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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 1943
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE HRUZA.
5055H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o repeal sections 486.735, 570.095, and 578.700, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof five
new sections relating to protections against document fraud, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 486.735, 570.095, and 578.700, RSMo, are repealed and five new
2 sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 59.306, 443.295, 486.735, 570.095,
3 and 578.700, to read as follows:
59.306. 1. This section shall be known and may be cited as "The Real Pr operty
2 Fraud Pr evention Act".
3 2. The rec order of deeds of each county of this state shall pr ovide notice as
4 r equir ed under this section to each pr operty owner or owner of record of a parc el of r eal
5 pr operty , as determined by the most recent real pr operty tax record s, that a general
6 warranty deed or quitclaim deed that affects the ownership of such par cel of r eal
7 pr operty has been submitted for r ecording.
8 3. The r ecorder of deeds shall:
9 (1) Delay the reco rding of a deed described under subsection 2 of this section for
10 at least five working days fr om the date of such deed's r eceipt to pr ovide time for the
11 r ecorder of deeds to notify each pr operty owner or owner of record of such par cel of
12 r eal prop erty that such deed has been submitted for r ecording;
13 (2) Notify each pr operty owner or owner of r ecord of such par cel of r eal
14 pr operty by telephone, text message, facsimile, or email, if such information is known;
15 and
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
16 (3) Send such notification by first-class mail to the addr ess of r ecord of each
17 pr operty owner or owner of reco rd of such par cel of r eal pro perty , informing such
18 owner that a deed that affects such owner's ownership interes t in the real pr operty
19 described by such deed has been submitted for r ecording.
20 4. (1) If each prop erty owner or owner of reco rd of such par cel of r eal pr operty
21 pr ovides written confirmation that the deed pr esented for record ing is legitimate, the
22 delay requ ired under subdivision (1) of subsection 3 of this section shall no longer apply ,
23 and the reco rder of deeds may immediately proceed with the reco rding of the deed.
24 (2) If, prior to the expiration of the delay req uired under subdivision (1) of
25 subsection 3 of this section, the record er of deeds is notified by each pr operty owner or
26 owner of record of such parcel of real pr operty that such deed is fraudulent, the
27 r ecorder of deeds shall delay the record ing of the deed for at least an additional two
28 business days to prov ide time for each pr operty owner or owner of record of such par cel
29 of r eal pr operty to seek an order from a court of competent jurisdiction to pro hibit the
30 r ecording of the appar ently fraudulent deed.
31 5. The r ecorder of deeds shall not delay the reco rding of a general warranty deed
32 or quitclaim deed as re quir ed under this section if at least one of the following
33 conditions has been met:
34 (1) The general warranty deed or quitclaim deed present ed for record ing was
35 submitted by a r eal estate br oker who holds a valid Missouri real estate brok er license
36 under chapter 339; or
37 (2) The general warranty deed or quitclaim deed present ed for record ing was
38 r eviewed by a title company that is duly licensed under chapter 381 and such title
39 company has issued title insurance to guaranty the validity of the deed for the
40 pr ospective owner or owners of such par cel of rea l pr operty .
41 6. (1) As used in this subsection, "defective deed" means a deed that:
42 (a) Fails to pr ovide adequate grantee or grantor information;
43 (b) Fails to prov ide a pro per description of the parcel of real pr operty being
44 transferr ed;
45 (c) Lacks the signatur e of a grantor;
46 (d) Does not have a pro per notary acknowledgment and seal under sections
47 486.730 and 486.760; or
48 (e) Is notarized by a notary whose commission has expir ed prior to notarizing
49 the deed.
50 (2) The record er of deeds of each county of this state is hereb y authorized to
51 r eject and r eturn a general warranty deed or quitclaim deed that has been deemed by
52 the record er of deeds to be a defective deed.
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443.295. A person shall not obtain a loan with a quitclaim deed unless the person
2 is a party to the original warranty deed or obtained title to the r eal pr operty thr ough a
3 quiet title action.
486.735. 1. A vendor or manufacturer shall register with the secretary prior to selling
2 or manufacturing notary seals. The secretary shall maintain an internet site for the purpose of
3 allowing vendors and manufacturers to confirm the current standing of any notary in the state.
4 2. A vendor or manufacturer shall not provide a notary seal to a purchaser claiming to
5 be a notary , unless the purchaser presents a notary commission issued by the secretary , and
6 unless:
7 (1) In the case of a purchaser appearing in person, the vendor or manufacturer
8 identifies this individual as the person named in the commission, through either personal
9 knowledge or satisfactory evidence of identity; or
10 (2) In the case of a purchaser ordering a seal by mail or delivery service, the vendor or
11 manufacturer confirms the notary's standing as a commissioned notary through the internet
12 site.
13 3. For each commission, a vendor or manufacturer shall make or sell only one seal
14 and, if requested by the person presenting the commission, only one embossing seal.
15 4. After manufacturing or providing a notary seal, the vendor shall affix an image of
16 all seals on a form as prescribed by the secretary and, within seven business days, send the
17 completed form to the secretary , retaining a copy of the form and the commission for a period
18 of five years.
19 5. A notary obtaining a seal as a result of a name change shall present a copy of the
20 confirmation of notary's name or address change from the secretary in accordance with
21 sections 486.780 and 486.785.
22 6. A vendor or manufacturer who fails to comply with this section shall be subject to a
23 fine of [ one ] five thousand dollars for each violation. For multiple violations, a vendor's
24 permission to sell or manufacture notary seals may be withdrawn by the secretary . Such
25 violation shall not preclude the civil liability of the vendor to parties injured by the vendor's
26 failure to comply with this section.
570.095. 1. A person commits the of fense of filing false documents if:
2 (1) W ith the intent to defraud, deceive, harass, alarm, or negatively impact
3 financially , or in such a manner reasonably calculated to deceive, defraud, harass, alarm, or
4 negatively impact financially , he or she files, causes to be filed or recorded, or attempts to file
5 or record, creates, uses as genuine, transfers or has transferred, presents, or prepares with
6 knowledge or belief that it will be filed, presented, recorded, or transferred to the secretary of
7 state or the secretary's designee, to the recorder of deeds of any county or city not within a
8 county or the recorder's designee, to any municipal, county , district, or state government
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9 entity , division, agency , or of fice, or to any credit bureau or financial institution any of the
10 following types of documents:
11 (a) Common law lien;
12 (b) Uniform commercial code filing or record;
13 (c) Real property recording;
14 (d) Financing statement;
15 (e) Contract;
16 (f) W arranty , special, or quitclaim deed;
17 (g) Quiet title claim or action;
18 (h) Deed in lieu of foreclosure;
19 (i) Legal af fidavit;
20 (j) Legal process;
21 (k) Legal summons;
22 (l) Bills and due bills;
23 (m) Criminal char ging documents or materially false criminal char ging documents;
24 (n) Any other document not stated in this subdivision that is related to real property;
25 or
26 (o) Any state, county , district, federal, municipal, credit bureau, or financial
27 institution form or document; and
28 (2) Such document listed under subdivision (1) of this subsection contains materially
29 false information; is fraudulent; is a forger y , as [ defined ] described under section 570.090;
30 lacks the consent of all parties listed in a document that requires mutual consent; or is invalid
31 under Missouri law .
32 2. Filing false documents under this section is a class [ D ] C felony for the first
33 of fense except the following circumstances shall be a class [ C ] B felony:
34 (1) The defendant has been previously found guilty or pleaded guilty to a violation of
35 this section;
36 (2) The victim or named party in the matter:
37 (a) Is an of ficial elected to municipal, county , district, federal, or statewide of fice;
38 (b) Is an of ficial appointed to municipal, county , district, federal, or statewide of fice;
39 or
40 (c) Is an employee of an of ficial elected or appointed to municipal, county , district,
41 federal, or statewide of fice;
42 (3) The victim or named party in the matter is a judge or magistrate of:
43 (a) Any court or division of the court in this or any other state or an employee thereof;
44 or
45 (b) Any court system of the United States or is an employee thereof;
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46 (4) The victim or named party in the matter is a full-time, part-time, or reserve or
47 auxiliary peace officer , as defined under section 590.010, who is licensed in this state or any
48 other state;
49 (5) The victim or named party in the matter is a full-time, part-time, or volunteer
50 firefighter in this state or any other state;
51 (6) The victim or named party in the matter is an of ficer of federal job class 181 1 who
52 is empowered to enforce United States laws;
53 (7) The victim or named party in the matter is a law enforcement of ficer of the United
54 States as defined under 5 U.S.C. Section 8401(17)(A) or (D);
55 (8) The victim or named party in the matter is an employee of any law enforcement or
56 legal prosecution agency in this state, any other state, or the United States;
57 (9) The victim or named party in the matter is an employee of a federal agency that
58 has agents or officers of job class 181 1 who are empowered to enforce United States laws or
59 is an employee of a federal agency that has law enforcement officers as defined under 5
60 U.S.C. Section 8401(17)(A) or (D); or
61 (10) The victim or named party in the matter is an of ficer of the railroad police as
62 [ defined ] authorized under section 388.600.
63 3. For a penalty enhancement as described under subsection 2 of this section to apply ,
64 the occupation of the victim or named party shall be material to the subject matter of the
65 document or documents filed or the relief sought by the document or documents filed, and the
66 occupation of the victim or named party shall be materially connected to the apparent reason
67 that the victim has been named, victimized, or involved. For purposes of subsection 2 of this
68 section and this subsection, a person who has retired or resigned from any agency , institution,
69 or occupation listed under subsection 2 of this section shall be considered the same as a
70 person who remains in employment and shall also include the following family members of a
71 person listed under subdivisions (2) to (9) of subsection 2 of this section:
72 (1) Such person's spouse;
73 (2) Such person or such person's spouse's ancestor or descendant by blood or
74 adoption; or
75 (3) Such person's stepchild while the marriage creating that relationship exists.
76 4. Any person who pleads guilty or is found guilty under subsections 1 to 3 of this
77 section shall be ordered by the court to make full restitution to any person or entity that has
78 sustained actual losses or costs as a result of the actions of the defendants. Such restitution
79 shall not be paid in lieu of jail or prison time but rather in addition to any jail or prison time
80 imposed by the court.
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81 5. (1) Nothing in this section shall limit the power of the state to investigate, char ge,
82 or punish any person for any conduct that constitutes a crime by any other statute of this state
83 or the United States.
84 (2) No receiving entity shall be required under this section to retain the filing or
85 record for prosecution under this section. A filing or record being rejected by the receiving
86 entity shall not be used as an affir mative defense.
87 6. (1) Any agency of the state, a county , or a city not within a county that is
88 responsible for or receives document filings or records, including county recorders of deeds
89 and the secretary of state's of fice, shall, by January 1, 2019, impose a system in which the
90 documents that have been submitted to the receiving agency , or those filings rejected by the
91 secretary of state under its legal authority , are logged or noted in a ledger , spreadsheet, or
92 similar recording method if the filing or recording of ficer or employee believes the filings or
93 records appear to be fraudulent or contain suspicious language. The receiving agency shall
94 make noted documents available for review by:
95 (a) The jurisdictional prosecuting or circuit attorney or such attorney's designee;
96 (b) The county sherif f or the sheriff's designee;
97 (c) The police chief of a county or city not within a county or such chief's designee; or
98 (d) A commissioned peace of ficer as defined under section 590.010.
99
100 Review of such documents is permissible for the agent or agencies under this subdivision
101 without the need of a grand jury subpoena or court order . No fees or monetary char ges shall
102 be levied on the investigative agents or agencies for review of documents noted in the ledger
103 or spreadsheet. The ledger or spreadsheet and its contents shall be retained by the agency that
104 controls entries into such ledger or spreadsheet for a minimum of three years from the earliest
105 entry listed in the ledger or spreadsheet.
106 (2) The receiving entity shall, upon receipt of a filing or record that has been noted as
107 a suspicious filing or record, notify the chief law enforcement officer or such of ficer's
108 designee of the county and the prosecutor or the prosecutor's designee of the county of the
109 filing's or record's existence. Such notification shall be made within two business days of the
110 filing or record having been received. Notification may be accomplished via email or via
111 paper memorandum.
112 (3) No agency receiving the filing or record shall be required under this section to
113 notify the person conducting the filing or record that the filing or record is entered as a logged
114 or noted filing or record.
115 (4) Reviews to ensure compliance with the provisions of this section shall be the
116 responsibility of any commissioned peace of ficer . Findings of noncompliance shall be
117 reported to the jurisdictional prosecuting or circuit attorney or such attorney's designee by any
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118 commissioned peace of ficer who has probable cause to believe that the noncompliance has
119 taken place purposely , knowingly , recklessly , or with criminal negligence, as described under
120 section 562.016.
121 7. T o petition for a judicial review of a filing or record that is believed to be
122 fraudulent, false, misleading, for ged, or contains materially false information, a petitioner
123 may file a probable cause statement that delineates the basis for the belief that the filing or
124 record is materially false, contains materially false information, is a forge ry , is fraudulent, or
125 is misleading. This probable cause statement shall be filed in the associate or circuit court of
126 the county in which the original filing or record was transferred, received, or recorded.
127 8. A filed petition under this section shall have an initial hearing date within twenty
128 business days of the date the petition is filed with the court. A court ruling of invalid shall be
129 evidence that the original filing or record was not accurate, true, or correct. A court ruling of
130 invalid shall be retained or recorded at the original receiving entity . The receiving entity shall
131 waive all filing or recording fees associated with the filing or recording of the court ruling
132 document in this subsection. Such ruling may be forwarded to credit bureaus or other
133 institutions at the request of the petitioner via motion to the applicable court at no additional
134 cost to the petitioner .
135 9. If a filing or record is deemed invalid, court costs and fees are the responsibility of
136 the party who originally initiated the filing or record. If the filing or record is deemed valid,
137 no court costs or fees, in addition to standard filing fees, shall be assessed.
138 10. (1) Any prop erty owner may pr esent to law enforcem ent with jurisdiction
139 over the prop erty's location information that a filed or reco rded document listed in
140 subsection 1 of this section is fraudulent and conveys the pr operty to a party thr ough a
141 transaction in which the prop erty owner did not consent.
142 (2) Upon the present ation of such information and an affidavit attesting to its
143 accuracy , including an attestation that the pr operty owner did not have knowledge of
144 nor was a party to the transaction in question, local law enforcem ent shall investigate
145 the pro perty owner's complaint.
146 (3) When law enforcem ent believes ther e is rea sonable evidence the transaction
147 in question was fraudulent, they shall re fer the matter to the pro secuting attorney .
148 (4) Upon the recei pt of law enfor cement's ref erral, the pr osecuting attorney shall
149 have forty-five days to investigate the information associated with the complaint to
150 determine if ther e is pr obable cause that the document was filed or record ed
151 fraudulently .
152 (5) If ther e is prob able cause that the document was filed or record ed
153 fraudulently , the prosecutor shall petition for a judicial r eview under subsections 7, 8,
154 and 9 of this section.
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155 (6) In the event a pr operty owner is found to have knowingly pr esented a false
156 claim to law enforcem ent under this section, such person may be subject to pr osecution
157 for perjury .
158 (7) Any county recorde r of deeds may post information on the investigation
159 pr ocess outlined in this subsection in their office and online.
578.700. 1. For purposes of this section, all definitions from section 486.600 shall
2 apply .
3 2. In performing a notarial act, a notary shall be guilty of a misdemeanor , punishable
4 upon conviction by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or imprisonment for not more
5 than six months, or both, for knowingly:
6 (1) Failing to require the presence of a principal at the time of a notarial act;
7 (2) Failing to identify a principal through personal knowledge or satisfactory
8 evidence; or
9 (3) Executing a false notarial certificate under subsection 1 of section 486.660.
10 3. A notary who knowingly performs any other act prohibited by chapter 486 or fails
11 to perform any other act required by chapter 486 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor , punishable
12 upon conviction by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or imprisonment for not more
13 than six months, or both.
14 4. Any person who is not a notary and who knowingly acts as or otherwise
15 impersonates a notary shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor , punishable upon conviction
16 by a fine not exceeding [ five hundred ] two thousand dollars or imprisonment for not more
17 than [ six months ] one year , or both.
18 5. Any person who knowingly obtains, conceals, defaces, or destroys the seal,
19 journal, or of ficial records of a notary shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor , punishable
20 upon conviction by a fine not exceeding [ five hundred ] two thousand dollars.
21 6. Any person who knowingly solicits, coerces, or in any way influences a notary to
22 commit official misconduct shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor , punishable upon
23 conviction by a fine not exceeding [ five hundred ] two thousand dollars.
24 7. Any person who knowingly obtains, conceals, damages, or destroys the coding,
25 disk, certificate, card, token, program, software, or hardware that is intended exclusively to
26 enable an electronic notary public to produce a registered electronic signature, notary seal, or
27 single element combining the required features of an electronic signature and notary seal,
28 shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor , punishable upon conviction by a fine not exceeding
29 [ five hundred ] two thousand dollars or imprisonment for not more than [ six months ] one
30 year , or both.
31 8. Any person who is not a notary and knowingly pr esents false information to
32 obtain or attempt to obtain a notary public's seal fr om a manufactur er under chapter
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33 486 shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor , punishable upon conviction by a fine not
34 exceeding two thousand dollars or imprisonment for not mor e than one year , or both.
35 9. The penalties of this section shall not preclude other sanctions and remedies
36 provided by law .
✔
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