Chapter 183 Oregon Laws 1999

Session Law

AN ACT

SB 436

Relating to title insurance; creating new provisions; amending ORS 731.438; and prescribing an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:

SECTION 1. ORS 731.438 is amended to read:

731.438. (1) A title insurer, in order to receive and maintain a certificate of authority, shall own and maintain at all times a title plant covering a period of at least the immediately preceding [20] 50 years except years before 1960 and consisting of a general index, adequate maps and currently posted tract or geographic indexes for all the lands in the county in which title insurance policies or other title services are to be issued or provided. Either directly or through its agent, a title insurer also shall own and maintain for each additional county in which it shall be authorized to transact a title insurance business a comparable title plant or obtain from a person having a comparable title plant for such additional county or counties title [evidence] insurance showing the status of the title.

(2) The means by which tract or geographic indexes may be currently posted for purposes of subsection (1) of this section include but are not limited to maintenance of the information on ledger sheets, separate cards or sheets of film, whether bound in books or contained in envelopes or storage files, or maintenance of the information on punch cards, computer tape, disc or similar machine compatible form. All title services by a title insurer must be provided in this state. The information upon which the title services are based must be maintained and must be capable of reproduction in this state at all times.

(3) Every title insurance transaction by a title insurer or agent involving the status of title of an Oregon title risk shall be based on one or more title plants which:

(a) Cover the location of the risk;

(b) Meet the requirements of this section; and

(c) Are owned and maintained by one or more title insurers or agents as provided in subsections (4), (5) and (6) of this section.

(4) For any county with a population of 500,000 or more, or any county with a population of 200,000 or more that is contiguous to a county with a population of 500,000 or more, ownership and maintenance of a title plant shall be as provided in this subsection:

[(a) Until July 1, 2001, the title plant ownership and maintenance referred to in subsection (1) of this section shall be ownership and maintenance exclusively by the particular title insurer with respect to the portion of the required 20-year period which precedes January 1, 1980, and may be on either an exclusive basis or a joint ownership and maintenance basis as provided in paragraph (c) of this subsection, for the rest of the required 20-year period.]

[(b)] (a) [On and after July 1, 2001,] The title plant referred to in subsection (1) of this section may be owned and maintained [either] on an exclusive basis or on a joint basis [for at least the required 20-year portion] as provided in paragraph [(c)] (b) of this subsection.

[(c)] (b) A title plant is owned and maintained on a joint basis under this subsection if two or more persons own and maintain a portion of the title plant as joint venturers, partners, shareholders or participants in another form of joint, several or common property ownership recognized under the laws of this state. If ownership of a title plant is held by fewer than four title insurers or agents, each share of ownership shall be at least 25 percent. If ownership of a title plant is held by four or more insurers or agents, all shares shall be equal.

(5) A title insurer authorized to transact title insurance in this state and every agent of such an authorized title insurer shall own and maintain a title plant.

(6) In any county not described in subsection (4) of this section, a title insurer or its agents transacting title insurance business shall solely own [and maintain] a title plant for that county in conformance with subsections (1) and (2) of this section and shall maintain a title plant for that county on an exclusive basis or a joint basis in conformance with subsections (1) and (2) of this section. A title plant for a county is maintained on a joint basis under this subsection if a title insurer or agent obtains current posting information for its tract or geographic indexes from one or more other title insurers or agents or from a provider that is wholly owned in equal shares by the title insurers or agents utilizing the provider's services.

SECTION 2. Section 3 of this 1999 Act is added to and made a part of ORS chapter 731.

SECTION 3. A title plant that conforms on December 31, 1999, with ORS 731.438 (1) and (2) (1997 Edition) satisfies the requirements of ORS 731.438 (1) as amended by section 1 of this 1999 Act if it also contains after that date a general index, adequate maps and currently posted tract or geographic indexes for all lands in the county.

SECTION 4. Sections 2 and 3 of this 1999 Act and the amendments to ORS 731.438 by section 1 of this 1999 Act take effect on January 1, 2000.

Approved by the Governor May 5, 1999

Filed in the office of Secretary of State May 5, 1999

Effective date January 1, 2000

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