Colorado Public Trustees’ Association
July, 2004
Message from the President
The first thing I would like to do, as President, is to thank Roxy Huber and all who helped her with the summer conference. The conference was informative and fund - I didn't know we had such talented "singers"! Are we in for a repeat?
The CPTA Executive Board had our first meeting and has made the committee assignments. I have emailed or faxed them to everyone. If you did not get your copy, please contact me at 719-545-0823 or fopucopt@qwest.net. Thanks to all who agreed to serve on a committee and especially the people who are willing to chair a committee.
I am sure the e-Business Committee will be busy again this year and as will the Legislative Committee. The Forms Committee will continue working on the standardization of the release form. I am sure we can expect a report on Public Trustee Day in Fort Collins on October 14th - look forward to seeing you there.
I look forward to serving as the President of CPTA and appreciate all the help and advice from all of you!
Peggy Foley, Pueblo County
News from Boulder County Public Trustee
Sandy and staff began receiving releases electronically and submitting them for recording. Congratulations to his office for this giant step! They will be having an open house in September to demo the system. We are working on having a demo of the electronic release process at Public Trustee Day October 14th.
Roster Change
Jeannie G. Reeser
Adams County Public Trustee
1000 Judicial Center Drive, Suite 200
Brighton, CO 80601
Phone: 303-835-5707
Fax: 303-835-5710
e-mail: jreeser@co.adams.co.us
What is the Impact of House Bill 04-1033?
By Jack Arrowsmith
HB 04-1300 represented a joint effort between the Secretary of State's Office, the Clerks' Association, the Colorado Bar and the CPTA. The original intent of the bill was to allow for electronic notarization in a manner that was acceptable to the many interested parties in Colorado.
The final version of the bill deals with three primary areas. Sections 1, 2 and 4 of the bill speak to who can be a notary and how a notary's commission can be revoked. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling prompted this up-date and Colorado Statutes were never up-dated to reflect the ruling.
Sections 3, 5, 6 & 7 discuss the process of electronic notarization and they contain four important new points: The Secretary of State will have the authority to promulgate rules for electronic notarization. An electronic journal must be maintained for electronic notarizations if a journal is required by C.R.S. 12-55-111. An electronic notarization must also feature an authentication number issued by the Secretary of State. The maximum fee to be charged for an electronic notarization is ten dollars. These rules would only apply to documents notarized in Colorado.
Section 8 of the bill is the one that has direct impact on public trustees. The section reads as follows:
38-35-106. Deed-acknowledgement, absent or defective - notice-deemed proper, when. (3) A document required or permitted to be acknowledged affecting title to real property that is signed in a person's official capacity by a public trustee, county treasurer, county sheriff, or deputy of such an official acting for that official that contains the seal of such an official shall be deemed to have bee properly acknowledged.
This section has a number of important implications:
If you currently notarize these documents, nothing in this legislation would prohibit you from continuing to do so. The legislation offers an alternative to notarizing by placing your seal on the document if you wish.
There has been some discussion around notarizing releases. A release does not convey property, so can a seal be placed on a release instead of notarizing it? I spoke with Mark Budzinski, Vice President & Counsel for Old Republic National Title Insurance Company, Larry Castle, Partner of Castle, Meinhold & Stawiarski, LLC and Michelle Gombas, Assistant County Attorney for Douglas County* and all were unanimous in their belief that H.B. 1300 did allow us to replace the notarization of a release with an official seal. They suggest that the word "affecting" is very broad and that a release does "affect" the title. I suggest that if you have concerns, you might contact your county attorney for clarification.
As a good business practice, Douglas County will be registering signatures and our official seal, with the Secretary of State's Office. This is done through the elections division and has a one-time fee of $12.50 per signature. I would be happy to fax you the form if you are interested. For additional questions, contact William C. (Billy) Compton, Director of Elections for the S.O.S. at (303) 894-2200 ext 6301 or e-mail at bill.compton@sos.state.co.us.
House Bill 04-1300 takes a big step in moving Colorado into the electronic area. If you are interested in getting the entire bill, go to www.leg.state.co.us. Then click on House Bills and move down to 1300.
* Send me a fax (303-814-3034) or e-mail if you are interested in getting a copy of Michelle's memo.
DOODLES BY SHERRY
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Many of us attended the IACREOT Conference held in San Antonio, Texas, July 17-21, 2004. We had a great attendance from Colorado and hope we can entice many of you to budget for the next year's conference to be held in New York City over July 4th. It should be quite a spectacular place to be on our nation's birthday.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Bob Sagel, Past President, had a pleasant surprise when he returned to his office after the summer conference - there was a contribution to the CPTA from the Castle Law Firm. We have sent a thank you card.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
We must build a new world, a far better world - one in which the eternal dignity of man is respected.
Harry S. Truman
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.
Abraham Lincoln
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"I'd like to be rich enough so I could throw soap away after the letters are worn off."
Andy Rooney
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Whether women are better than men I cannot say - but I can say they are certainly no worse.
Golda Meir
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Contact me if you have news items to share. Thank you!
Sherry Rose, Fax: 970-728-4397