Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

S.B. 80 Second Substitute (2022GS)

Sponsor

Sen. Winterton, R.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/24/2022

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Spencer J. Cox

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• provides the requirements for a legal description of real property in a document to be recorded with a county recorder; and
• makes technical and conforming changes.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

REAL PROPERTY RECORDING AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Ronald M. Winterton
House Sponsor: 
Steven J. Lund
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill addresses the recording of documents concerning real property.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ provides the requirements for a legal description of real property in a document to
be recorded with a county recorder; and
▸ makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
This bill provides a special effective date.
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
17-21-20
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2019, Chapter 302
57-3-105
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2011, Chapter 88
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
17-21-20
 is amended to read:
17-21-20.
Recording required -- Recorder may impose requirements on
documents to be recorded -- Prerequisites -- Additional fee for noncomplying documents
-- Recorder may require tax serial number -- Exceptions -- Requirements for recording
final local entity plat.
(1) Subject to Subsections (2), (3), and (4), a county recorder shall record each paper,
notice, and instrument required by law to be recorded in the office of the county recorder unless
otherwise provided.
(2) Subject to Chapter 21a, Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act, each
document that is submitted for recording to a county recorder's office shall:
(a) unless otherwise provided by law, be an original or certified copy of the document;
(b) be in English or be accompanied by an accurate English translation of the
document;
(c) contain a brief title, heading, or caption on the first page stating the nature of the
document;
(d) except as otherwise provided by statute, contain the legal description of the
property that is the subject of the document 
in accordance with Subsection 
57-3-105
(4)
;
(e) comply with the requirements of Section 
17-21-25
 and Subsections 
57-3-105
(1)
and (2);
(f) except as otherwise provided by statute, be notarized with the notary stamp with the
seal legible; and
(g) have original signatures.
(3) (a) Subject to Chapter 21a, Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act, a
county recorder may require that each paper, notice, and instrument submitted for recording in
the county recorder's office:
(i) be on white paper that is 8-1/2 inches by 11 inches in size;
(ii) have a margin of one inch on the left and right sides and at the bottom of each
page;
(iii) have a space of 2-1/2 inches down and 4-1/2 inches across the upper right corner
of the first page and a margin of one inch at the top of each succeeding page;
(iv) not be on sheets of paper that are continuously bound together at the side, top, or
bottom;
(v) not contain printed material on more than one side of each page;
(vi) be printed in black ink and not have text smaller than seven lines of text per
vertical inch; and
(vii) be sufficiently legible to make certified copies.
(b) A county recorder who intends to establish requirements under Subsection (3)(a)
shall first:
(i) provide formal notice of the requirements; and
(ii) establish and publish an effective date for the requirements that is at least three
months after the formal notice under Subsection (3)(b)(i).
(4) (a) To facilitate the abstracting of an instrument 
to which a tax identification
number is assigned
, a county recorder may require that the applicable tax identification number
of each parcel described in the instrument be noted on the instrument before the county
recorder [
may accept
] 
accepts
 the instrument for recording.
(b) If a county recorder requires the applicable tax identification number to be on an
instrument before [
it
] 
the instrument
 may be recorded:
(i) the county recorder shall post a notice of that requirement in a conspicuous place at
the recorder's office;
(ii) the tax identification number may not be considered to be part of the legal
description and may be indicated on the margin of the instrument; and
(iii) an error in the tax identification number does not affect the validity of the
instrument or effectiveness of the recording.
(5) Subsections (2), (3), and (4) do not apply to:
(a) a map or plat;
(b) a certificate or affidavit of death that a government agency issues;
(c) a military discharge or other record that a branch of the United States military
service issues;
(d) a document regarding taxes that is issued by the Internal Revenue Service of the
United States Department of the Treasury;
(e) a document submitted for recording that has been filed with a court and conforms to
the formatting requirements established by the court; or
(f) a document submitted for recording that is in a form required by law.
(6) (a) As used in this Subsection (6):
(i) "Boundary action" has the same meaning as defined in Section 
17-23-20
.
(ii) "Local entity" has the same meaning as defined in Section 
67-1a-6.5
.
(b) A person may not submit to a county recorder for recording a plat depicting the
boundary of a local entity as the boundary exists as a result of a boundary action, unless:
(i) the plat has been approved under Section 
17-23-20
 by the county surveyor as a final
local entity plat, as defined in Section 
17-23-20
; and
(ii) the person also submits for recording:
(A) the original notice of an impending boundary action, as defined in Section
67-1a-6.5
, for the boundary action for which the plat is submitted for recording;
(B) the original applicable certificate, as defined in Section 
67-1a-6.5
, issued by the
lieutenant governor under Section 
67-1a-6.5
 for the boundary action for which the plat is
submitted for recording; and
(C) each other document required by statute to be submitted for recording with the
notice of an impending boundary action and applicable certificate.
(c) Promptly after recording the documents described in Subsection (6)(b) relating to a
boundary action, but no later than 10 days after recording, the county recorder shall send a copy
of all those documents to the State Tax Commission.
Section 2. Section 
57-3-105
 is amended to read:
57-3-105.
Legal description of real property and names and addresses required in
documents.
(1) Except as otherwise provided by statute, 
if a document for recording does not
conform to this section,
 a person may not present [
a
] 
the
 document 
to the office of the recorder
of the county
 for recording [
unless the document complies with this section
].
(2) A document executed after July 1, [
] 
, is entitled to be recorded in the
office of the recorder of the county in which the property described in the document is located
only if the document contains a legal description of the real property 
in accordance with
Subsection (4)
.
(3) (a) A document conveying title to real property presented for recording after July 1,
[
] 
, is entitled to be recorded in the office of the recorder of the county in which the
property described in the document is located only if the document
:
(i)
 names the grantees and recites a mailing address to be used for assessment and
taxation [
in addition to the legal description required under Subsection (2).
]
; and
(ii) includes a legal description of the real property in accordance with Subsection (4).
(b) The address of the management committee may be used as the mailing address of a
grantee as required in Subsection (3)(a) if the interest conveyed is a timeshare interest as
defined by Section 
57-19-2
.
[
(4) A person may not present and a county recorder may refuse to accept a document
for recording if the document does not conform to this section.
]
(4) A legal description required under this Section and Subsection 
17-21-20
(2)(d) shall
include a description of the real property by:
(a) metes and bounds;
(b) a government survey that:
(i) references the Public Land Survey System; and
(ii) specifies the township, range, base and meridian, and section, with aliquot part or
government lot, if applicable, of the real property;
(c) if the real property consists of a mining claim:
(i) the claim name; and
(ii) if available, a state or federal agency serial number; or
(d) (i) a lot, block, tract, parcel, or unit within a previously recorded plat or map;
(ii) station and offset with reference to centerline;
(iii) a centerline described using:
(A) a bearing and distance; or
(B) at least three elements of curve data;
(iv) a point referenced to a corner of the Public Land Survey System or other
controlling corner; or
(v) a type of legal description not described in Subsections (4)(d)(i) through (iv) that
meets the requirements described in Section 
57-10-4
 for a legal and satisfactory description of
a land boundary.
(5) Notwithstanding Subsections (2), (3), and (4), a master form, as defined in Section
57-3-201
, that does not meet the requirements of Subsections (2) and (3) is entitled to be
recorded in the office of the recorder of the county in which the property described in the
master form is located if [
it
] 
the master form
 complies with Part 2, Master Mortgage and Trust
Deeds.
Section 3. 
Effective date.
This bill takes effect on July 1, 2022.