CORNER RECORDATION ACT REVISIONS                                                         S.B. 1043:

                                                                                  SUMMARY OF DISCHARGED BILL

Senate Bill 1043 (as discharged)

Sponsor:  Senator Howard C. Walker

Committee:  Local Government and Elections

CONTENT

The bill would amend the Corner Recordation Act to do the following:

-- Require a surveyor who used an original public land survey corner to file a corner record with the county register of deeds, as currently required when a surveyor uses a public land survey corner or an accessory to the corner.

-- Require a surveyor to file a land corner recordation certificate with the register of deeds within 90 days after the surveyor monumented a protracted public land survey corner.

-- Require a property controlling corner to be recorded on the same land corner recordation certificate required in the two situations described above, if a property controlling corner were recorded or used as an original public land survey corner or protracted public land survey corner.

-- Allow a surveyor who monumented or used a corner to complete, sign, and seal a land corner recordation certificate for the corner, and file it with the register of deeds, if none of the situations described above applied.

-- Allow a surveyor to establish a "witness monument" (an accessory that is a monumented point near a corner) if it were impracticable to occupy the site of a corner with a monument, and prescribe requirements for setting a witness monument.

-- Delete a provision that allows a surveyor to install at least four reference monuments if access to a corner location will create an unsafe condition.

-- Increase from $1,000 to $5,000 the maximum misdemeanor fine for defacing, destroying, altering, or removing a corner monument or reference monument, and apply the penalty to defacing, destroying, altering, or removing a monument, accessory, witness monument, or reference monument.

MCL 54.202 et al.                                                    Legislative Analyst:  Patrick Affholter

FISCAL IMPACT

The bill would make the Corner Recordation Act consistent with the provisions of Public Act 166 of 2014, which amended the State Survey and Remonumentation Act. Senate Bill 1043 would not change the responsibilities or costs of county registers of deeds. It would, however, increase the administrative costs of the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs by a minimal amount due to the need to promulgate new administrative rules. These costs would be paid by existing departmental resources.

By increasing the maximum misdemeanor fine, the bill could increase revenue to public libraries.

Date Completed:  11-13-14                                                  Fiscal Analyst:  John Maxwell

                                                                                                          Elizabeth Pratt

This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.