Public Act 095-0472
 		





SB0319 Enrolled
LRB095 10815 AJO 31066 b






    AN ACT concerning civil law.

 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:


 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 
Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act.
 
    Section 2. Definitions. In this Act:
        (1) "Document" means information that is:
            (A) inscribed on a tangible medium or that is 
        stored in an electronic or other medium and is 
        retrievable in perceivable form; and
            (B) eligible to be recorded in the land records 
        maintained by the county recorder.

        (2) "Electronic" means relating to technology having 
    electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, 
    electromagnetic, or similar capabilities.
        (3) "Electronic document" means a document that is 
    received by the recorder in an electronic form.
        (4) "Electronic signature" means an electronic sound, 
    symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with 
    a document and executed or adopted by a person with the 
    intent to sign the document.
        (5) "Person" means an individual, corporation, 
    business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited 
    liability company, association, joint venture, public 
    corporation, government, or governmental subdivision, 
    agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or 
    commercial entity.
        (6) "State" means a state of the United States, the 
    District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin 
    Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to 
    the jurisdiction of the United States.
        (7) "Secretary" means the Secretary of State.
        (8) "Commission" means the Illinois Electronic 
    Recording Commission.
    Any notifications required by this Act must be made in 
writing and may be communicated by certified mail, return 
receipt requested or electronic mail so long as receipt is 
verified.

 
    Section 3. Validity of electronic documents. 
    (a) If a law requires, as a condition for recording, that a 
document be an original, be on paper or another tangible 
medium, or be in writing, the requirement is satisfied by an 
electronic document satisfying this Act.
    (b) If a law requires, as a condition for recording, that a 
document be signed, the requirement is satisfied by an 
electronic signature.
    (c) A requirement that a document or a signature associated 
with a document be notarized, acknowledged, verified, 
witnessed, or made under oath is satisfied if the electronic 
signature of the person authorized to perform that act, and all 
other information required to be included, is attached to or 
logically associated with the document or signature. A physical 
or electronic image of a stamp, impression, or seal need not 
accompany an electronic signature.
 
    Section 4. Recording of documents. 
    (a) In this Section, "paper document" means a document that 
is received by the county recorder in a form that is not 
electronic.
    (b) A county recorder:
        (1) who implements any of the functions listed in this 
    Section shall do so in compliance with standards 
    established by the Illinois Electronic Recording 
    Commission and must follow the procedures of the Local 
    Records Act before destroying any original paper records as 
    part of a conversion process into an electronic or other 
    format.
        (2) may receive, index, store, archive, and transmit 
    electronic documents.
        (3) may provide for access to, and for search and 
    retrieval of, documents and information by electronic 
    means, including the Internet, and on approval by the 
    county recorder of the form and amount, the county board  
    may adopt a fee for document detail or image retrieval on 
    the Internet.
        (4) who accepts electronic documents for recording 
    shall continue to accept paper documents as authorized by 
    State law and shall place entries for both types of 
    documents in the same index.
        (5) may convert paper documents accepted for recording 
    into electronic form.
        (6) may convert into electronic form information 
    recorded before the county recorder began to record 
    electronic documents.
        (7) may accept electronically any fee or tax that the 
    county recorder is authorized to collect.
        (8) may agree with other officials of a state or a 
    political subdivision thereof, or of the United States, on 
    procedures or processes to facilitate the electronic 
    satisfaction of prior approvals and conditions precedent 
    to recording and the electronic payment of fees and taxes.
 
    Section 5. Administration and standards. 
    (a) To adopt standards to implement this Act, there is 
established, within the Office of the Secretary of State, the 
Illinois Electronic Recording Commission consisting of 15 
commissioners as follows:
        (1) The Secretary of State or the Secretary's designee 
    shall be a permanent commissioner.
        (2) The Secretary of State shall appoint the following 
    additional 14 commissioners:
            (A) Three who are from the land title profession.
            (B) Three who are from lending institutions.
            (C)  One who is an attorney.
            (D) Seven who are county recorders, no more than 4 
        of whom are from one political party, representative of 
        counties of varying size, geography, population, and 
        resources.
        (3) On the effective date of this  Act, the Secretary of 
    State or the Secretary's designee shall become the Acting 
    Chairperson of the Commission. The Secretary shall appoint 
    the initial commissioners within 60 days and hold the first 
    meeting of the Commission within 120 days, notifying 
    commissioners of the time and place of the first meeting 
    with at least 14 days' notice.
At its first meeting the 
    Commission shall adopt, by a majority vote, such rules and 
    structure that it deems necessary to govern its operations, 
    including the title, responsibilities, and election of 
    officers.  Once adopted, the rules and structure may be 
    altered or amended by the Commission by majority vote. Upon 
    the election of officers and adoption of rules or bylaws, 
    the duties of the Acting Chairperson shall cease.
        (4) The Commission shall meet at least once every year 
    within the State of Illinois. The time and place of 
    meetings to be determined by the Chairperson and approved 
    by a majority of the Commission.
        (5) Eight commissioners shall constitute a quorum.
        (6) Commissioners shall receive no compensation for 
    their services but may be reimbursed for reasonable 
    expenses at current rates in effect at the Office of the 
    Secretary of State, directly related to their duties as 
    commissioners and participation at Commission meetings or 
    while on business or at meetings which have been authorized 
    by the Commission.
        (7) Appointed commissioners shall serve terms of 3 
    years, which shall expire on December 1st.   Five of the 
    initially appointed commissioners, including at least 2 
    county recorders, shall serve terms of one year, 5 of the 
    initially appointed commissioners, including at least 2 
    county recorders, shall serve terms of 2 years, and  4 of 
    the initially appointed commissioners shall serve terms of 
    3 years, to be determined by lot. The calculation of the 
    terms in office of the initially appointed commissioners 
    shall begin on the first December 1st after the 
    commissioners have served at least 6 months in office.
        (8) The Chairperson shall declare a commissioner's 
    office vacant immediately after receipt of a written 
    resignation, death, a recorder commissioner no longer 
    holding the public office, or under other circumstances 
    specified within the rules adopted by the Commission, which 
    shall also by rule specify how and by what deadlines a 
    replacement is to be appointed.
    (c) The Commission shall adopt and  transmit to the 
Secretary of State standards to implement this Act and shall be 
the exclusive entity to set standards for counties to engage in 
electronic recording in the State of Illinois.
    (d) To keep the standards and practices of county recorders 
in this State in harmony with the standards and practices of 
recording offices in other jurisdictions that enact 
substantially this Act and to keep the technology used by 
county recorders in this State compatible with technology used 
by recording offices in other jurisdictions that enact 
substantially this Act, the Commission, so far as is consistent 
with the purposes, policies, and provisions of this Act, in 
adopting, amending, and repealing standards shall consider:
        (1) standards and practices of other jurisdictions;
        (2) the most recent standards promulgated by national 
    standard-setting bodies, such as the Property Records 
    Industry Association;
        (3) the views of interested persons and governmental 
    officials and entities;
        (4) the needs of counties of varying size, population, 
    and resources; and
        (5) standards requiring adequate information security 
    protection to ensure that electronic documents are 
    accurate, authentic, adequately preserved, and resistant 
    to tampering.
    (e) The Commission shall review the statutes related to 
real property and the statutes related to recording real 
property documents and shall recommend to the General Assembly 
any changes in the statutes that the Commission deems necessary 
or advisable.
    (f) Funding.  The Secretary of State may accept for the 
Commission, for any of its purposes and functions, donations, 
gifts, grants, and appropriations of money, equipment, 
supplies, materials, and services from the federal government, 
the State or any of its departments or agencies, a county or 
municipality, or from any institution, person, firm, or 
corporation.  The Commission may authorize a fee payable by 
counties engaged in electronic recording to fund its expenses.  
Any fee shall be proportional based on county population or 
number of documents recorded annually.  On approval by a county 
recorder of the form and amount, a county board may authorize 
payment of any fee out of the special fund it has created to 
fund document storage and electronic retrieval, as authorized 
in Section 3-5018 of the Counties Code.  Any funds received by 
the Office of the Secretary of State for the Commission shall 
be used entirely for expenses approved by and for the use of 
the Commission.
    (g) The Secretary of State shall provide administrative 
support to the Commission, including the preparation of the 
agenda and minutes for Commission meetings, distribution of 
notices and proposed rules to commissioners, payment of bills 
and reimbursement for expenses of commissioners.
    (h) Standards and rules adopted by the Commission shall be 
delivered to the Secretary of State.  Within 60 days, the 
Secretary shall either promulgate by rule the standards 
adopted, amended, or repealed or return them to the Commission, 
with findings, for changes.  The Commission may override the 
Secretary by a three-fifths vote, in which case the Secretary 
shall publish the Commission's standards.
 
    Section 6. (Blank). 
 
    Section 7. Relation to Electronic Signatures in Global and 
National Commerce Act.
 This Act modifies, limits, and 
supersedes the federal Electronic Signatures in Global and 
National Commerce Act (15 U.S.C. Section 7001, et seq.) but 
does not modify, limit, or supersede Section 101(c) of that Act 
(15 U.S.C. Section 7001(c)) or authorize electronic delivery of 
any of the notices described in Section 103(b) of that Act (15 
U.S.C. Section 7003(b)).
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.