SB 230: Condominiums; maximum amount of insurance deductibles payable by unit owners; remove the limitation

The House Committee on Insurance offers the following substitute to SB 230:

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

To amend Titles 9, 15, 23, and 44 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to civil practice, courts, equity, and property, respectively, so as to provide for statutory mechanisms to protect persons, personal information, title, and property; to revise provisions for judicial sales relative to acceptable tenders by purchasers and to permit certain purchasers to submit credit bids; to provide for the protection of personally identifiable data of judges and spouses; to provide for certain information to be restricted from disclosure; to provide for the authorized release of certain restricted information; to provide for the removal of such restriction; to provide for penalties; to provide for construction; to provide for the qualification of special masters in certain quiet title actions; to provide for definitions; to increase the maximum amount of insurance deductibles payable by unit owners; to provide for notice; to provide for related matters; to provide a short title; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1.

This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Real Estate Security and Title Act."

SECTION 2.

Title 9 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to civil practice, is amended in Part 2 of Article 7 of Chapter 13, relating to conduct and effect relative to judicial sales, by revising Code Section 9-123-166, relating to form of tender, as follows:

"9-13-166.

Purchasers at judicial sales need not tender cash but, as an alternative, may tender a cashier's or certified check or certified funds which is drawn for the amount of the purchase price and which is issued by or certified by any financial institution insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, or the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation; provided, however, that the holder of the security instrument being foreclosed or its designated representative shall be authorized to submit a credit bid for the purchase price in lieu of cash, a cashier's check, or certified funds."

SECTION 3.

Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to courts, is amended in Article 8 of Chapter 5, relating to protection of personally identifiable data of judges and spouses, by revising Code Section 15-5-110, relating to definitions, as follows:

"15-5-110.

As used in this article, the term:

(1) 'Personally identifiable information' means any personal phone number, each home address, or property or tax records the parcel number of each such address, and each personal telephone number of a protected person.

(2) 'Protected person' means any current or former:

(A) Current or former judge Judge or justice of this state and his or her spouse;

(B) Current or former judge Judge of any county or municipality of this state and his or her spouse; and

(C) Current or former judge Judge or justice of the United States and his or her spouse; and

(D) Spouse of any person who qualifies as a protected person under subparagraphs (A), (B), or (C) of this paragraph.

(3) 'Publicly available content' means any written or electronic document or record that provides information or that serves as a document or record maintained, controlled, or in the possession of a state or local government entity that may be obtained by any person from the state or local government entity's public website or from such state or local government agency upon request whether free of charge or for a fee.

(4) 'State or local government entity' means any:

(A) Agency of the executive branch of this state; or

(B) Any county or municipality of this state, including, but not limited to, any county or municipal court clerk's office, board of elections, board of tax assessors, or board of ethics."

SECTION 4.

Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 15-5-112, relating to restriction of judicial personally identifiable information from public disclosure and enforcement, as follows:

"15-5-112.

(a) As used in this Code section, the term 'restrict from public disclosure' means to conceal from a copy of an original public record or to conceal from an electronic image that is available for public viewing the personally identifiable information of a protected person contained within such record.

(b) Notwithstanding any provision of Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50 to the contrary, a state or local government entity shall restrict from public disclosure any personally identifiable information that specifically identifies a protected person as a judge, justice, or spouse thereof. The provisions of this subsection shall include, but shall not be limited to, records or filings in the office of the Secretary of State and the State Ethics Commission.

(b)(c) Notwithstanding any provision of Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50 to the contrary, a state or local government entity that possesses records, filings, or other publicly available content that does not specifically identify a person as a judge, justice, or spouse thereof but that includes personally identifiable information of such a protected person shall, upon request of the protected person, restrict from public disclosure any personally identifiable information. A protected person may request that his or her personally identifiable information be restricted from public disclosure pursuant to this subsection by submitting a request in writing to the state or local government entity on the form provided for in Code Section 15-5-111. A state or local government entity receiving such request shall restrict from public disclosure the personally identifiable information within 30 days of receiving a valid request and shall reflect on any official records index entries affected under this Code section, including, but not limited to, any indices related to the recordation of any instrument or document regarding the conveyance of real property, that personally identifiable information contained within the record has been restricted from public disclosure pursuant to this Code section.

(c)(d) Any protected person may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction against any officer or employee of the state or local government entity in his or her individual capacity for failure to comply with subsection (a) or (b) or (c) of this Code section. Any relief granted by such action shall be limited to injunctive relief.

(e) Any protected person may request access to information restricted from public disclosure within publicly available content that is maintained by a state or local government entity by submitting to such entity a signed authorization form developed by the Administrative Office of the Courts. Upon receipt of such signed authorization form, the state or local government entity shall provide the authorized protected person access to an unrestricted copy of the documents listed in such signed authorization form.

(f) Any protected person may authorize a third-party individual or entity to access information restricted from public disclosure within publicly available content that is maintained by a state or local government entity by submitting to such entity a signed authorization form developed by the Administrative Office of the Courts. Upon receipt of such signed authorization form, the state or local government entity shall provide the authorized third-party individual or entity access to an unrestricted copy of the documents listed in such signed authorization form.

(g) A protected person, or his or her attorney in fact or legal representative acting on behalf of such protected person, may submit a written request to release the restriction on publication of such protected person's personally identifiable information. Within 45 days of receipt of a request under this subsection to release the restriction on such publication, the state or local government entity shall remove such restriction.

(h) Upon proof of death of a protected person, as verified by a certified copy of a death certificate, the attorney in fact or legal representative of the deceased protected person may request a state or local government entity to release the restriction on publication of such protected person's personally identifiable information unless such release is otherwise prohibited by statute or court order. Such written request to release the restriction on such publication shall include a certified copy of the protected person's death certificate.

(i) Any person making a false attestation under this Code section is subject to the penalty of perjury under Code Section 16-10-70.

(j) The provisions of this article shall not prohibit any county clerk, register of deeds, tax assessor, treasurer, or any other state or local government office or agency from providing unrestricted copies of recorded instruments affecting title to real property or property tax records that contain protected personally identifiable information to:

(1) A title insurer or title insurance agent;

(2) A licensed attorney representing such title insurer or title insurance agent; or

(3) An agent of such a licensed attorney,

in furtherance of providing title insurance, as defined in Code Section 33-7-8, provided that such insurer, agent, attorney, or attorney's agent makes an affirmative representation that they are seeking such information in furtherance of providing title insurance."

SECTION 5.

Title 23 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to equity, is amended in Part 2 of Article 3 of Chapter 3, relating to quia timet against all the world, by revising Code Section 23-3-63, relating to submission to special master, as follows:

"23-3-63.

The court, upon receipt of the petition together with the plat and instruments filed therewith, shall submit the same to a special master who shall:

(1) Be an individual be a person who is authorized to practice law in this state and;

(2) Be is a resident of the judicial circuit of the United States wherein the action is brought;

(3) Be a citizen of this state for not less than three years; and

(4) Have not less than five years of experience litigating or providing opinions on title to land in this state."

SECTION 6.

Title 44 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to property, is amended in Article 3 of Chapter 3, relating to condominiums, by revising Code Section 44-3-94, relating to damage or destruction of units, as follows:

"44-3-94.

(a) Unless otherwise provided in the condominium instruments, in the event of damage to or destruction of any unit by a casualty covered under insurance required to be maintained by the association pursuant to Code Section 44-3-107, the association shall cause the unit to be restored. Unless otherwise provided in the condominium instruments, any funds required for such restoration in excess of the insurance proceeds attributable thereto shall be paid by the unit owner of the unit; provided, however, that, in the event that the unit owner of the unit together with the unit owners of other units to which two-thirds of the votes in the association pertain agree not to restore the unit, the unit shall not be restored and the entire undivided interest in the common elements pertaining to that unit shall then pertain to the remaining units, to be allocated to them in proportion to their undivided interests in the common elements, and the remaining portion of that unit shall thenceforth be a part of the common elements. Votes in the association and liability for future common expenses shall thereupon pertain to the remaining units, being allocated to them in proportion to their relative voting strength in the association and liability for common expenses, respectively. To the extent provided for in the condominium instruments, the association may allocate equitably the payment of a reasonable insurance deductible between the association and the unit owners affected by a casualty against which the association is required to insure; provided, however, that the amount of deductible which can be allocated to any one unit owner shall not exceed $5,000.00 $25,000.00 per casualty loss covered under any insurance required to be maintained by the association under this article. The existence of a reasonable deductible in any required insurance policy shall not be deemed a failure to maintain insurance as required by this Code section.

(b) Each association in this state shall timely notify all unit owners within such association of any material change in such association's master policy deductible. Such notification shall be in writing and accomplished by depositing the notice in the United States mail to be dispatched by at least first class mail to the address of record of the unit owner. Such notice may alternatively be delivered, with the unit owner's written consent, in person, or through electronic transmittal or facsimile."

SECTION 7.

All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.