act performed in connection with a document of conveyance. The record must be delivered within 14 days to the county or city in which the property is located or, if the notarial act was performed for a title company, attorney, or other specified persons, the notary must deliver the record to such persons within 14 days.
Virginia: House Bill 1889, which would clarify the residency requirements for an applicant to perform remote notarial acts, passed the Senate on 2/19/2025 and is pending delivery to the governor.
Real estate recording-related legislation
Iowa: Senate File 371 was introduced on 2/19/2025 to revise recording requirements and county recorder procedures. The changes include revisions to document format requirements and recording fees.
Kentucky: House Bill 588 was introduced on 2/14/2025 to increase the recording fee from $33 to $50, plus $3 per page for more than five pages.
Kentucky: Senate Bill 194 was introduced on 2/18/2025 to address the theft of immovable or real property. The bill would provide that alteration, falsification, forgery, or misrepresentation of any instrument involving the conveyance or financing or real property would be prima facie evidence of intent to commit theft by unlawful taking. The bill also would also require each county clerk to establish a property owner notification service to notify owners of real property who register for the service when a document is recorded under the name of the property owner or the address of the property owner.
Pennsylvania: Senate Bill 238 was introduced on 2/14/2025 to revise the realty transfer tax law.
Texas: Senate Bill 17 was introduced on 2/20/2025 to prohibit the purchase or acquisition of title to real property by certain foreign individuals or entities from a designated country. A designated country is one identified by the Director of National intelligence as a country that poses a risk to the national security of the U.S.
Texas: Senate Bill 1333 was introduced on 2/18/2025 to make it a crime to present to another person a false, fraudulent, or fictitious document purporting to be a lease, deed, or other instrument conveying real property or an interest in real property with the intent to enter or remain on the real property. The bill also provides an expedited process to have the sheriff remove an unauthorized occupant. A similar measure was introduced on 2/20/2025 as House Bill 3003.
Utah: House Bill 430 was introduced on 2/6/2025 to require that (i) a county recorder make a form available for an individual to disclose the individual’s connection with a restricted foreign entity; (ii) require the county recorder to send such completed forms to the Department of Public Safety; and (iii) create a criminal offense for a person purchasing land on behalf of a restricted foreign entity and failure to disclose the individual’s connection with the restricted foreign entity to the county recorder.
Virginia: The Senate concurred in House amendments to Senate Bill 1270 on 2/14/2025. This bill would require localities to establish a property alert notification system in the local land records office that allows a person to enroll real property owned by the person in the system. The property alert notification system would notify the enrolled owner of the recording of any document describing, affecting, or purporting to affect the enrolled property. The bill is pending delivery to the governor.
West Virginia: House Bill 2434 was introduced on 2/17/2025 to enact the Stop Squatters Act, which would provide for the expedited removal of unauthorized persons by law enforcement on request of the property owner if certain conditions are met. The bill also would make it a felony to list or advertise certain properties for sale or rent without legal title or authority.
Wisconsin: Assembly Bill 50 and Senate Bill 45 were introduced as the Executive Budget Act of 2025. Both bills include an increase from $30 to $45 in the general fee the register of deeds may charge for recording or filing a document.
Other items and legislation of interest
New York: Senate Bill 5122 was introduced on 2/19/2025 to establish a housing court with a range of subject matter jurisdiction related to real property.
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 website.
