Assembly Bill No. 459–Committee on Government Affairs

 

CHAPTER..........

 

AN ACT relating to county recorders; authorizing a county recorder to deny recordation of certain documents; providing for judicial review of such a denial; prohibiting a person in certain circumstances from resubmitting a document for recordation that had been denied recordation previously; providing a penalty; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

    Section 1. NRS 247.100 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    247.100  Each county recorder shall:

    1.  [Record] Except as otherwise provided in NRS 247.145,

record each document in the order in which it is received;

    2.  Maintain a record of all transactions conducted within the

office and a record of all fees collected; and

    3.  Make the records maintained pursuant to subsection 2

available for public inspection during regular business hours.

    Sec. 2.  NRS 247.110 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    247.110  1.  When a document authorized , entitled or

required by law to be recorded is deposited in the county recorder’s

office for recording, the county recorder shall:

    (a) Endorse upon it the time when it was received, noting:

        (1) The year, month, day, hour and minute of its reception;

        (2) The document number; and

        (3) The amount of fees collected for recording the document.

    (b) Record the document without delay, together with the

acknowledgments, proofs and certificates, written upon or annexed

to it, with the plats, surveys, schedules and other papers thereto

annexed, in the order in which the papers are received for recording.

    (c) Note at the upper right corner of the record and upon the

document, except a map, so recorded the exact time of its reception

[,] and the name of the person at whose request it was recorded.

    (d) Upon request, place a stamp or other notation upon one copy

of the document presented at the time of recording to reflect the

information endorsed upon the original pursuant to subparagraphs

(1) and (2) of paragraph (a) and as evidence that he received the

original, and return the copy to the person who presented it.

    2.  In addition to the information described in paragraph (a) of

subsection 1, a county recorder may endorse upon a document the

book and page where the document is recorded.

    3.  [A county recorder shall not refuse to record a document on

the grounds that the document is not legally effective to accomplish

the purposes stated therein.

    4.] A document, except a map, that is submitted for recording

must:

    (a) Be on paper that is 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches in size;

    (b) Have a margin of 1 inch on the left and right sides and at the

bottom of each page; and

    (c) Have a space of 3 inches by 3 inches at the upper right

corner of the first page and have a margin of 1 inch at the top of

each succeeding page.

    4.  A document is recorded when the information required

pursuant to this section is placed on the document and is entered

in the record of the county recorder.

    Sec. 3.  NRS 247.120 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    247.120  1.  [Each] Except as otherwise provided in NRS

247.145, each county recorder shall, upon the payment of the

prescribed statutory fees, record separately, in a manner which will

allow a legible copy to be made, the following specified documents:

    (a) Deeds, grants, patents issued by the State of Nevada or by

the United States, transfers and mortgages of real estate, releases of

mortgages of real estate, powers of attorney to convey real estate,

and leases of real estate which have been acknowledged or proved.

    (b) Certificates of marriage and marriage contracts.

    (c) Wills admitted to probate.

    (d) Official bonds.

    (e) Notice of mechanics’ liens.

    (f) Transcripts of judgments which by law are made liens upon

real estate in this state and affidavits of renewal of those judgments.

    (g) Notices of attachment upon real estate.

    (h) Notices of the pendency of an action affecting real estate, the

title thereto or the possession thereof.

    (i) Instruments describing or relating to the separate property of

married persons.

    (j) Notice of preemption claims.

    (k) Notices and certificates of location of mining claims.

    (l) Affidavits of proof of annual labor on mining claims.

    (m) Affidavits of intent to hold mining claims recorded pursuant

to subsection 3 of NRS 517.230.

    (n) Certificates of sale.

    (o) Judgments or decrees.

    (p) Declarations of homesteads.

    (q) Such other writings as are required or permitted by law to be

recorded.

    2.  Each of the documents named in paragraph (a) of subsection

1 may be recorded in separate books in the discretion of the county

recorder.

    3.  Before accepting for recording any document enumerated in

subsection 1, the county recorder shall require a document suitable

for recording by a method used by the recorder to preserve his

records. If any rights may be adversely affected because of a delay

in recording caused by this requirement, the county recorder shall

accept the document conditionally subject to submission of a

suitable document at a later date. Before accepting a document

conditionally, the recorder shall require the person who requests the

recording to sign a statement that the person has been advised of the

requirements described in this subsection and record the statement

with the document.

    Sec. 4.  NRS 247.145 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    247.145  1.  County recorders may record any document

authorized, entitled or required by law to be recorded when

presented for recording.

    2.  A [document is recorded when the information required

pursuant to NRS 247.110 is placed on the document and is entered

in the record of the county recorder.] county recorder may deny a

request to record a document if, within 2 judicial days after

presentation of the document, the recorder determines that the

document is unauthorized, falsified or otherwise may not be

lawfully recorded. If a recorder fails to make such a determination

within the specified period, the recorder shall record the document

as soon as practicable, unless otherwise ordered by a court.

    3.  A county recorder who denies a request to record a

document pursuant to subsection 2 shall retain a copy of the

document and, within 2 judicial days after he denies the request,

shall provide the requester with written notice, on a form

prescribed by the county recorder, of:

    (a) The reason that the recorder is denying the recordation of

the document;

    (b) The right of the requester to judicial review of the denial;

and

    (c) The criminal penalty set forth in subsection 5.

If a recorder fails to provide the notice required by this subsection

within the specified period, the recorder shall record the document

as soon as practicable, unless otherwise ordered by a court.

    4.  If a request to record a document is denied pursuant to

subsection 2, the requester may apply to the district court in the

county in which the request was denied for an order to record the

document. The court shall give this matter priority over other civil

matters to which priority is not given by other statutes. If the

requester prevails:

    (a) He is entitled to recover from the county recorder any

filing fees that he paid related to the proceeding.

    (b) The county recorder shall record the document as soon as

practicable.

    5.  If a county recorder denied recordation of a document

pursuant to subsection 2, a person shall not resubmit the

document for recordation unless the document has been modified

in such a manner that it may be lawfully recorded or the person

has obtained a court order pursuant to subsection 4. Unless a

greater penalty is provided by NRS 239.330, a violation of this

subsection is a misdemeanor.

    6.  Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (a) of

subsection 4, a county recorder who acts in good faith in denying

recordation of a document pursuant to this section is immune

from liability for damages to the requester or any person whom

the document concerns or affects.

    Sec. 5.  NRS 247.180 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    247.180  1.  Except as otherwise provided in NRS 111.312[,]

and 247.145, whenever a document conveying, encumbering or

mortgaging both real and personal property is presented to a county

recorder for recording, the county recorder shall record the

document. The record must be indexed in the real estate index as

deeds and other conveyances are required by law to be indexed, and

for which the county recorder may receive the same fees as are

allowed by law for recording and indexing deeds and other

documents, but only one fee for the recording of a document may be

collected.

    2.  A county recorder who records a document pursuant to this

section shall, within 7 working days after he records the document,

provide to the county assessor at no charge:

    (a) A duplicate copy of the document and any supporting

documents; or

    (b) Access to the digital document and any digital supporting

documents.

    Sec. 6.  NRS 247.200 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    247.200  A document affecting real property must be recorded

in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the real

property is situated. [A county recorder may refuse to record a

document affecting real property if the real property is not located

within the county.]

    Sec. 7.  NRS 247.320 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    247.320  1.  A county recorder shall:

    (a) [Record] Except as otherwise provided in NRS 247.145,

record deeds of conveyances and judgments vesting or perfecting

title in the United States; and

    (b) Provide one certified copy of the official record to the

interested government representative.

    2.  A county recorder shall not charge fees for the services

required by this section.

    Sec. 8.  NRS 247.410 is hereby amended to read as follows:

    247.410  A county recorder is liable to a party aggrieved for

three times the amount of the damages that may be occasioned

thereby if the county recorder:

    1.  Neglects or refuses to record a [recordable] document that is

authorized, entitled or required by law to be recorded within a

reasonable time after receiving the document;

    2.  Records a document willfully or negligently, untruly or in

any other manner than is directed in this chapter;

    3.  Neglects or refuses to maintain in his office such indexes as

are required by this chapter, or to make the proper entries therein; or

    4.  Alters, changes or obliterates any record or any filed

document deposited in his office, or inserts any new matter therein.

 

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