BILL NUMBER: AB 1974INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gallagher FEBRUARY 16, 2016 An act to amend Sections 27201 and 27288.1 of the Government Code, relating to the county recorder. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1974, as introduced, Gallagher. County recorder: recordation of documents. Existing law requires the county recorder, upon payment of proper fees and taxes, to record any instrument, paper, or notice that is authorized or required to be recorded, provided that the instrument, paper, or notice meets certain standards. Existing law also requires all documents authorized by law to be recorded in the official records of a county to contain specified information. This bill would require the documents described above that are rerecorded to be executed and acknowledged or verified as new documents, unless otherwise provided, and to contain a notation on the face specifying the reason for the rerecording. By imposing new duties upon local county officials with respect to the recordation of documents, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 27201 of the Government Code is amended to read: 27201. (a) The recorder shall, upon payment of proper fees and taxes, accept for recordation any instrument, paper, or notice that is authorized or required by statute, or court order to be recorded, or authorized or required to be recorded by a local ordinance that relates to the recordation of any instrument, paper, or notice that relates to real property, if the instrument, paper, or notice contains sufficient information to be indexed as provided by statute, meets recording requirements of state statutes and local ordinances, and is photographically reproducible. The county recorder shall not refuse to record any instrument, paper, or notice that is authorized or required by statute, court order, or local ordinance that relates to the recordation of any instrument, paper, or notice that relates to real property to be recorded on the basis of its lack of legal sufficiency. "Photographically reproducible," for purposes of this division, means all instruments, papers, or notices that comply with standards as recommended by the American National Standards Institute or the Association for Information and Image Management for recording of records. (b) (1) Each instrument, paper, or notice shall contain an original signature or signatures, except as otherwise provided by law, or be a certified copy of the original. (2) A facsimile signature shall be accepted on a lien recorded by a governmental agency when that facsimile signature has been officially adopted by that agency. The lien shall have noted on its face a statement to that effect. The officially adopted facsimile signature shall be provided to the county recorder by a letter from the agency. A facsimile signature shall continue to be valid until the agency notifies the county recorder that the facsimile signature has been revoked. (c) Each instrument, paper, or notice that is rerecorded shall be executed and acknowledged or verified as a new document, in addition to any previous acknowledgment or verification, unless otherwise exempted by Section 27287 or any other law, or if being presented solely to correct a recording sequence. The instrument, paper, or notice shall contain a notation on its face specifying the reason for the rerecording. SEC. 2. Section 27288.1 of the Government Code is amended to read: 27288.1. All documents described in this section now or hereafter authorized by law to be recorded in the official records of a county shall contain the following information in addition to any information as may be required by law pertaining to the particular document: (a) If the document effects or evidences a transfer or encumbrance of an interest in real property, the name or names in which the interest appears of record, except that a notice of assessment recorded pursuant to Section 3114 of the Streets and Highways Code, a notice of special tax lien recorded pursuant to Section 3114.5 of the Streets and Highways Code, and a notice of award of contract recorded pursuant to Section 5248 of the Streets and Highways Code, shall show the name or names of the assessed owners as they appear on the latest secured assessment roll. (b) If the document releases or terminates any interest, right or encumbrance, it shall contain or have appended thereto all of the names of those persons and entities owning the title or interest being relieved by the document, or the names of the owners of that title or interest as they appeared at the time and in the document creating the interest, right or encumbrance. (c) In cases where the county tax collector is filing purchaser's deeds with respect to a sale for defaulted taxes, those documents shall be deemed to constitute compliance with this section. No document subject to this section shall be recorded or indexed in the official records of a county unless it contains the information required by this section as well as any additional information required by law pertaining to the particular document, but the recorder may rely upon the information contained in, or appended to, the document being offered for record. The failure of any document to include all of the names required by this section shall not affect the constructive notice which would otherwise be afforded by the recording of the document. This section shall not apply to a vacation or abandonment by a public agency of a public highway or road. (d) If a document is rerecorded, it shall be executed or acknowledged or verified as a new document, in addition to any previous acknowledgment or verification, unless otherwise exempted by Section 27287 or any other law, or if being presented solely to correct a recording sequence. The document shall contain a notation on its face specifying the reason for the rerecording. SEC. 3. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.