SB 255: County recorders: notification.

Existing law establishes the office of county recorder and requires the county recorder to accept for recordation any instrument, paper, or notice that is authorized or required to be recorded, subject to the collection of specified fees. Existing law requires the county recorder to maintain various indices of specified documents and records.

Existing law authorizes the county recorder, following adoption of an authorizing resolution by the board of supervisors, within 30 days of recordation of a deed, quitclaim, or deed of trust, to notify by mail the party or parties executing the document. Existing law authorizes the recorder to require, as a condition of recording, that a deed, quitclaim, or deed of trust indicate the assessor’s identification number or numbers that fully contain the real property described in the legal description, in accordance with a specified format. Existing law also authorizes the Los Angeles County Recorder, until January 1, 2030, and subject to authorization by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, to provide notice by mail to the party or parties subject to a notice of default or notice of sale of a property within a prescribed timeframe following recordation.

This bill would require, on or before January 1, 2027, each county within the state to establish a recorder notification program and the board of supervisors of each county to adopt an authorizing resolution for these purposes. Pursuant to the program and following the adoption of an authorizing resolution, the county recorder, or a designee authorized by the county board of supervisors, would be required, within 30 days of recordation of a deed, quitclaim deed, mortgage, or deed of trust, to notify the parties executing the document by mail in accordance with certain procedures. The bill would also authorize the county recorder, in addition to the mailed notice, to establish an electronic notification program. The bill would create an exemption from these requirements for the recordation of certain documents where a state or local government is the grantee. The bill would also authorize the county recorder to collect a fee from the party filing the deed, quitclaim deed, mortgage, or deed of trust in an amount that does not exceed the reasonable costs of services of the county to comply with these provisions. The bill would create an exception from these requirements for the above-described notification program for the County of Los Angeles. By imposing new duties on county officials and employees, the bill would create 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 the statutory provisions noted above.