HB178 By Representative Hill (M) RFD Ways and Means General Fund Rd 1 11-FEB-16

SYNOPSIS: Under existing law, funds deposited in the Uniform Commercial Code Fund must be expended for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of law authorizing the collection of the funds; funds in the Secretary of State's Information Bulk Sales Fund may be used for any purpose; and funds in the Secretary of State Entity Fund may be used for any purpose, provided the funds are allotted and budgeted in accordance with law.

This bill would authorize the Uniform Commercial Code Fund, the Secretary of State's Information Bulk Sales Fund, and the Secretary of State Entity Fund to be used for the administration of the Office of the Secretary of State.

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT

Relating to the Office of the Secretary of State; to amend Sections 7-9A-523, 7-9A-525, and 10A-1-4.31 Code of Alabama 1975, by authorizing the Uniform Commercial Code Fund, the Secretary of State's Information Bulk Sales Fund, and the Secretary of State Entity Fund to be used for the administration of the Office of the Secretary of State.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:Section 1. Sections 7-9A-523, 7-9A-525, and 10A-1-4.31 of the Code of Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows:

§7-9A-523.

"(a) Acknowledgment of filing written record. If a person that files a written record requests an acknowledgment of the filing, the filing office shall send to the person an image of the record showing the number assigned to the record pursuant to Section 7-9A-519(a)(1) and the date and time of the filing of the record. However, if the person furnishes a copy of the record to the filing office, the filing office may instead:

"(1) note upon the copy the number assigned to the record pursuant to Section 7-9A-519(a)(1) and the date and time of the filing of the record; and

"(2) send the copy to the person.

"(b) Acknowledgment of filing other record. If a person files a record other than a written record, the filing office shall communicate to the person an acknowledgment that provides:

"(1) the information in the record;

"(2) the number assigned to the record pursuant to Section 7-9A-519(a)(1); and

"(3) the date and time of the filing of the record.

"(c) Communication of requested information. The filing office shall communicate or otherwise make available in a record the following information to any person that requests it:

"(1) whether there is on file on a date and time specified by the filing office, but not a date earlier than three business days before the filing office receives the request, any financing statement that:

"(A) designates a particular debtor or, if the request so states, designates a particular debtor at the address specified in the request;

"(B) has not lapsed under Section 7-9A-515 with respect to all secured parties of record; and

"(C) if the request so states, has lapsed under Section 7-9A-515 and a record of which is maintained by the filing office under Section 7-9A-522(a);

"(2) the date and time of filing of each financing statement; and

"(3) the information provided in each financing statement.

"(d) Medium for communicating information. In complying with its duty under subsection (c), the filing office may communicate information in any medium. However, if requested, the filing office shall communicate information by issuing its written certificate.

"(e) Timeliness of filing office performance. The filing office shall perform the acts required by subsections (a) through (d) at the time and in the manner prescribed by filing-office rule. The filing office should perform the required acts within a reasonable period of time, and after January 1, 2003, not later than two business days after the filing office receives the request.

"(f) Public availability of records. The Secretary of State shall adopt a rule pursuant to the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act which provides a procedure and reasonable fees for the sale or licensing to the public on a nonexclusive basis, in bulk, of copies of all records filed in the office of the Secretary of State under this part. There is hereby created in the State Treasury a fund to be known as the Secretary of State's Information Bulk Sales Fund. Section 7-9A-525 or any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, all funds, fees, charges, costs and collections accruing to or collected by the office of the Secretary of State under the provisions of this section shall be deposited into the State Treasury to the credit of this fund and shall not be expended for any purpose whatsoever unless the same shall may be expended for any purpose whatsoever related to the administration of the Office of the Secretary of State as determined by the Secretary of State, provided the funds have been allotted and budgeted in accordance with the provisions of Article 4 of Chapter 4 of Title 41, and only in the amounts and for the purposes provided by the Legislature in the general appropriation bill or this section.

"(g) The Secretary of State shall develop and implement a central indexing system containing the information filed with his or her office pursuant to subsection (f) of Section 7-9A-320. Under this system, the Secretary of State shall record the date and time of filing and compile the information into a master list organized according to farm products. The list shall be organized within each farm product category in alphabetical order according to the last name of the debtor, or in the case of debtors doing business other than as individuals, the first word in the name of such debtor, in numerical order according to the Social Security or taxpayer identification number of the debtor, geographically by county, and by crop year. The master list also shall contain the name and address of the secured party, the name and address of the debtor, a description of the farm products, including amount where applicable, subject to the security interest and a reasonable description of the real estate, including the county, where the farm products are located.

"(h) The Secretary of State shall maintain a list of all buyers of farm products, commission merchants, and selling agents who register with the Secretary of State indicating an interest in receiving the lists described in subsection (i).

"(i) The Secretary of State shall distribute at regular intervals as determined by him or her, to each buyer, commission merchant, and selling agent registered under subsection (h) a copy in written or printed form or, if elected by the buyer, commission merchant, or selling agent in accordance with procedures established by the Secretary of State, in electronic form, of those portions of the master list which the buyer, commission merchant, or selling agent has indicated an interest in receiving. The charge for a printed copy of the entire or any portion of the master list and any supplements to that list shall be a fee established by the Secretary of State of up to twenty-five cents ($.25) per page, but no buyer, commission merchant, or selling agent shall be obligated to pay more than two thousand dollars ($2,000) per year in charges for a printed copy of each distributed master list or portion thereof. The charge for receiving the entire or any portion of the master list in electronic form shall be a fee established by the Secretary of State of up to one hundred dollars ($100) annually.

"(j) Upon request of any person, the Secretary of State shall provide, within 24 hours, an oral confirmation of whether there is on file, on the date and hour stated, any presently effective financing statement naming a particular debtor to be followed by a written confirmation. The fee for confirming an oral search shall be twenty dollars ($20) plus two dollars ($2) for each financing statement and for each statement of assignment reported therein.

§7-9A-525.

"(a) Initial financing statement or other record: General rule. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (e), and except that no filing fee is required for the filing of a termination statement pursuant to Section 7-9A-513, the fee for filing and indexing a record under this part is:

"(1) $20.00 Twenty dollars ($20) if the record is communicated in writing and consists of one or two pages;

"(2) $20.00 Twenty dollars ($20) plus $2.00 two dollars ($2) for each page more than two if the record is communicated in writing and consists of more than two pages; and

"(3) $15.00 Fifteen dollars ($15) if the record is communicated by another medium authorized by filing-office rule.

"(b) Initial financing statement: Manufactured-housing transactions: Section 7-9A-502(c). Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c), the fee for filing and indexing an initial financing statement of the kind described in Section 7-9A-502(c) is $10.00 ten dollars ($10) if the financing statement indicates that it is filed in connection with a manufactured-home transaction.

"(c) Number of names. The number of names required to be indexed does not affect the amount of the fee in subsection (a) or (b) of this section.

"(d) Response to information request. The fee for responding to a request for information from the filing office, including for issuing a certificate showing whether there is on file any financing statement naming a particular debtor, is:

"(1) $20.00 Twenty dollars ($20) if the request is communicated in writing; and

"(2) $15.00 Fifteen dollars ($15) if the request is communicated by another medium authorized by filing-office rule.

"The fees described in subdivisions (1) and (2) shall apply to each debtor named submitted in the request where the request seeks information on more than one debtor. An additional fee of $100.00 one hundred dollars ($100) shall be required where the request for information requests expedited response by the Secretary of State.

"(e) Record of mortgage. This section does not require a fee with respect to a mortgage which is effective as a financing statement filed as a fixture filing or as a financing statement covering as-extracted collateral or timber to be cut under Section 7-9A-502(c). However, the recording and satisfaction fees that otherwise would be applicable to the mortgage apply.

"(f) Use of non-standard form. A fee of $5.00 five dollars ($5) shall be required in addition to the fees set forth in subsections (a), (b), and (d) where the filing or request is submitted in a non-standard form.

"(g) Proration of fees.

"(1) If the first mailing address of the debtor or debtors on the initial finance statement is located in a county in Alabama, $5.00 five dollars ($5) of the filing fee associated with the filing of the financing statement in the office of the Secretary of State shall be rebated to the probate judge of the county where the address is located. This rebate shall begin January 1, 2002, and lapse after December 31, 2011.

"(2) The balance of the fee shall be paid to the General Fund of the State of Alabama, a portion to be allocated to the office of the Secretary of State as provided in subsection (j).

"(h) Uniform Commercial Code Fund. There is hereby created in the State Treasury a fund to be known and designated as the Uniform Commercial Code Fund. All funds, fees, charges, costs, and collections accruing to or collected by the office of the Secretary of State under the provisions of this section, except fees rebated to probate judges pursuant to subsection (g), shall be deposited into the State Treasury to the credit of the Uniform Commercial Code Fund except as provided in subsection (j).

"(i) Use of funds. All funds now or hereafter deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the Uniform Commercial Code Fund shall be expended for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of the law authorizing the collection of such funds and shall be payable from said fund on the requisition of the Secretary of State; provided, however, commencing in the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2003 2016, and in subsequent fiscal years, no funds shall be withdrawn nor expended for any purpose whatsoever unless the same shall and in addition to the authority herein conferred, funds may be expended for any purpose whatsoever related to the administration of the Office of the Secretary of State as determined by the Secretary of State, provided the funds have been allotted and budgeted in accordance with the provisions of Article 4 of Chapter 4 of Title 41, and only in the amounts and for the purposes provided by the Legislature in the general appropriation bill.

"(j) Allocation of fees. From July 1, 2001, through December 31, 2001, 81 percent of all fees collected in accordance with this section by the Secretary of State shall be deposited to the credit of the State General Fund for the credit of the Secretary of State to use for the implementation of this article. There shall be no change in fees collected by the office of the judge of probate from July 1, 2001, through December 31, 2001.

"From January 1, 2002, through September 30, 2002, and in subsequent fiscal years, 81 Eighty-one percent of total funds collected in accordance with this section or any fees collected in direct relation to the Uniform Commercial Code during that period shall be deposited to the credit of the State General Fund.

§10A-1-4.31.

"(a) The judge of probate or the Secretary of State, as the case may be, shall collect the following fees when the filing instruments described in this title are delivered to him or her for filing:

"FILING INSTRUMENT FEE FOR STATE OF ALABAMA FEE FOR THE JUDGE OF PROBATE "(1) Certificate of formation and restated certificate of formation $100 $50 "(2) Amendment to certificate of formation $50 $25 "(3) Name reservations "A. less than 24 hours $25 No fee "B. 24 hours or more $10 No fee "(4) Certificate of termination $100 $50 "(5) Certificate of merger; articles of consolidation or share exchange $100 $50 "(6) Foreign entity registration including registration of foreign limited liability partnership $150 No fee "(7) Certificate of existence "A. Less than 24 hours $25 No fee "B. 24 hours or more $10 No fee "(8) Registered limited liability partnership registration $100 $50 "(9) Registered limited liability partnership annual report $100 No fee (10) Partnership statement (filing or certifying) $25 $25 (11) Any other filing instrument required or permitted to be filed under this title $25 $25

"(b) When appropriate, two checks shall accompany a filing instrument delivered to the judge of probate or the Secretary of State for filing, one payable to the judge of probate for all charges for the judge of probate, and one payable to the State of Alabama covering all charges for the Secretary of State. In the case of any filing instrument delivered for filing to the judge of probate accompanied by a check for the charges for the Secretary of State, the check for the Secretary of State shall be forwarded by the judge of probate to the Secretary of State. In the case of any filing instrument delivered for filing to the Secretary of State accompanied by a check for the judge of probate, the check for the judge of probate shall be forwarded by the Secretary of State to the judge of probate.

"(c) There is hereby established in the State Treasury a fund to be known and designated as the Secretary of State Entity Fund. All funds, fees, charges, costs, and collections accruing to or collected by the Secretary of State under the foregoing provisions of this section or any other fees collected by the Secretary of State relating to entities shall be deposited into the State Treasury to the credit of the Secretary of State Entity Fund except as so provided in subsection (e).

"(d) All funds now or hereafter deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the Secretary of State Entity Fund shall not be expended for any purpose whatsoever unless the same shall may be expended for any purpose whatsoever related to the administration of the Office of the Secretary of State as determined by the Secretary of State, provided the funds have been allotted and budgeted in accordance with the provisions of Article 4 of Chapter 4 of Title 41, and only in the amounts and for the purposes provided by the Legislature in the general appropriation bill or this section.

"(e) Seventy percent of funds collected by the Secretary of State in relation to entities during the fiscal year shall be deposited to the credit of the State General Fund.

"(f) The fees herein imposed for the office of the judge of probate shall be charged and paid into the appropriate county treasury or to the judge of probate as may be authorized or required by law.

"(g) The Secretary of State shall collect the following fees for copying and certifying the copy of any filing instrument relating to a domestic or foreign entity:

"(1) One dollar fifty cents ($1.50) a page for copying; and

"(2) Five dollars ($5) for the certificate.

"(h) The judge of probate shall collect the following fees for copying and certifying the copy of any filing instrument relating to an entity:

"(1) One dollar fifty cents ($1.50) a page for copying; and

"(2) Five dollars ($5) for the certificate.

"(i) For requests of immediate expedition of documents to be obtained in less than 24 hours, other than name reservations and certificates of existence, by the Secretary of State regarding document filings, certifications, and certificates in addition to required fees, a one hundred dollar ($100) surcharge shall be imposed."

Section 2. This act shall become effective immediately following its passage and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.

Uniform Commercial Code

Secretary of State

State Funds

Code Amended