5-11-18

HBAI To Oppose County Recorders Legislation

Bill Ward, Executive Vice President, HBAI

Spring session adjournment is three weeks away and the Home Builders have put to bed most legislation they are opposed to or have amended bills to a position of neutrality.

One bill still out there that we’d like to improve is HB5201, a bill to allow County Recorders to remove invalid and expired mechanics liens on residential property. County Recorders allege that bad liens are rapidly growing and that they cloud title to the transfer of residential property.

To remedy this, they propose that they should be allowed to remove liens through administrative (rather than judicial) means, determining on their own if a lien is invalid or expired. HB5201 creates a three-year pilot program that would allow County Recorders to assess the validity and timeliness of these liens and expunge them from the deed should they decide to do so.

HBAI, the Illinois State Bar Association, and the Illinois Mechanical Specialty Contractors Association oppose this new authority to the Recorders’ office and are asking for an amendment that will delete their ability to review an “invalid” lien and leave them with the ability to determine whether a lien is expired or not. The three associations opposed to the bill believe a Judge should still decide whether a lien is valid, not an employee in a Recorders office.

Our amendment also cuts back many of the bill’s administrative steps and attempts to make HB5201 understandable, simple, and effective. The bill will be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee next week.