Governor Newsom Signs, Vetoes Recording Bills

Governor Signs Recorded Document Notification Bill; Governor Vetoes Recording Fee Increase Legislation

• Governor Signs Recorded Document Notification Bill
  
  Governor Newsom has signed Senate Bill 255 (Seyarto) to require all California counties to enact a notification program for certain recorded documents on or before January 1, 2027. Before being sent to the Governor the bill was amended to require the board of supervisors of each county to adopt an authorizing resolution for the program. The notification program applies to deeds, quitclaim deeds, mortgages, or deeds of trust. In addition to the mailed notice, SB 255 authorizes, but does not require, the county recorder to establish an electronic method of notification. The recorder can also require documents to contain the assessor’s parcel number.
  
  The bill, which was supported by CLTA, allows a fee to be changed from the party filing a deed, quitclaim deed, mortgage, or deed of trust for the cost of implementing the program that cannot exceed the reasonable regulatory costs to the county. The new law will not apply to Los Angeles County because it already has a statutory authorization for a recorder notification program.

• Governor Vetoes Recording Fee Increase Legislation
  
  ​Governor Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill 1430 (Bennett) that would have raised the recording fee for recording the first page of a document to $15 (from up to $10 under current law), and $4 (instead of up to $3 under current law) for each additional page. The vetoed measure also would have prohibited document recording fees from exceeding the reasonable costs for providing these services, and no longer requires $1 of the recording fee for each additional page to be deposited in the county general fund. The first page recording fee available solely to support, maintain, improve, and provide for the full operation for modernized creation, retention, and retrieval of information in each county’s system of recorded documents would have increased from $1 to $3. The Governor’s veto message can be found here.