Bill Text: FL H0149 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Website Notice of Foreclosure Action

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)

Status: (Failed) 2012-03-09 - Died in Civil Justice Subcommittee [H0149 Detail]

Download: Florida-2012-H0149-Introduced.html

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HB 149

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to website notice of foreclosure
3	action; creating s. 50.015, F.S.; providing that a
4	legal publication, advertisement, or notice of
5	foreclosure action may be placed on a publicly
6	accessible Internet website of a clerk of court in
7	lieu of publication in any other form of media;
8	providing criteria for the publicly accessible
9	Internet website; providing for user access to the
10	website; providing for access by clerks of court and
11	chief judges; providing requirements for the website
12	provider; providing posting requirements; authorizing
13	the clerk of court to contract with a publicly
14	accessible Internet website provider; providing for
15	terms and revenue sharing in the contract; amending s.
16	702.035, F.S.; providing for notice of foreclosure
17	action to be posted on a publicly accessible Internet
18	website; providing an effective date.
19
20	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22	Section 1.  Section 50.015, Florida Statutes, is created to
23	read:
24	50.015  Legal publication, advertisement, or notice of
25	foreclosure action on a publicly accessible Internet website.-
26	(1)  A legal publication, advertisement, or notice of
27	foreclosure action required by s. 702.035 may be placed on a
28	publicly accessible website of the clerk of court in lieu of
29	publication in any other form of media.
30	(2)  For purposes of this section, a publicly accessible
31	Internet website must:
32	(a)  Be approved for legal publication, advertisement, and
33	notice by the Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation.
34	(b)1.  Maintain a legal publication, advertisement, or
35	notice of foreclosure action for 90 days following the first day
36	of posting or for as long as provided in paragraph (6)(b) or
37	paragraph (6)(c).
38	2.  Maintain all legal publications, advertisements, or
39	notice of foreclosure action searchable and accessible to users
40	for 10 years following the first day of posting.
41	(c)  Receive at least 100,000 total impressions per month,
42	which must be certified by a recognized Internet search engine.
43	For the purpose of this paragraph, the term "impression" means
44	the time at which a notice is viewed once by a visitor on an
45	Internet web page.
46	(d)  Maintain 24-hour customer support, along with live
47	electronic communication and telephone support for a minimum of
48	12 hours per day during peak-time usage.
49	(e)  Post information other than the legal publication,
50	advertisement, or notice of foreclosure action in English and
51	Spanish.
52	(f)  Post online tutorials for users.
53	(g)  Be maintained on a data center that is compliant with
54	the Statement on Auditing Standards No. 70. The website provider
55	shall provide a certificate of compliance to each clerk of the
56	court.
57	(3)(a)  A user may not be required to register with the
58	website and may not be charged for access to postings of legal
59	publications, advertisements, or notices of foreclosure actions
60	which are posted as provided in subparagraph (2)(b)1.
61	(b)  A user may be required to register with the website in
62	order to access postings of legal publications, advertisements,
63	or notices of foreclosure actions which are posted as provided
64	in subparagraph (2)(b)2. Each clerk of court may allow a fee and
65	determine an amount that the website provider may charge a user
66	to access postings of legal publications, advertisements, or
67	notices of foreclosure actions which are posted as provided in
68	subparagraph (2)(b)2.
69	(4)(a)  Each clerk of court and deputy clerk shall have 24-
70	hour access at no charge to all records relevant to the legal
71	publications, advertisements, or notices of foreclosure action
72	in the county of each clerk of court through a fully secure
73	portal accessed by a distinct user name and password.
74	(b)  The chief judge of each judicial circuit, and his or
75	her designee, shall have access at no charge to all documents
76	published or maintained on the website.
77	(5)  The website provider shall develop and maintain on
78	file, and provide to the clerk of court and the chief judge of
79	each judicial circuit, a disaster recovery plan for the website.
80	(6)(a)  The website provider shall publish its affidavits
81	electronically in substantial conformity with ss. 50.041 and
82	50.051, and may use an electronic notary seal.
83	(b)  Legal publication, advertisement, or notice of
84	foreclosure action shall be posted within 3 business days,
85	excluding court holidays, after the date for the foreclosure
86	sale is set, and shall continue for 10 days after the
87	foreclosure sale or for 90 consecutive days, whichever period is
88	longer. This paragraph does not affect the requirements for the
89	manner and time for constructive service by publication provided
90	by chapter 49 or the manner and time for notices of sale
91	provided in s. 45.031 if the notice provided in this section
92	continues for the 90-day period.
93	(c)  If the defendant refuses to accept or evades service
94	or if the agent serving process is unable to effect service,
95	legal publication, advertisement, or notice of foreclosure
96	action shall be posted on the website beginning on the date that
97	the affidavit of nonservice is recorded and shall continue
98	through the conclusion of the action or for 90 consecutive days,
99	whichever period is longer.
100	(7)  The legal publication, advertisement, or notice of
101	foreclosure action on the website must conform substantially
102	with the requirements of s. 50.011, unless inconsistent with
103	this section.
104	(8)  Each clerk of court may contract with a publicly
105	accessible Internet website provider for legal publication,
106	advertisement, or notice of foreclosure action as required by s.
107	702.035. Fees for publication shall be consistent with s.
108	50.061.
109	(a)  The website provider shall provide to the clerk of
110	court a quarterly accounting of revenue generated.
111	(b)  The website provider shall remit to the clerk of court
112	50 percent of all net revenue generated from the publication
113	fees for legal publication, advertisement, or notice of
114	foreclosure action.
115	(c)  The website provider shall deposit, by electronic
116	transfer at no cost to the clerk of court, the clerk of court's
117	share of the net revenue generated monthly by the 5th day of the
118	following month. Between each monthly deposit, the revenue shall
119	be held as provided by the contract between the website provider
120	and the clerk of court.
121	Section 2.  Section 702.035, Florida Statutes, is amended
122	to read:
123	702.035  Legal notice concerning foreclosure proceedings.-
124	Whenever a legal advertisement, publication, or notice relating
125	to a foreclosure proceeding is required to be placed in a
126	newspaper or posted on a publicly accessible Internet website as
127	provided in s. 50.015, it is the responsibility of the
128	petitioner or petitioner's attorney to place such advertisement,
129	publication, or notice. Unless posted on a publicly accessible
130	Internet website, for counties with more than 1 million total
131	population as reflected in the 2000 Official Decennial Census of
132	the United States Census Bureau as shown on the official website
133	of the United States Census Bureau, any notice of publication
134	required by this section shall be deemed to have been published
135	in accordance with the law if the notice is published in a
136	newspaper that has been entered as a periodical matter at a post
137	office in the county in which the newspaper is published, is
138	published a minimum of 5 days a week, exclusive of legal
139	holidays, and has been in existence and published a minimum of 5
140	days a week, exclusive of legal holidays, for 1 year or is a
141	direct successor to a newspaper that has been in existence for 1
142	year that has been published a minimum of 5 days a week,
143	exclusive of legal holidays. The advertisement, publication, or
144	notice shall be placed directly by the attorney for the
145	petitioner, by the petitioner if acting pro se, or by the clerk
146	of the court. Only the actual costs charged by the newspaper or
147	Internet website provider for the advertisement, publication, or
148	notice may be charged as costs in the action.
149	Section 3.  This act shall take effect April 1, 2012.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.