Washington § 65.24.040 - Recording standards commission.

(1) The office of the secretary of state shall create and appoint a recording standards commission. The recording standards commission shall review recording standards, including electronic recording standards, and make recommendations to the secretary of state for rules necessary to implement this chapter. A majority of the commission must be county recorders or county auditors. The commission may include assessors, treasurers, land title company representatives, escrow agents, and mortgage brokers, the state archivist, county surveyors, and any other party the secretary of state deems appropriate. The term of the commissioners will be set by the secretary of state.

(2) To keep the standards and practices of recording officers in this state in harmony, and to promote harmony with the standards and practices of recording offices in other jurisdictions that enact similar legislation or policy and to keep the technology used by recording officers in this state compatible with technology used by recording offices in other jurisdictions that enact similar legislation or policy, the office of the secretary of state, under RCW 40.14.020, so far as is consistent with the purposes, policies, and provisions of this chapter, in adopting, amending, and repealing rules supporting recording standards shall consider:

(a) The standards and practices of other jurisdictions;

(b) The most recent standards adopted by national standard-setting bodies, such as the property records industry association;

(c) The views of interested persons and governmental officials and entities;

(d) The needs of counties of varying size, population, and resources;

(e) Standards requiring adequate information security protection to ensure that documents are accurate, authentic, adequately preserved, and resistant to tampering;

(f) Standards requiring adequate information security protection to ensure that electronic documents are accurate, authentic, adequately preserved, and resistant to tampering;

(g) Standards for the certification of recorded documents including imaged paper documents and documents that are received by the recording officer in an electronic form; and

(h) Standards on the documentation and recording of boundary line adjustments for real property.

Intent—2021 c 137: See note following RCW 65.24.010.