Bulletin: ID2017002

Dear Associates:

The following is a summary of the laws that were passed in the 2017 legislative session that may be of interest to the title industry.

HB 209.  Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts. This Bill repealed the existing notary law and adopted the act proposed by the Uniform Law Commission. The codified Bill can be found at I.C. 51-101. The significant addition made by this new law is found in section 51-120, which provides that a notary performs notarial acts with respect to electronic documents. But to do so the notary must notify the Secretary of State that the notary public will be performing notarial acts with respect to an electronic record and to identify the technology the notary public intends to use. Other than that addition, the new law, for the most part, does not change what a notary can or can’t do. The notary still must determine from personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence the identity of the individual appearing before the notary. Forms of identification include a passport, driver’s license or government issued nondriver identification card that is current or expired not more than three years before signing. A notary can refuse to act if not satisfied that the person appearing before them is competent or has the capacity to execute the document. I.C. 51-111, 112 provides that a notarial act performed in another state has the same effect under the law of Idaho if it was performed by a notary public of that state or a judge, clerk or deputy clerk of a court of that state or federally recognized Indian tribe. The law provides a short form notary certificate in section 51-116. A notary’s current commission remains valid until its date of expiration. The Bill, for the most part, went into effect on July 1, 2017.

HB 205.  This bill amends I.C. § 31-3205 to change recording fees for certain types of instruments that do not exceed 30 pages to a flat fee rather than a per page fee. The Bill provides that deeds are now $15 and trust deeds and mortgages are $45 if less than 30 pages. The Bill went into effect on July 1, 2017. 

SB 1063.  This Bill provides that State lands that are entitled to water rights and drainage benefits apportioned by irrigation districts are subject to irrigation district assessments to pay for the costs of constructing, operating, and maintaining district water delivery and drainage systems.

SB 1092.  This Bill clarified that a renewed judgment continues for ten years from the date of the renewed judgment, not the original judgment date.  

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