Bulletin: OK2023001

Dear Associates:

FOREIGN OWNERSHIP

SB 212 Foreign Ownership

(Effective 11/01/2023)

This bill amends 60 O.S. §121 to clarify that no alien or any person who is not a citizen of the United States may directly or indirectly, through a business entity or trust, own land in the state unless otherwise authorized by current law. Businesses that are engaged in regulated interstate commerce in accordance with federal law are exempt from this prohibition.

The bill also requires that an affidavit executed by the person or entity coming into title must be attached as an exhibit to any deed filed on or after the effective date. The affidavit must attest that the affiant obtained title in compliance with the statute and that no funding source is being used in the sale or transfer in violation of the section or other state or federal law. It prohibits a county clerk from accepting and recording any deed without the required affidavit. The bill requires the Attorney General to promulgate separate affidavit forms for individuals, entities, and trusts.

What the title company should do:

You should require that every deed to be recorded on or after the effective date has the promulgated affidavit attached as an exhibit and that it be executed by each grantee named in the deed. These requirements may be updated once the promulgated form is released.

TRANSFER ON DEATH DEED

SB 298 TODD Beneficiaries

(Effective 11/01/2023)

This bill adds a requirement that each designated grantee beneficiary named in a Transfer on Death Deed (TODD) wishing to accept the real estate execute the required affidavit. It provides that an affidavit executed by one or more but not all named beneficiaries to a TODD prior to November 1, 2023, is effective as to all named beneficiaries.

What the title company should do:

In order to rely on a TODD as vesting title in a named beneficiary after the bill takes effect, you must verify that that named beneficiary executed an affidavit in accordance with the statute and that it was recorded within nine (9) months of the record owner’s death.

Under the statute the affidavit must:

1. verify the record owner’s death,
2. state whether the record owner and designated beneficiary were married at the time of the record owner’s death,
3. contain a legal description of the property and
4. have a copy of the record owner’s death certificate attached.

RESTRICTIONS

HB 2288 Removing Discriminatory Provisions in Restrictions

(Effective 11/01/2023)

This bill declares all illegal discriminatory restrictive covenants contained in any real property record to be null and void. It allows an owner of real property, a person with an interest in real property, or a person with permission of the owner of the real property with such restrictions to file a declaration with the county clerk to remove all illegal discriminatory restrictive covenants included in the property records. The bill includes a declaration form.

What the title company should do:

You can continue to use the suggested language in the case of covenants and restrictions based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin that can be found in Section 3.76.7 of Virtual Underwriter. Please note that the 2021 ALTA form policies contain an explicit provision that if any Discriminatory Covenant exists in a document, it is treated as redacted, repudiated, removed, and not republished or recirculated and that only the remaining provisions of the document are excepted from coverage.

EASEMENTS

HB 1965 Easements for Broadband Providers

(Effective 11/01/2023) 

This bill allows electric, telecommunications, and broadband providers to utilize existing electrical utility easements to provide or expand access to broadband services. The measure prohibits certain class action lawsuits related to broadband use, specifies damages recoverable by a property owner and grants a permanent easement upon payment of damages. 

What the title company should do:

You should always avoid unnecessary subjective descriptions of recorded documents which are listed as Title Policy Schedule B Exceptions, including specifying a particular use for a recorded easement. The better practice is to use the recording information. If a title of the document is to be used in the exception, it should exactly match the title of the document itself so that it cannot be argued that the description is any form of interpretation or limitation of the intended exception.

DIGITAL

SB 78 Certified Copies in Digital Format

(Effective 11/01/2023)

This bill allows the county clerk to provide certified copies of records in either paper or electronic format in accordance with the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act. It allows the clerk to charge a fee under the schedule outlined in Title 28 Section 32 and requires the county clerk to attach a seal to all instruments filed with their office except those exempted in the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act.

HB 1894 County Clerk use of Digital Signatures

(Effective 11/01/2023)

This bill allows county clerks to digitally sign, accept, or receive documents. The measure also allows photocopies, photographs, digital copies, photographic film, or optical disk versions of records to serve as the original record and to be admissible by the county for accounts payable and inventory.

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

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