Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1043 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R803 SHH-F
2	2	By: Bhojani H.B. No. 1043
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to a study by the General Land Office on the establishment
10	10	and implementation by the General Land Office of a distributed
11	11	ledger-based title registry pilot program.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS. In this Act:
14	14	(1) "Distributed ledger" means a peer-to-peer network
15	15	that operates without a central administrator or database and uses
16	16	a distributed network of devices to utilize cryptography to
17	17	immutably record and verify the accuracy of data.
18	18	(2) "Hybrid model" means a method of recording title
19	19	to real property in which basic information from the deed is
20	20	recorded on a public ledger with an identifier to the full document
21	21	that is held on a separate, permissioned distributed ledger.
22	22	(3) "Office" means the General Land Office.
23	23	(4) "Onchain recordation" means recording and
24	24	verifying the accuracy of data through a central administrator or
25	25	database.
26	26	(5) "Pilot program" means the distributed
27	27	ledger-based title registry pilot program to be studied under this
28	28	Act.
29	29	(6) "Public ledger" means a method of recording titles
30	30	in which all records are documented on a publicly accessible
31	31	distributed ledger where the county provides free public access to
32	32	all documents.
33	33	(7) "Rural county" means a county that is outside the
34	34	boundaries of a primary metropolitan statistical area or a
35	35	metropolitan statistical area.
36	36	(8) "Study" means the study conducted under this Act
37	37	by the General Land Office on the establishment and implementation
38	38	by the office of a distributed ledger-based title registry pilot
39	39	program.
40	40	(9) "Urban county" means a county that is partially or
41	41	entirely inside the boundaries of a primary metropolitan
42	42	statistical area.
43	43	SECTION 2. STUDY ON PILOT PROGRAM. (a) The office shall
44	44	conduct a study on establishing and implementing, in partnership
45	45	with the working group established by Section 3 of this Act, a
46	46	distributed ledger-based title registry pilot program to record
47	47	title transfers with distributed ledger technology.
48	48	(b) A pilot program considered by the study must:
49	49	(1) include at least two counties of which at least one
50	50	is a rural county and one is an urban county and determine the
51	51	potential impact of the pilot program on those types of counties in
52	52	particular and counties generally;
53	53	(2) incorporate the recording of property liens
54	54	simultaneously with existing recording methods so as to not disrupt
55	55	current processes;
56	56	(3) collect cost data sufficient to allow comparison
57	57	of the costs to a participating county of:
58	58	(A) continuing to facilitate onchain
59	59	recordation; and
60	60	(B) adapting to a distributed ledger;
61	61	(4) determine whether existing data must be migrated
62	62	to an immutable and public ledger for backwards compatibility;
63	63	(5) evaluate both the public ledger and hybrid model
64	64	as methods of recording to compare:
65	65	(A) costs;
66	66	(B) security;
67	67	(C) transparency; and
68	68	(D) overall complexity;
69	69	(6) provide for the recording of title transfers in
70	70	connection with the pilot program in addition to existing recording
71	71	methods;
72	72	(7) determine the ability to expand the pilot program
73	73	methods to other types of documents and information relating to
74	74	real property;
75	75	(8) incorporate the requirements of existing statutes
76	76	related to the recording of property liens; and
77	77	(9) ensure data privacy and proper protection against
78	78	fraud.
79	79	(c) The goals of the study shall include:
80	80	(1) establishing a protocol for implementation of
81	81	distributed ledger-based recording;
82	82	(2) identifying counties to be included in a pilot
83	83	program;
84	84	(3) determining the costs of the pilot program and of
85	85	converting to a statewide distributed ledger system;
86	86	(4) developing protocols for:
87	87	(A) working with the selected counties to
88	88	implement the program by training, educating, and collaborating
89	89	with the counties to ensure that the pilot program is successful,
90	90	efficient, and complies with a budget established by the office;
91	91	and
92	92	(B) partnering with a software company to create
93	93	an application programming interface to integrate existing systems
94	94	with the distributed ledger system and ensure that title transfer
95	95	records are seamlessly incorporated;
96	96	(5) identifying and considering issues concerning
97	97	transparency and regulation of a distributed ledger-based title
98	98	registry system;
99	99	(6) determining funding sources for and other
100	100	available resources to support implementation of the pilot program;
101	101	and
102	102	(7) determining appropriate vendor selection
103	103	processes.
104	104	SECTION 3. WORKING GROUP. The office shall establish a
105	105	framework for a working group to discuss ideas, give feedback, and
106	106	explore other opportunities relating to the study. The working
107	107	group shall consist of representatives from:
108	108	(1) counties;
109	109	(2) title insurance agents;
110	110	(3) title insurance companies;
111	111	(4) the banking industry;
112	112	(5) appropriate regulators; and
113	113	(6) the Texas Blockchain Council.
114	114	SECTION 4. PARTICIPATION OF REGULATORS. The office shall
115	115	engage appropriate regulators to provide information for the study
116	116	regarding the manner in which regulators could participate in
117	117	crafting guidance for a pilot program that would include protection
118	118	for all parties involved in a real estate transaction the title
119	119	transfer for which is recorded with distributed ledger technology.
120	120	SECTION 5. RULES. Not later than October 1, 2025, the
121	121	office shall adopt rules necessary to administer the study.
122	122	SECTION 6. REPORT. Not later than January 1, 2027, the
123	123	office shall submit to the legislature a report on the findings of
124	124	the study and any recommendations for legislative or other action.
125	125	SECTION 7. EXPIRATION. This Act expires September 1, 2027.
126	126	SECTION 8. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect September
127	127	1, 2025.