Counties save with digital recording
The digital revolution that has transformed communications and commerce over the past decade is fast approaching one of its final frontiers: the county re corder’s office. Electronic recording (ER) – using scanners, e-mail and CDs to send and store public records – represents the biggest change in public record-keeping since microfilm. When public records become digitally accessible, real estate and title companies can do their own document filing and searching, much of which is now done by county employees. The change will save time, money and effort for all involved.
Last September, California became the first state to impose a timetable for implementation of local electronic recording standards. California Assembly Bill 1906 directed the state attorney general to appoint an Electronic Recordation Task Force to sift through and debate the many issues associated with the new public records technology. The 12-member task force, appointed in February, includes county recorders and representatives of the real estate, banking and title industries. Members discuss policy, security and technical issues, and they are studying related R&D activities throughout California.
The task force must send a report to the state legislature by July 1 recommending statewide standards for electronic recording. Standards are expected to be in place by January 2000.
Although some users may be concerned about the impact of statewide standards, others feel the standards will not be restrictive. “I don’t think it’s going to impinge on the free market to have a state agency define minimum standards to which both the user and the county must adhere,” says Carmen Bramante, who represents Fannie Mae, Washington, D.C., on the task force.
Preliminary efforts in some California counties are helping task force members gather information about the different uses of ER and determine how standards can be applied. For example: * In rural Yolo County, a state tax agency transmits its liens in data files to the county recorder via encrypted e-mail. * In Orange and San Bernardino counties, title companies send scanned documents over special phone lines to the recorder’s office, where a digital “stamp” is affixed. * In fast-growing Placer County, the recorder will soon start accepting e-mailed images of documents from title companies.
Orange County, which in May 1997 became the first county in the nation to institute a pilot ER program, illustrates the technology’s savings potential. “Turnaround time for documents recorded electronically is a dramatic improvement over the conventional methods of recording hard copy documents delivered from title company offices to the recorder’s office,” County Recorder Gary Granville says. “From the recorder’s standpoint, efficiencies inherent in the electronic recording system have made it possible to redirect resources to improve services.”
The savings are not immediate, however. While ER promises in the end to save time and money, startup costs for county recorders and users can be substantial. “Electronic recording ultimately will save money for counties and those they serve,” says Tony Bernhard, co-chair of the task force and clerk-recorder for Yolo County. “In the short term, however, there will be setup expenses that will include hardware, software and technological expertise.”
California task force members expect that the report, which will affect legislation in Sacramento, may also influence ER efforts nationwide. Currently, users in Virginia and Florida also are investigating ER methods.