Source: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2008/bills/HB2303_.htm
Timestamp: 2019-09-17 20:39:08
Document Index: 179288706

Matched Legal Cases: ['§502', '§502', '§502', '§502', '§502', '§502', '§505']

Land Court; Bureau of Conveyances; Transfer
Transfers responsibility for bureau of conveyances from department of land and natural resources to department of commerce and consumer affairs. Provides for transfer of records, files, etc. Appropriates funds to the judiciary to co‑locate land court upon transfer of bureau of conveyances. Requires the judiciary and the department of commerce and consumer affairs to identify, and recommend ways to remedy, redundancy between the functions of the land court and the bureau of conveyances.
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that inefficiencies and a backlog of real estate recordings have existed at the bureau of conveyances and the land court for over ten years. While staffing shortages contributed to the problems at the agencies, management issues stemming from a lack of cooperation between the land court section and the regular section of the bureau of conveyances enabled deficiencies to fester.
Section 61 of Act 200, Session Laws of Hawaii 2003, appropriated funds for a workflow study at the bureau of conveyances, including a review of all areas of operation. In an effort to increase productivity, the legislature requested that the workflow study identify operational delays and recommend changes to current job descriptions. The June 2005 operations review project prepared by Hoike Consulting LLC recognized a lack of teamwork between the regular receiving section and the land court receiving section. Staff between the two receiving sections would not assist each other when necessary. In addition, staff was disinterested in temporary assignments to receiving clerk positions or other changes to the processes or organizational structure. One recommendation was to pool the staff and combine the two receiving sections. By pooling the staff, they could all assist in addressing the backlogs in each section. However, this requires a change in the reporting structure and cross training personnel in processing of both land court and regular system documents.
The bureau of conveyances is within the department of land and natural resources, whereas the land court is under the supreme court of the judiciary. There is a registrar of the land court and a registrar of the bureau of conveyances. However, pursuant to section 501‑9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the registrar of conveyances and the registrar of conveyances' deputy are assistant registrars of the land court for purposes of carrying out the land court recording and registration requirements.
Recently, a joint committee, established by Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 226 (2007), investigated the bureau of conveyances' operations in response to concerns regarding the security of recorded documents, private computer access, potential document tampering, and the overall personnel and fiscal management of the bureau of conveyances. The joint committee also responded to a June 2006 financial audit of the department of land and natural resources that indicated that the bureau of conveyances does not effectively manage its staff resources or meet its customer service requirements.
Many aspects of the real property transactional system in Hawaii, in which the bureau of conveyances plays an important role, are now overseen or regulated by the department of commerce and consumer affairs. These include: real estate brokers and salespersons, surveyors, mortgage brokers and solicitors, condominiums, cooperative housing corporations, time shares, design professionals, financial institutions, and escrow depositories.
(1) Transfer the responsibility for the bureau of conveyances from the department of land and natural resources to the department of commerce and consumer affairs;
(2) Appropriate funds to the judiciary to co‑locate land court upon the transfer of the bureau of conveyances to ensure convenience and continuity of service; and
(3) Require the judiciary and the department of commerce and consumer affairs to:
(A) Identify redundancy between the functions of the land court and the bureau of conveyances; and
(B) Recommend ways to consolidate duplicative responsibilities and streamline customer service, including combining the land court receiving section and the regular system receiving section.
SECTION 2. Section 437-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:
"(d) Requirement for lines of credit shall be as follows:
(1) Applicants for issuance of a dealer's license shall obtain an inventory or flooring line of credit from a federally insured financial institution or from a financing source having a net worth of at least $50,000,000. The line of credit shall be in the following amount:
(A) [For] $500,000 for new motor vehicle dealer applicants[, $500,000] or the amount required in the applicant's dealer sales and service agreement, whichever is less;
(B) [For] $50,000 for used motor vehicle dealer applicants[, $50,000]; and
(C) [For] $50,000 for new and used motorcycle and motor scooter dealer applicants[, $50,000];
(2) Applicants for issuance of a dealer's license shall provide the board with a photocopy of the financing statement filed at the bureau of conveyances of the department of [land and natural resources,] commerce and consumer affairs, securing the line of credit;
(3) Applicants for the issuance of an auction license shall obtain a secured line of credit in the amount of $100,000 from a federally insured financial institution; and
(4) When an inventory or flooring line of credit cannot reasonably be obtained by a dealer, the board may provide that a bond, in an amount set forth in the board's rules, be obtained as an alternative form of security for the inventory or flooring line of credit."
SECTION 3. Section 501-218, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
"(a) Except where otherwise provided by the supreme court [of the State of Hawaii] that shall be empowered to amend or add to the schedule from time to time, or fees for services by the bureau of conveyances set by rules adopted by the department of [land and natural resources,] commerce and consumer affairs, pursuant to chapter 91, the fees payable under this chapter are as follows:
(1) [For] $3 for every application filed pursuant to this chapter, including indexing and recording the application, and transmitting to registrar, when filed with assistant registrar[, $3.];
(2) [For] $1 for every plan filed[, $1.];
(3) For examining title[,]:
(A) $10 and two-tenths of one per cent of the assessed value of the land and improvements on the basis of the last assessment for taxation[,]; or [the]
(B) The value of the land as determined under section 501-211 [when] if the land was not separately assessed[.];
(4) [For] $25 for verifying and checking map on the ground[,] for lots of one acre or less,[ $25; an] plus:
(A) An addition of $1 an acre or fraction thereof for all area over one acre and up to one hundred acres; [an]
(B) An addition of 50 cents an acre or fraction thereof for all area over one hundred acres and up to one thousand acres; [an] and
(C) An addition of 25 cents an acre or fraction thereof for all area over one thousand acres[.];
(5) [For] $3 an hour for checking survey and map as to form and mathematical correctness[, but not]; provided that this shall not include checking survey and map as to form or mathematical correctness on the ground[, $3 an hour.];
(6) [For] $3 an hour for approving subdivision of registered land[,] and for checking the form and mathematical correctness[, but not] ; provided that this shall not include checking the form or mathematical correctness on the ground[, $3 an hour.];
(7) For all services by a sheriff or other police officer under this chapter, the same fees as are now provided by law for each service[.];
(8) [For] $2 for each instrument affecting a title not reported in an applicant's filed abstract of title[, $2.];
(9) [For] $1 for filing an amended application[, $1.];
(10) [For] 25 cents for each notice by publication[, 25 cents.];
(11) [For] $1 for entering any general default[, $1.];
(12) [For] $1 for filing any answer, [$1,] to be paid by the party filing the answer[.];
(13) [For] $1 for every subpoena[, $1.];
(14) [For] 10 cents for swearing each witness[, 10 cents.];
(15) [For] $1 for entering any discontinuance[, $1.];
(16) [For] $30 for filing notice of appeal[, $30.];
(17) [For] $1 for an entry of order dismissing application, or decree of registration, and sending memorandum to assistant registrar[, $1.];
(18) [For] $1 for a copy of a decree of registration[, $1.];
(19) [For] $1 for filing any petition after original registration, [$1;] plus an addition of 25 cents for each exhibit attached[.];
(20) [For] $5 for filing any order after original registration[, $5.];
(21) In all cases not expressly provided for by law, the fees of all public officers for any official duty or service under this chapter shall be at a rate established by the court[.]; and
(22) For any application made by or in the name of the State, or any political subdivision of the State, any proceedings upon the application or any dealing with registered land by the State, or any political subdivision of the State, as owner, no fees shall be charged."
SECTION 4. Section 502-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§502-1 Registrar; appointment; tenure; salary. There shall be a bureau in the department of [land and natural resources] commerce and consumer affairs to be called the bureau of conveyances. A registrar of conveyances shall be appointed by the [board of land and natural resources,] director of commerce and consumer affairs, under chapter 76, and shall be superintendent of the bureau. The registrar shall receive [such] the salary [as shall be] provided by law."
SECTION 5. Section 502-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§502-3 Deputy registrar, appointment, duties. The registrar, under the direction of the [board of land and natural resources,] director of the commerce and consumer affairs, shall appoint a deputy, for whose official acts the registrar shall be responsible, and whose appointment the registrar shall announce by public notice. The deputy shall act as registrar of conveyances[,] during the absence of the registrar[,] or in case of a vacancy in [that] the office of the registrar."
SECTION 6. Section 502-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"[[]§502-4[]] Rules. The department of [land and natural resources] commerce and consumer affairs may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 necessary for the purposes of this chapter."
SECTION 7. Section 502-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§502-11 Entry record. The registrar shall make and keep in [such] the form and manner as [is] prescribed by the [board of land and natural resources] director of commerce and consumer affairs, a permanent record of the receipt of every deed and instrument left for record, every copy left as a caution, and every plan filed, and shall note on the record, in addition to a description sufficient to identify the document and the date and time of its receipt, [such] other facts as [are] prescribed by the [board of land and natural resources.] director of commerce and consumer affairs. Every such document shall be considered as recorded at the time so noted."
SECTION 8. Section 502-12, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§502-12 Indexes. The registrar shall keep indexes for public inspection in [such] the form and manner as is prescribed by the [board of land and natural resources.] director of commerce and consumer affairs."
SECTION 9. Section 502-25, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
"(a) Except when otherwise provided, fees for services rendered under this chapter shall be established by rules adopted by the department of [land and natural resources,] commerce and consumer affairs pursuant to chapter 91."
SECTION 10. Section 502-27, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
"(a) Except when otherwise provided, fees for the use of microfilms of documents recorded in the bureau of conveyances for the purpose of making duplicates shall be established by rules adopted by the department of [land and natural resources] commerce and consumer affairs pursuant to chapter 91."
SECTION 11. Section 502-31, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§502-31 Recording, method. (a) The registrar shall make or cause to be made an entire literal copy of all instruments, with their original signatures, required to be recorded in the registrar's office, and the registrar, the registrar's deputy, or clerk shall certify its correspondence with the original, after which the registrar, the registrar's deputy, or clerk shall certify upon the exterior, or [indorse] endorse upon the recorded instrument with the original signature, the date of its registry and the document number.
(b) The registrar, for purposes of the general indexes of the bureau of conveyances, shall use the names of the parties as they first appear in the recorded instrument. All names of [all] natural persons signing in their individual capacity shall be typewritten, stamped, legibly printed by hand, or by a mechanical or electrical printing method beneath all signatures. The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to any deed or conveyance instrument executed prior to July 1, 1989.
(c) The registrar or the registrar's deputy may refuse to accept for record any document of a size larger than eight and one-half inches by eleven inches, or [which] that contains a schedule or inventory sheet in excess of [such] that size.
(d) This section shall apply to all instruments presented for recording in the bureau of conveyances, unless otherwise provided by rules adopted by the department of [land and natural resources,] commerce and consumer affairs pursuant to chapter 91.
(e) All instruments to be recorded shall include the original signature and the top three and one-half inches of space of the first page shall be reserved for recording information for the assistant registrar on the left half of [such] that space, and for the registrar of conveyances on the right half of [such] that space. The following one inch of space shall be reserved for information showing to whom the document should be returned beginning one and one-half inch from the left margin and not exceeding three and one-half inches per line. In addition, the first page shall identify and include, if possible, all names of the grantors and all names and addresses of the grantees, the type of document, and the tax map key number. [Indorsements,] Endorsements, if any, may be made on a conforming fly sheet. No papers or materials, written or otherwise, shall be secured or attached to a page in any manner that may conceal any other written text. If an instrument consists of more than one page, each page shall be single-sided sheets of written text numbered consecutively, beginning with number one, and shall be stapled once in the upper left corner. No instrument shall have a cover or backer attached.
(f) The registrar of conveyances shall be permitted to remove any rivets affixed to any instrument.
(g) The registrar may refuse to accept all instruments, papers, or notices presented for recordation that will not reproduce legibly under photographic or electrostatic methods."
SECTION 12. Section 505-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§505-4 Fees. Unless otherwise provided by rules established by the department of [land and natural resources,] commerce and consumer affairs pursuant to chapter 91, the fees payable under this chapter [are as follows:] shall be:
[For] $10 for each notice of federal tax lien in the bureau of conveyances[, $10]; and
[For] $10 for each certificate of release, partial release, or discharge of a federal tax lien in the bureau of conveyances[, $10]."
SECTION 13. All rights, powers, functions, and duties of the department of land and natural resources that relate to the bureau of conveyances are transferred to the department of commerce and consumer affairs.
SECTION 14. All appropriations, records, equipment, machines, files, supplies, contracts, books, papers, documents, maps, and other personal property heretofore made, used, acquired, or held by the department of land and natural resources relating to the functions transferred to the department of commerce and consumer affairs shall be transferred with the functions to which they relate.
SECTION 15. All rules, policies, procedures, guidelines, and other material adopted or developed by the department of land and natural resources or the board of land and natural resources to implement provisions of the Hawaii Revised Statutes which are reenacted or made applicable to the department of commerce and consumer affairs by this Act, shall remain in full force and effect until amended or repealed by the department of commerce and consumer affairs pursuant to chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes. In the interim, every reference to the department of land and natural resources or the board of land and natural resources in those rules, policies, procedures, guidelines, and other material is amended to refer to the department of commerce and consumer affairs as appropriate.
SECTION 16. The judiciary shall relocate all the records, equipment, machines, files, supplies, contracts, books, papers, documents, maps, and other personal property heretofore made, used, acquired, or held by the land court or the judiciary relating to the functions of the land court to a location that is convenient to and, if possible, located with the bureau of conveyances upon the transfer of rights, powers, functions, and duties referred to in section 13 of this Act.
SECTION 17. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2008-2009 for the judiciary to relocate all the records, equipment, machines, files, supplies, contracts, books, papers, documents, maps, and other personal property pursuant to section 16 of this Act.
SECTION 18. (a) The judiciary and the department of commerce and consumer affairs shall cooperate to:
(1) Identify redundancy between the functions of the land court and the bureau of conveyances;
(2) Recommend ways to consolidate duplicative responsibilities and streamline customer service, including combining the land court receiving section and the regular system receiving section; and
(3) Recommend either the judiciary or the department of commerce and consumer affairs to administer the consolidated responsibilities and supervise related personnel.
(b) The judiciary and the department of commerce and consumer affairs shall submit a report, including proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2009 regular session.
SECTION 19. All acts passed by the legislature during this regular session of 2008, whether enacted before or after the effective date of this Act, shall be amended to conform with this Act unless such acts specifically provide that this Act is being amended.
SECTION 21. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2008.