102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB2870

 

Introduced 2/19/2021, by Rep. Robert Rita

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
55 ILCS 5/4-12002  from Ch. 34, par. 4-12002
55 ILCS 5/4-12002.1

    Amends the Counties Code. In provisions relating to specified recorder fees in counties of the third class, provides that the fees apply to certified copies of records that are maintained in any format, or portions thereof, including microfilm, paper, electronic, database, or index. Provides that the recorder in counties that adopted a predictable recording fee schedule may, after the effective date of the amendatory Act, charge a standard fee for non-standard documents, except for specified documents, and charge a penalty for any non-conforming documents and a standard document copy fee as provided under a county's predictable fee schedule for all copies; and provides that the copying fees shall be applicable to any format, or portions thereof, that the record is maintained, including paper, microfilm, electronic format, or database.


LRB102 14777 AWJ 20130 b

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB2870LRB102 14777 AWJ 20130 b

1    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by changing
5Sections 4-12002 and 4-12002.1 as follows:
 
6    (55 ILCS 5/4-12002)   (from Ch. 34, par. 4-12002)
7    Sec. 4-12002. Fees of recorder in third class counties.
8Except as provided for in Section 4-12002.1, the fees of the
9recorder in counties of the third class for recording deeds or
10other instruments in writing and maps of plats of additions,
11subdivisions or otherwise, and for certifying copies of
12records, shall be paid in advance and shall be as follows:
13    For recording deeds or other instruments $20 for the first
142 pages thereof, plus $2 for each additional page thereof. The
15aggregate minimum fee for recording any one instrument shall
16not be less than $20.
17    For recording deeds or other instruments wherein the
18premises affected thereby are referred to by document number
19and not by legal description the recorder shall charge a fee of
20$4 in addition to that hereinabove referred to for each
21document number therein noted.
22    For recording deeds or other instruments wherein more than
23one tract, parcel or lot is described and such additional

 

 

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1tract, or tracts, parcel or parcels, lot or lots is or are
2described therein as falling in a separate or different
3addition or subdivision the recorder shall charge as an
4additional fee, to that herein provided, the sum of $2 for each
5additional addition or subdivision referred to in such deed or
6instrument.
7    For recording any document that affects an interest in
8real property other than documents which solely affect or
9relate to an easement for water, sewer, electricity, gas,
10telephone or other public service, the recorder shall charge a
11fee of $1 per document to all filers of documents not filed by
12any State agency, any unit of local government, or any school
13district. Fifty cents of the $1 fee hereby established shall
14be deposited into the County General Revenue Fund. The
15remaining $0.50 shall be deposited into the County Recorder
16Document Storage System Fund and may not be appropriated or
17expended for any other purpose. The additional amounts
18available to the recorder for expenditure from the County
19Recorder Document Storage System Fund shall not offset or
20reduce any other county appropriations or funding for the
21office of the recorder.
22    For recording maps or plats of additions, subdivisions or
23otherwise (including the spreading of the same of record in
24well bound books) $100 plus $2 for each tract, parcel or lot
25contained therein.
26    For certified copies of records the same fees as for

 

 

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1recording, but in no case shall the fee for a certified copy of
2a map or plat of an addition, subdivision or otherwise exceed
3$200. These fees, as provided under this Code and a county's
4ordinance, apply to certified copies of records that are
5maintained in any format, or portions thereof, including
6microfilm, paper, electronic, database, or index.
7    For non-certified copies of records, an amount not to
8exceed one half of the amount provided herein for certified
9copies, according to a standard scale of fees, established by
10county ordinance and made public. These fees, as provided
11under this Code and a county's ordinance, apply to
12non-certified copies of records that are maintained in any
13format, or portions thereof, including microfilm, paper,
14electronic, database, or index.
15    For filing of each release of any chattel mortgage or
16trust deed which has been filed but not recorded and for
17indexing the same in the book to be kept for that purpose $10.
18    For processing the sworn or affirmed statement required
19for filing a deed or assignment of a beneficial interest in a
20land trust in accordance with Section 3-5020 of this Code, $2.
21    The recorder shall charge an additional fee, in an amount
22equal to the fee otherwise provided by law, for recording a
23document (other than a document filed under the Plat Act or the
24Uniform Commercial Code) that does not conform to the
25following standards:
26        (1) The document shall consist of one or more

 

 

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1    individual sheets measuring 8.5 inches by 11 inches, not
2    permanently bound and not a continuous form. Graphic
3    displays accompanying a document to be recorded that
4    measure up to 11 inches by 17 inches shall be recorded
5    without charging an additional fee.
6        (2) The document shall be legibly printed in black
7    ink, by hand, type, or computer. Signatures and dates may
8    be in contrasting colors if they will reproduce clearly.
9        (3) The document shall be on white paper of not less
10    than 20-pound weight and shall have a clean margin of at
11    least one-half inch on the top, the bottom, and each side.
12    Margins may be used only for non-essential notations that
13    will not affect the validity of the document, including
14    but not limited to form numbers, page numbers, and
15    customer notations.
16        (4) The first page of the document shall contain a
17    blank space, measuring at least 3 inches by 5 inches, from
18    the upper right corner.
19        (5) The document shall not have any attachment stapled
20    or otherwise affixed to any page.
21A document that does not conform to these standards shall not
22be recorded except upon payment of the additional fee required
23under this paragraph. This paragraph, as amended by this
24amendatory Act of 1995, applies only to documents dated after
25the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1995.
26    The recorder shall collect a $9 Rental Housing Support

 

 

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1Program State surcharge for the recordation of any real
2estate-related document. Payment of the Rental Housing Support
3Program State surcharge shall be evidenced by a receipt that
4shall be marked upon or otherwise affixed to the real
5estate-related document by the recorder. The form of this
6receipt shall be prescribed by the Department of Revenue and
7the receipts shall be issued by the Department of Revenue to
8each county recorder.
9    The recorder shall not collect the Rental Housing Support
10Program State surcharge from any State agency, any unit of
11local government or any school district.
12    On the 15th day of each month, each county recorder shall
13report to the Department of Revenue, on a form prescribed by
14the Department, the number of real estate-related documents
15recorded for which the Rental Housing Support Program State
16surcharge was collected. Each recorder shall submit $9 of each
17surcharge collected in the preceding month to the Department
18of Revenue and the Department shall deposit these amounts in
19the Rental Housing Support Program Fund. Subject to
20appropriation, amounts in the Fund may be expended only for
21the purpose of funding and administering the Rental Housing
22Support Program.
23    For purposes of this Section, "real estate-related
24document" means that term as it is defined in Section 7 of the
25Rental Housing Support Program Act.
26    The fee requirements of this Section apply to units of

 

 

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1local government and school districts.
2    Regardless of any other provision in this Section, the
3maximum fee that may be collected from the Department of
4Revenue for filing or indexing a lien, certificate of lien
5release or subordination, or any other type of notice or other
6documentation affecting or concerning a lien is $5. Regardless
7of any other provision in this Section, the maximum fee that
8may be collected from the Department of Revenue for indexing
9each additional name in excess of one for any lien,
10certificate of lien release or subordination, or any other
11type of notice or other documentation affecting or concerning
12a lien is $1.
13(Source: P.A. 100-1034, eff. 1-1-19.)
 
14    (55 ILCS 5/4-12002.1)
15    Sec. 4-12002.1. Predictable fee schedule for recordings in
16third class counties.
17    (a) As used in this Section:
18    "Nonstandard document" means:
19        (1) a document that creates a division of a then
20    active existing tax parcel identification number;
21        (2) a document recorded pursuant to the Uniform
22    Commercial Code;
23        (3) a document which is non-conforming, as described
24    in paragraphs (1) through (5) of Section 4-12002;
25        (4) a State lien or a federal lien;

 

 

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1        (5) a document making specific reference to more than
2    5 tax parcel identification numbers in the county in which
3    it is presented for recording; or
4        (6) a document making specific reference to more than
5    5 other document numbers recorded in the county in which
6    it is presented for recording.
7    "Standard document" means any document other than a
8nonstandard document.
9    (b) On or before January 1, 2020, a county shall adopt and
10implement, by ordinance or resolution, a predictable fee
11schedule that eliminates surcharges or fees based on the
12individual attributes of a standard document to be recorded.
13The initial predictable fee schedule approved by a county
14board shall be set only as allowed under subsection (c) and any
15subsequent predictable fee schedule approved by a county board
16shall be set only as allowed under subsection (d). Except as to
17the recording of standard documents, the fees imposed by
18Section 4-12002 shall remain in effect. Under a predictable
19fee schedule, which only applies to standard documents, no
20charge shall be based on: page count; number, length, or type
21of legal descriptions; number of tax identification or other
22parcel identifying code numbers; number of common addresses;
23number of references contained as to other recorded documents
24or document numbers; or any other individual attribute of the
25document except as expressly provided in this Section. The fee
26charged under this Section shall be inclusive of all county

 

 

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1and State fees that the county may elect or is required to
2impose or adjust, including, but not limited to, GIS fees,
3automation fees, document storage fees, and the Rental Housing
4Support Program State surcharge.
5    A predictable fee schedule ordinance or resolution adopted
6under this Section shall list standard document fees,
7including document class flat fees as required by subsection
8(c), and nonstandard document fees.
9    Before approval of an ordinance or resolution under this
10Section, the recorder or county clerk shall post a notice in
11his or her office at least 2 weeks prior, but not more than 4
12weeks prior, to the public meeting at which the ordinance or
13resolution may be adopted. The notice shall contain the
14proposed ordinance or resolution number, if any, the proposed
15document class flat fees for each classification, and a
16reference to this Section or this amendatory Act of the 100th
17General Assembly.
18    A predictable fee schedule takes effect 60 days after an
19ordinance or resolution is adopted.
20    (c) Pursuant to an ordinance or resolution adopted under
21subsection (b), the recorder elected as provided for in this
22Division shall receive such fees as are or may be provided for
23him or her by law, in case of provision thereof: otherwise he
24or she shall receive the same fees as are or may be provided in
25this Section except when increased by county ordinance or
26resolution pursuant to the provisions of this Section, to be

 

 

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1paid to the county clerk for his or her services in the office
2of recorder for like services. For the purposes of the fee
3charged, the ordinance or resolution shall divide standard
4documents into the following classifications and shall
5establish a single, all-inclusive, county and State-imposed
6aggregate fee charged for each such classification of document
7at the time of recording for that document, which is called the
8document class flat fee. A standard document is not subject to
9more than one classification at the time of recording for the
10purposes of imposing any fee. Each standard document shall
11fall within one of the following document class flat fee
12classifications and fees for each document class shall be
13charged only as allowed by this subsection (c) and subsection
14(d):
15        (1) Deeds. The aggregate fee for recording deeds shall
16    not be less than $29 (being a minimum $20 county fee plus
17    $9 for the Rental Housing Support Program State
18    surcharge). Inclusion of language in the deed as to any
19    restriction; covenant; lien; oil, gas, or other mineral
20    interest; easement; lease; or a mortgage shall not alter
21    the classification of a document as a deed.
22        (2) Leases, lease amendments, and similar transfer of
23    interest documents. The aggregate fee for recording
24    leases, lease amendments, and similar transfers of
25    interest documents shall not be less than $29 (being a
26    minimum $20 county fee plus $9 for the Rental Housing

 

 

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1    Support Program State surcharge).
2        (3) Mortgages. The aggregate fee for recording
3    mortgages, including assignments, extensions, amendments,
4    subordinations, and mortgage releases shall not be less
5    than $29 (being a minimum $20 county fee plus $9 for the
6    Rental Housing Support Program State surcharge).
7        (4) Easements not otherwise part of another
8    classification. The aggregate fee for recording easements
9    not otherwise part of another classification, including
10    assignments, extensions, amendments, and easement releases
11    not filed by a State agency, unit of local government, or
12    school district shall not be less than $29 (being a
13    minimum $20 county fee plus $9 for the Rental Housing
14    Support Program State surcharge).
15        (5) Miscellaneous. The aggregate fee for recording
16    documents not otherwise falling within classifications set
17    forth in paragraphs (1) through (4) and are not
18    nonstandard documents shall not be less than $29 (being a
19    minimum $20 county fee plus $9 for the Rental Housing
20    Support Program State surcharge). Nothing in this
21    subsection shall preclude an alternate predictable fee
22    schedule for electronic recording within each of the
23    classifications set forth in this subsection (c). If the
24    Rental Housing Support Program State surcharge is amended
25    and the surcharge is increased or lowered, the aggregate
26    amount of the document flat fee attributable to the

 

 

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1    surcharge in the document may be changed accordingly.
2    (d) After a document class flat fee is approved by a county
3board under subsection (b), the county board may, by ordinance
4or resolution, increase the document class flat fee and
5collect the increased fees if the established fees are not
6sufficient to cover the costs of providing the services
7related to the document class for which the fee is to be
8increased.
9    Nothing in this Section precludes a county board from
10adjusting amounts or allocations within a given document class
11flat fee when the document class flat fee is not increased.
12    (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
13recorder in counties that adopted a predictable recording fee
14schedule pursuant to this Section may, after the effective
15date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly,
16charge a standard fee for non-standard documents, except for
17documents listed in paragraphs (2) and (4) of subsection (a)
18and plats, and charge a penalty for any non-conforming
19documents and a standard document copy fee as provided under a
20county's predictable fee schedule for all copies. The copying
21fees shall be applicable to any format, or portions thereof,
22that the record is maintained, including paper, microfilm,
23electronic format, or database.
24(Source: P.A. 100-1034, eff. 1-1-19.)