An Act Concerning Fees for Users of County Registries of Deeds
Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and
Whereas, the registry of deeds offices provide a valuable public service in recording and maintaining the land records of the State; and
Whereas, current law allows the county commissioners to set fees for copying at only the cost of providing the copies; and
Whereas, the cost to the counties to maintain the information and to make it accessible cannot be adequately reimbursed by fees defined by copying cost; and
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,
Sec. 1. 33 MRSA §751, sub-§14, as amended by PL 2009, c. 575, §2, is repealed.
Sec. 2. 33 MRSA §751, sub-§§14-B and 14-C are enacted to read:
This subsection is repealed July 31, 2012;
Sec. 3. Legislative intent; retroactivity. The Legislature finds that the following fees charged by an office of a register of deeds for making abstracts and copies from records, whether in paper or digital form, including for bulk copies or transfers of such copies, between September 1, 2009 and the effective date of this Act are reasonable and in accordance with the legislative intent of Public Law 2009, chapter 575, section 2 and are expressly authorized: a fee of up to $1.50 per page for paper copies and a fee of up to $1.50 per page for digital copies. Nothing in this section may be interpreted as a legislative finding that a higher fee charged by an office of a register of deeds between September 1, 2009 and the effective date of this Act to persons who were not subscribers to the online services of a register of deeds is unreasonable. Notwithstanding the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 1, section 302, this section applies retroactively to September 1, 2009.
Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation takes effect when approved.