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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021)
HOUSE BILL 2501 By: Culver and Frix
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to abstracting; amending 1 O.S. 2011,
Sections 21 and 43, as amended b y Section 1, Chapter
148, O.S.L. 2017 (1 O.S. Supp. 2020, Section 43),
which relate to the Oklahoma Abstractors Act; adding
definition; modifying retention and release of
abstract; and providing an effective date .
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE O F THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 1 O.S. 2011, Section 21, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 21. As used in the Oklahoma Abstractors Act:
1. "Abstract of title" is a compilation in orderly arrangement
of the materials and facts of record, in the office of the county
clerk and court clerk, affecting the title to a specific tract of
land issued pursuant to a certificate certifying to the matters
therein contained;
2. "Abstract plant" shall consist of a set of rec ords in which
an entry has been made of all documents or matters which legally
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impart constructive notice of matters affecting title to real
property, any interest therein or encumbrances thereon, which are
filed, recorded and currently available for repro duction in the
offices of the county clerk and the court clerk in the county for
which such abstract plant is maintained. Such records shall consist
of:
a. an index in which notations of or references to any
documents that describe the property affected a re
included, according to the property described or in
which copies or briefs of all such documents that
describe the property affected are sorted and filed
according to the property described, which is compiled
from the instruments of record affecting rea l property
in the county offices and not copied or reproduced
from any county index ;, and
b. an index or files in which all other documents,
pending suits affecting real property and liens,
except ad valorem taxes and special assessments, are
posted, entered, or otherwise included, according to
the name of the parties whose title to real property
or any interest therein or encumbrances thereon is
affected, which is compiled from the instruments of
record affecting real property in the county offices
and not copied from any county index;
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3. "Abstract license" is the authorization for a person working
for a holder of a certificate of authority to search and remove from
county offices county records, summarize or compile copies of such
records, and issue the a bstract of title;
4. "Act" or "Oklahoma Abstractors Law " means the Oklahoma
Abstractors Act;
5. "Board" means the Oklahoma Abstractors Board;
6. "Certificate of authority " is the authorization to engage in
the business of abstracting in a county in this state, granted to a
person, firm, corporation, or other entity, by the Oklahoma
Abstractors Board;
7. "Permit" is the authorization to build an abstract plant in
a specific county; and
8. "State Auditor and Inspector ", for the purposes of the
Oklahoma Abstractors Act, means the Oklahoma Abstractors Board ; and
9. "Authorized agent" or "representative" of a current owner or
insured means a real estate broker, real estate agent, lender,
attorney, title insurer, title insurance agent, escrow agent, or
other duly appointed agent of the current owner or insured under a
policy of title insurance authorized to act on behalf of such
current owner or insured in a current transaction .
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 1 O.S. 2011, Section 43, as
amended by Section 1, Chapter 148, O.S.L. 2017 (1 O.S. Supp. 2020,
Section 43), is amended to read as follows:
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Section 43. A purchaser of real property shall have the
opportunity to retain possession of the abstract for the property
being purchased. The purch aser shall be notified about the option
to retain possession at the scheduled closing; however, if a
contractual obligation to a mortgage company requires retention of
the abstract by that mortgage company, then the purchaser shall have
an opportunity to take possession of the abstract upon complete
performance of the contractual obligations. If a duly licensed
abstract company is holding or storing the abstract, upon written
request from the owner or another party the authorized agent of the
owner, pursuant to a current transaction, the licensed abstractor
shall release the abstract without unnecessary delay. All licensed
abstractors and certificate of authority holders who refuse to do so
shall be subject to the following:
1. A civil penalty to the reque sting party of not less than One
Hundred Dollars ($100.00) and not more than One Thousand Dollars
($1,000.00) for each occurrence;
2. Liability in any action for damages, loss or injury suffered
or incurred by any person by reason of failure to deliver th e
abstract pursuant to the provisions of this section. Any civil
judgment rendered pursuant to this paragraph may be enforced in the
same manner in which other civil judgments may be enforced; and
3. Any administrative penalties and fines enforced by the
Oklahoma Abstractors Board.
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SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2021.
COMMITTEE REPORT BY: COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT MODERNIZATION AND
EFFICIENCY, dated 02/23/2021 - DO PASS, As Coauthored.