Real Property Electronic Recording Act (Updated)

I'm filing a bill this morning that will give local clerks and recorders legal authority to begin accepting and storing real property records (deeds, mortgages, etc.) in electronic form. This is a stepping stone bill for me, as I'd eventually like to see Arkansas move in the direction of the electronic filing of all civil and criminal pleadings and records similar to the current Federal system.

The main upside to this legislation is to protect documents of legal interest from fire, flood, etc. Louisiana lost loads of pleadings and documents in the 2005 hurricane season, and the courthouse in Clark County, Arkansas had a near miss during the tornado of March 1, 1997. This proposal would also allow parties, title companies, attorneys, banks -- basically anyone searching for real estate records -- to do it from their home/office.

The downside, of course, is that this proposal will require a small $7 increase in the filing of a deed/mortgage (and an extra $2 increase for each additional page), which is worth the trouble of having to take one trip to the courthouse to obtain and make copies of the instrument. Plus, the $15 filing fee will still be cheaper than the $16 filing fee across State Line Avenue. I'll keep you posted on the progress of this proposal.

Update: Here are links to both bills making up this proposal:

HB1298: An Act to adopt the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act

HB1299: An Act to increase the recording fees for county recorders for certain written instruments