Senate Bill 150 would update the Real Property Article to remove obsolete references to paper books, microfilm, linen copies and aperture cards and to clarify that clerks may accept modern electronic submissions for land recordation, witnesses said at a Judicial Proceedings Committee hearing.

Sen. Watson introduced SB 150 on behalf of Maryland’s 24 elected circuit-court clerks, who testified that the bill simply aligns code language with current practice. Scott Poyer, clerk of the circuit court for Anne Arundel County and representative of the Maryland Circuit Court Clerks Association, said clerks already operate electronic recording systems and that the bill removes references to obsolete practices such as end-of-year paper transfers to the state archives.

Industry commenters including the Maryland Land Title Association, Maryland State Bar Association’s Real Property Section, and the Maryland Bankers Association supported the principle but requested drafting clarifications. Among issues raised were (1) a proposed amendment to avoid forcing reformatting of standard margin-sensitive documents (standard deed-of-trust forms), (2) concerns about language that would allow a clerk to refuse to record an instrument that does not meet formatting requirements, potentially creating closing risk, and (3) whether vendor/deed-of-trust language should remain. The clerks said they were amenable to some technical amendments and had conferred with the sponsor on narrow language changes.

Robert Enton (Maryland Bankers Association) flagged closing risk if a clerk could refuse to record an instrument after a closing and funds disbursed; he and other stakeholders asked for further drafting to address that scenario. The clerks indicated they had narrowed the bill compared with a larger proposal from a prior session and were open to non-substantive stylistic changes.

No committee vote was recorded at the hearing. Clerks and industry representatives agreed to continue technical work on amendments before the bill moves forward.