Bills, Forms & Agreements Updates

Dear Members,

The 2022 legislative session is but a dim memory for those of us already focused on potential bills for the 2023 legislative session!  But there are a few bills from this year's session that have not yet gone into effect……with an effective date of January 1, 2023.  Some of these are not related in any way to real estate but I included them.  It's a short list so here is a brief summary.  If you want to review the bill in detail, I have provided a link to the bill itself (warning:  some bills may be lengthy and require perseverance to get through it all).

• HB 0273 revises provisions related to money services business activities.  Full bill text here https://www.thefund.com/information-center/pdf/legislative/hb-0273-money-services-business.pdf
• SB 0292 requires hospitals and health care providers to test newborns for a congenital virus within a certain time frame.  Full bill text here https://www.thefund.com/information-center/pdf/legislative/sb-0292-newborn-screenings.pdf
• SB 0336 amends the UCC to address the applicability of agreement terms and certain laws to a security interest in an ownership interest in a partnership, limited partnership, LLC, etc.  Full bill text here https://www.thefund.com/information-center/pdf/legislative/sb-0336-ucc-revisions.pdf
• SB 1062 revises procedures for service of process on entities, public agencies and officers and certain nonresidents and foreign business entities concealing their whereabouts, etc.  Note:  some provisions in this bill took effect upon becoming a law; other provisions effective January 1, 2023.  Full bill text here https://www.thefund.com/information-center/pdf/legislative/sb-1062-service-of-process.pdf
• SB 2514 reduces the threshold to require a taxpayer to electronically file returnsto the State.  Full bill text here https://www.thefund.com/information-center/pdf/legislative/sb-2514-electronic-tax-return-filing.pdf
• HB 7049 revises requirements for newspapers publishing legal notices; allows for publication on publicly accessible websites and lots more.  Full bill text here https://www.thefund.com/information-center/pdf/legislative/hb-7049-legal-notices.pdf

FAQs re: new ALTA commitment and policy forms.  We are getting questions from Members about which forms are permissible to use.  We have developed some guidelines based on the closing software your firm uses.  Each closing software product can choose to handle the forms on a different timetable.

• E-Closing DT Users - click on the below link for your guidelines https://www.thefund.com/information-center/alta/closing-software-guidelines/e-closingdt.aspx
   
• DoubleTime Users - click on the below link for your guidelines
  https://www.thefund.com/information-center/alta/closing-software-guidelines/doubletime.aspx
   
• Closers' Choice, DisplaySoft, LandTech and RamQuest Users - click on the below link for your guidelines
  https://www.thefund.com/information-center/alta/closing-software-guidelines/cc-ds-lt-rq.aspx
   
• All other closing software products - click on the below link for your guidelines
  https://www.thefund.com/information-center/alta/closing-software-guidelines/other.aspx

Here is a link to the chart with a summary of these guidelines. https://www.thefund.com/information-center/pdf/alta/alta-forms-closing-software-chart.pdf

Update: Homeowner Benefit Agreements.  Remember these agreements that popped up in the public records?  There was confusion about the legal implications and whether a lien against the owner's home was created.  There was a fair amount of press coverage and a lot of owners were confused about what these agreements obligated them to do.  You might be interested to know that Attorney General Ashley Moody has taken legal action against MV Realty, asking for injunctive and monetary relief based on deceptive, unfair and unconscionable business practices.  Here's a link to her News Alert. https://www.myfloridalegal.com/newsrel.nsf/newsreleases/E9E4A2F7281415CE85258909007259EC

That's all for this week.  Let me know how we can help you.

Melissa Jay Murphy
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer,
and General Counsel