law

Idoni Works with Governor on State Bill that will Reduce Paper, Costs

May 17, 2010

“The time for electronic recording in New York State is now,” stated Westchester County Clerk Tim Idoni who serves as the co-chair of the eRecording Committee of the New York State Association of County Clerks.                                

Governments across the nation have leveraged technology to reduce the use of paper while at the same time reducing costs.  Allowing for electronic recording of land records such as deeds and mortgages has been a popular way to accomplish these two goals but New York State remains the only state in the nation without legislation authorizing the electronic recording of land records.

 “The time for electronic recording in New York State is now,” stated Westchester County Clerk Tim Idoni who serves as the co-chair of the eRecording Committee of the New York State Association of County Clerks.  “We are proud to work with Governor Paterson to introduce legislation which provides the foundation for the New York land records industry to move into the 21st century,” continued Idoni. 

Governor’s Program Bill #252 introduced last week, and if passed, would allow land records, such as deeds and mortgages, to be submitted to the offices of County Clerks or the New York City Register as either digitized paper documents or true electronic records.  “We have all become comfortable doing our business electronically,” shared Idoni.  “Think of how many times a week we make a purchase by signing our names to an electronic pad rather than a piece of paper.”  Idoni noted that this legislation opens the door to creating similar conveniences and cost-savings for the land records industry.

While the savings eRecording brings will vary from county to county, they are real and come at the perfect time as government is called upon to deliver better service with fewer resources.  Idoni launched his Property Records Electronic Portal (PREP System) for land records submissions at the beginning of 2010 and was able to immediately capture $750,000 is cost-savings through a reduced need for personnel.  If electronic recording is authorized in New York State costs associated with scanning and mailing paper documents will be eliminated for electronically submitted documents.  And electronic recording improves accuracy and speeds recording times as well.

For more information, or a copy of the proposed legislation, please contact Eileen Songer McCarthy at (914)995-4287 or .