Bulletin: CO2022001

Dear Associates:

The following are summaries of some bills passed during the 2022 Colorado legislative session that are of interest to the title insurance industry. All bills will become effective as of August 11, 2022, unless otherwise noted.

House Bill 22-1041 – Redaction of Personal Information of Protected Persons: This is the first in a series of bills from the 2022 session which allows certain classes of government employees to request that their personal information be redacted from publicly available real estate records. This bill adds Code Enforcement Officers, Child Advocates, Social Workers and Animal Control Officers, among others, to those parties eligible for redaction. Under the provisions of this bill Title Companies have been named as an Exempt Party that may gain access to the redacted records. This bill became effective on March 24, 2022.

House Bill 22-1273 – Concerning Protections for Election Officials: Like House Bill 22-1041, this bill allows Election Officials to request redaction of their personal information from publicly available real estate records. Title Companies are named as an Exempt Party that may gain access to the redacted records. This bill became effective on June 2, 2022.

House Bill 22-1287 – Protections for Mobile Home Park Residents: This bill dramatically expands the Notice and Disclosure requirements for owners that intend to sell or otherwise change the use of a mobile home park. Failure to comply with the expanded requirements makes any attempted conveyance “defective unless the property interests of the homeowners are secured or until an equitable remedy has been provided.” This bill will become effective as of October 1, 2022. Please watch for a future Bulletin which will discuss Stewart’s revised underwriting guidelines for insuring mobile home park transactions in Colorado.

Senate Bill 22-034 – Filing of Fraudulent Business Documents with the Secretary of State: This bill creates a process for filing complaints with the Colorado Secretary of State if a party believes that a business filing is fraudulent or contains information that was used without permission. The process allows for an evidentiary hearing and referral to the Attorney General’s Office for possible prosecution. Business records found to be fraudulent will be marked and/or redacted to notify the public. This bill will become effective as of February 1, 2023.

Senate Bill 22-086 – Increase of Homestead Exemption: This bill increases Colorado’s Homestead Exemption to $250,000 for an owner and their family or $350,000 if the owner, owner’s spouse, or owner’s dependent is elderly or disabled. This bill also expands the definition of a “Dwelling” for purposes of the Homestead Exemption to include, among other things, vehicles, vessels, tiny homes and yurts. This bill became effective on April 7, 2022.

Senate Bill 22-171 – Protections for Educators: This is another redaction bill like HB22-1041 and HB22-1273. This bill adds Educators to the list of parties that may request that their personal information be redacted from publicly available real estate records. As with the other bills, Title Companies are Exempt Parties that may gain access to the redacted records. This bill became effective May 26, 2022.

Senate Bill 22-229 – Release of Deed of Trust without Evidence of Debt: This bill allows a Non-Institutional or Private Party Holder to request a release of a Deed of Trust without producing the original Promissory Note. The current statutory Request for Release form will be revised to include a Non-Institutional Holder as a party that may request the release if the Holder agrees to indemnify the Public Trustee for any losses suffered. All such Requests must be submitted to the Public Trustee’s Office electronically and must contain the current address of the original grantor or the current owner.

If you have any questions relating to this or other bulletins, please contact a Stewart Title Guaranty Company underwriter.

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