*SB0357.1*
January 21, 2022
SENATE BILL No. 357
_____
DIGEST OF SB 357 (Updated January 19, 2022 6:32 pm - DI 149)
Citations Affected: IC 6-1.1; IC 29-1; IC 32-21; IC 36-2.
Synopsis: Acceptance of electronic conveyance documents. Effective
January 1, 2024, provides that a county recorder, auditor, or assessor
may not refuse to accept or endorse a document because the document
is an electronic document. Provides that certain recording requirements
do not apply to a military discharge, a survey of real property, or a plat
of real property. Makes conforming amendments.
Effective: July 1, 2022.
Brown L
January 11, 2022, read first time and referred to Committee on Judiciary.
January 20, 2022, amended, reported favorably — Do Pass.
SB 357—LS 6911/DI 87 January 21, 2022
Second Regular Session of the 122nd General Assembly (2022)
PRINTING CODE. Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana
Constitution) is being amended, the text of the existing provision will appear in this style type,
additions will appear in this style type, and deletions will appear in this style type.
Additions: Whenever a new statutory provision is being enacted (or a new constitutional
provision adopted), the text of the new provision will appear in this style type. Also, the
word NEW will appear in that style type in the introductory clause of each SECTION that adds
a new provision to the Indiana Code or the Indiana Constitution.
Conflict reconciliation: Text in a statute in this style type or this style type reconciles conflicts
between statutes enacted by the 2021 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
SENATE BILL No. 357
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning local
government.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
1 SECTION 1. IC 6-1.1-5-4 IS AMENDED TO READ AS
2 FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2022]: Sec. 4. (a) Except as
3 provided in section 9 of this chapter, the county auditor shall keep a
4 transfer book, arranged by townships, cities, and towns. In the transfer
5 book he the county auditor shall enter a description, for the purpose
6 of taxation, of land that is conveyed by deed or partition, the date of the
7 conveyance, the names of the parties, and the post office address of the
8 grantee.
9 (b) In addition, the county auditor shall endorse on the deed or
10 instrument of conveyance the words "duly entered for taxation subject
11 to final acceptance for transfer", "not taxable", "has already been listed
12 for taxation", or "duly entered for taxation". The deed or instrument
13 must include on its face the post office address of the grantee.
14 (c) After December 31, 2023, a county auditor may not refuse to
15 endorse a deed or instrument of conveyance because the deed or
16 instrument is an electronic document.
17 SECTION 2. IC 6-1.1-5.5-3, AS AMENDED BY P.L.159-2020,
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1 SECTION 8, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
2 JULY 1, 2022]: Sec. 3. (a) For purposes of this section, "party"
3 includes:
4 (1) a seller of property that is exempt under the seller's ownership;
5 or
6 (2) a purchaser of property that is exempt under the purchaser's
7 ownership;
8 from property taxes under IC 6-1.1-10.
9 (b) Subject to subsections (g) and (h), before filing a conveyance
10 document with the county auditor under IC 6-1.1-5-4, all the parties to
11 the conveyance must do the following:
12 (1) Complete and sign a sales disclosure form as prescribed by the
13 department of local government finance under section 5 of this
14 chapter. All the parties may sign one (1) form, or if all the parties
15 do not agree on the information to be included on the completed
16 form, each party may sign and file a separate form. For
17 conveyance transactions involving more than two (2) parties, one
18 (1) transferor and one (1) transferee signing the sales disclosure
19 form is sufficient.
20 (2) Before filing a sales disclosure form with the county auditor,
21 submit the sales disclosure form to the county assessor. The
22 county assessor must review the accuracy and completeness of
23 each sales disclosure form submitted immediately upon receipt of
24 the form and, if the form is accurate and complete, stamp or
25 otherwise approve the form as eligible for filing with the county
26 auditor and return the form to the appropriate party for filing with
27 the county auditor. If multiple forms are filed in a short period,
28 the county assessor shall process the forms as quickly as possible.
29 For purposes of this subdivision, a sales disclosure form is
30 considered to be accurate and complete if:
31 (A) the county assessor does not have substantial evidence
32 when the form is reviewed under this subdivision that
33 information in the form is inaccurate; and
34 (B) both of the following conditions are satisfied:
35 (i) The form contains the information required by section
36 5(a)(1) through 5(a)(16) of this chapter as that section
37 applies to the conveyance transaction, subject to the
38 obligation of a party to furnish or correct that information in
39 the manner required by and subject to the penalty provisions
40 of section 12 of this chapter. The form may not be rejected
41 for failure to contain information other than that required by
42 section 5(a)(1) through 5(a)(16) of this chapter.
SB 357—LS 6911/DI 87 3
1 (ii) The form is submitted to the county assessor in a format
2 usable to the county assessor.
3 (3) File the sales disclosure form with the county auditor.
4 (4) After December 31, 2023, a county assessor or county
5 auditor may not refuse to accept a sales disclosure form for
6 filing because the sales disclosure form is an electronic
7 document.
8 (c) The auditor shall review each sales disclosure form and process
9 any deduction for which the form serves as an application under
10 IC 6-1.1-12-44. The auditor shall forward each sales disclosure form
11 to the county assessor. The county assessor shall verify the assessed
12 valuation of the property for the assessment date to which the
13 application applies and transmit that assessed valuation to the auditor.
14 The county assessor shall retain the forms for five (5) years. The county
15 assessor shall forward the sales disclosure form data to the department
16 of local government finance in an electronic format specified by the
17 department of local government finance on or before April 1 in a year
18 ending before January 1, 2016, and on or before February 1 in a year
19 beginning after December 31, 2015. The county assessor shall forward
20 a copy of the sales disclosure forms to the township assessors in the
21 county. The department of local government finance shall make sales
22 disclosure form data received from a county assessor available to the
23 legislative services agency. The forms may be used by the county
24 assessing officials, the department of local government finance, and the
25 legislative services agency for the purposes established in
26 IC 6-1.1-4-13.6, sales ratio studies, equalization, adoption of rules
27 under IC 6-1.1-31-3 and IC 6-1.1-31-6, and any other authorized
28 purpose.
29 (d) In a county containing a consolidated city, the auditor shall
30 review each sales disclosure form and process any deduction for which
31 the form serves as an application under IC 6-1.1-12-44. The auditor
32 shall forward the sales disclosure form to the appropriate township
33 assessor (if any). The township assessor shall verify the assessed
34 valuation of the property for the assessment date to which the
35 application applies and transmit that assessed valuation to the auditor.
36 The township or county assessor shall forward the sales disclosure form
37 to the department of local government finance in an electronic format
38 specified by the department of local government finance. The
39 department of local government finance shall make sales disclosure
40 form data received from a township or county assessor available to the
41 legislative services agency. The forms may be used by the county
42 assessing officials, the county auditor, the department of local
SB 357—LS 6911/DI 87 4
1 government finance, and the legislative services agency for the
2 purposes established in IC 6-1.1-4-13.6, sales ratio studies,
3 equalization, adoption of rules under IC 6-1.1-31-3 and IC 6-1.1-31-6,
4 and any other authorized purpose.
5 (e) If a sales disclosure form includes the telephone number or
6 Social Security number of a party, the telephone number or Social
7 Security number is confidential.
8 (f) County assessing officials, county auditors, and other local
9 officials may not establish procedures or requirements concerning sales
10 disclosure forms that substantially differ from the procedures and
11 requirements of this chapter.
12 (g) Except as provided in subsection (h), a separate sales disclosure
13 form is required for each parcel conveyed, regardless of whether more
14 than one (1) parcel is conveyed under a single conveyance document.
15 (h) Only one (1) sales disclosure form is required for the
16 conveyance under a single conveyance document of two (2) or more
17 contiguous parcels located entirely within a single taxing district.
18 SECTION 3. IC 29-1-7-23, AS AMENDED BY P.L.56-2020,
19 SECTION 2, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
20 JULY 1, 2022]: Sec. 23. (a) When a person dies, the person's real and
21 personal property passes to persons to whom it is devised by the
22 person's last will or, in the absence of such disposition, to the persons
23 who succeed to the person's estate as the person's heirs; but it shall be
24 subject to the possession of the personal representative and to the
25 election of the surviving spouse and shall be chargeable with the
26 expenses of administering the estate, the payment of other claims and
27 the allowances under IC 29-1-4-1, except as otherwise provided in
28 IC 29-1.
29 (b) A person may sign and record an affidavit to establish prima
30 facie evidence of the passage of real estate title to distributees under
31 this section. An affidavit under this section may contain the following
32 information:
33 (1) The decedent's name and date of death.
34 (2) A statement of the affiant's relationship to the decedent.
35 (3) A description of how the following deeds or other instruments
36 vested in the decedent an ownership or leasehold interest in real
37 property, with a cross-reference if applicable, under
38 IC 36-2-7-10(l) to each deed or other instrument:
39 (A) Deeds or other instruments recorded in the office of the
40 recorder where the real property is located.
41 (B) Deeds or other instruments that disclose a title transaction
42 (as defined in IC 32-20-2-7).
SB 357—LS 6911/DI 87 5
1 (4) The legal description of the conveyed real property as it
2 appears in instruments described in subdivision (3).
3 (5) The names of all distributees known to the affiant.
4 (6) An explanation of how each interest in the real property
5 passed upon the decedent's death to each distributee by:
6 (A) intestate succession under IC 29-1-2-1; or
7 (B) the decedent's last will and testament that has been
8 admitted to probate under section 13 of this chapter, with
9 references to:
10 (i) the name and location of the court that issued the order
11 admitting the will to probate; and
12 (ii) the date when the court admitted the decedent's will to
13 probate.
14 (7) An explanation of how any fractional interests in the real
15 property that may have passed to multiple distributees were
16 calculated and apportioned.
17 (c) Upon presentation of an affidavit described in subsection (b), the
18 auditor of the county where the real property described in the affidavit
19 is located must endorse the affidavit as an instrument that is exempt
20 from the requirements to file a sales disclosure form and must enter the
21 names of the distributees shown on the affidavit on the tax duplicate on
22 which the real property is transferred, assessed, and taxed under
23 IC 6-1.1-5-7. After December 31, 2023, an auditor may not refuse
24 to endorse an affidavit because the affidavit is an electronic
25 document.
26 (d) Upon presentation of an affidavit described in subsection (b), the
27 recorder of the county where the real property described in the affidavit
28 is located must:
29 (1) record the affidavit; and
30 (2) index the affidavit as the most recent instrument responsible
31 for the transfer of the real property described in subsection (b)(4).
32 (e) Any person may rely upon an affidavit recorded with the county
33 recorder:
34 (1) made in good faith; and
35 (2) under this section;
36 as prima facie evidence of an effective transfer of the decedent's title
37 to the real property interest under subsection (a) to the distributee
38 described in the affidavit.
39 (f) If:
40 (1) at least seven (7) months have elapsed since the decedent's
41 death;
42 (2) the clerk of the court described in subsection (b)(6)(B) has not
SB 357—LS 6911/DI 87 6
1 issued letters testamentary or letters of administration to the court
2 appointed personal representative for the decedent within the time
3 limits specified under section 15.1(d) of this chapter; and
4 (3) the court described in subsection (b)(6)(B) has not issued
5 findings and an accompanying order preventing the limitations in
6 section 15.1(b) of this chapter from applying to the decedent's real
7 property;
8 any person may rely upon the affidavit described in subsection (e) as
9 evidence that the real property may not be sold by an executor or
10 administrator of the decedent's estate to pay a debt or obligation of the
11 decedent, which is not a lien of record in the county in which the real
12 property is located, or to pay any costs of administration of the
13 decedent's estate.
14 SECTION 4. IC 32-21-2.5-8, AS AMENDED BY P.L.185-2021,
15 SECTION 47, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
16 JULY 1, 2022]: Sec. 8. (a) As used in this section, "paper document"
17 or "paper documents" means a tangible record that is received by a
18 county recorder in a form that is not electronic.
19 (b) On or before July 1, 2022, a county recorder shall receive for
20 recording, indexing, storage, archiving, access to, searching of,
21 retrieval, and transmittal all electronic documents proper for recording.
22 A county recorder shall also accept electronically any fee or tax that the
23 county recorder is authorized to collect under applicable laws. A
24 county recorder shall implement the processing of electronic
25 documents proper for recording in compliance with:
26 (1) this article;
27 (2) IC 33-42;
28 (3) IC 36-2-7.5;
29 (4) IC 36-2-11; and
30 (5) IC 36-2-13; and
31 the standards adopted by the electronic recording commission created
32 under section 9 of this chapter.
33 (c) This section does not apply to the following documents:
34 (1) A military discharge under IC 10-17-2.
35 (2) A survey of real property.
36 (3) A plat of real property.
37 (c) (d) A recorder who accepts electronic documents for recording
38 shall:
39 (1) continue to accept paper documents as authorized by state
40 law; and
41 (2) place entries for paper documents and electronic documents
42 in the same index.
SB 357—LS 6911/DI 87 7
1 (d) (e) A recorder who accepts electronic documents for recording
2 may:
3 (1) convert paper documents accepted for recording into
4 electronic form;
5 (2) convert into electronic form information recorded before the
6 county recorder began to accept and index electronic documents;
7 or
8 (3) agree with other officials of a state or a political subdivision
9 of a state, or of the United States, on procedures or processes to
10 facilitate the electronic satisfaction of prior approvals and
11 conditions precedent to recording and the electronic payment of
12 fees and taxes.
13 SECTION 5. IC 36-2-9-18, AS AMENDED BY P.L.257-2019,
14 SECTION 105, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS
15 [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2022]: Sec. 18. (a) Before the auditor makes the
16 endorsement required by IC 36-2-11-14, the auditor may require that
17 a tax identification number identifying the affected real property be
18 placed on an instrument that conveys, creates, encumbers, assigns, or
19 otherwise disposes of an interest in or a lien on real property. The tax
20 identification number may be established by the auditor with the
21 approval of the state board of accounts. If the tax identification number
22 is affixed to the instrument or if a tax identification number is not
23 required, the auditor shall make the proper endorsement on demand.
24 (b) On request, a county auditor shall provide assistance in
25 obtaining the proper tax identification number for instruments subject
26 to this section.
27 (c) The tax administration number established by this section is for
28 use in administering statutes concerning taxation of real property and
29 is not competent evidence of the location or size of the real property
30 affected by the instrument.
31 (d) After December 31, 2023, a county auditor may not refuse
32 to endorse a deed or instrument required by IC 36-2-11-14 because
33 the deed or instrument is an electronic document.
34 (d) (e) The legislative body of a county shall adopt an ordinance
35 requiring the auditor to collect a fee in the amount of ten dollars ($10)
36 for each:
37 (1) deed; or
38 (2) legal description of each parcel contained in the deed;
39 for which the auditor makes a real property endorsement. This fee is in
40 addition to any other fee provided by law. The auditor shall place the
41 revenue received under this subsection in a dedicated fund for use in
42 maintaining plat books, in traditional or electronic format.
SB 357—LS 6911/DI 87 8
COMMITTEE REPORT
Madam President: The Senate Committee on Judiciary, to which
was referred Senate Bill No. 357, has had the same under consideration
and begs leave to report the same back to the Senate with the
recommendation that said bill be AMENDED as follows:
Page 4, delete lines 18 through 39.
Page 7, delete lines 13 through 14, begin a new paragraph and
insert:
"(c) This section does not apply to the following documents:".
Page 7, delete lines 18 through 21.
Renumber all SECTIONS consecutively.
and when so amended that said bill do pass.
(Reference is to SB 357 as introduced.)
BROWN L, Chairperson
Committee Vote: Yeas 11, Nays 0.
SB 357—LS 6911/DI 87