Act No. 212

Public Acts of 2004

Approved by the Governor

July 14, 2004

Filed with the Secretary of State

July 14, 2004

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 2005

STATE OF MICHIGAN

92ND LEGISLATURE

REGULAR SESSION OF 2004

Introduced by Reps. Shackleton, Brandenburg, Casperson, Richardville, Tabor, Ehardt, Stahl, Vander Veen, Ward, Milosch, Sheen, Pappageorge, Kooiman, Steil, Drolet, Hummel, Acciavatti, Hoogendyk, LaJoy, Nofs, Bradstreet, Farhat, Walker, Rocca, Howell, Middaugh, Meyer, Garfield, Pumford, Caul, Pastor and Plakas

ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 5148

AN ACT to amend 1962 PA 174, entitled "An act to enact the uniform commercial code, relating to certain commercial transactions in or regarding personal property and contracts and other documents concerning them, including sales, commercial paper, bank deposits and collections, letters of credit, bulk transfers, warehouse receipts, bills of lading, other documents of title, investment securities, leases, and secured transactions, including certain sales of accounts, chattel paper and contract rights; to provide for public notice to third parties in certain circumstances; to regulate procedure, evidence and damages in certain court actions involving such transactions, contracts or documents; to make uniform the law with respect thereto; to make an appropriation; to provide penalties; and to repeal certain acts and parts of acts," by amending sections 9501 and 9525 (MCL 440.9501 and 440.9525), section 9501 as amended and section 9525 as added by 2000 PA 348.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

Sec. 9501. (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2), the office in which to file a financing statement to perfect the security interest or agricultural lien is 1 of the following:

(a) The office designated for the filing or recording of a record of a mortgage on the related real property, if the collateral is as-extracted collateral or timber to be cut, or the financing statement is filed as a fixture filing and the collateral is goods that are or are to become fixtures.

(b) The office of secretary of state in all other cases, including a case in which the collateral is goods that are or are to become fixtures and the financing statement is not filed as a fixture filing.

(2) The office in which to file a financing statement to perfect a security interest in collateral, including fixtures, of a transmitting utility is the office of the secretary of state. The financing statement also constitutes a fixture filing as to the collateral indicated in the financing statement which is or is to become fixtures.

(3) Any financing statement filed under subsection (1)(a) with a register of deeds and any continuation statement, termination statement, amendment, or assignment relating to the financing statement and meeting the formal requisites of this part shall be recorded by the register of deeds, notwithstanding the provisions for witnessing and acknowledging instruments to be recorded in the real property records contained in section 47 of 1846 RS 65, MCL 565.47.

(4) If the office of secretary of state receives a financing statement under subsection (1)(b) or (2) for filing, and any debtor identified on the financing statement is an individual, the secretary of state shall provide written notice of the filing of the financing statement to that debtor. The secretary of state shall determine the form of the written notice and the written notice shall contain at least all of the following information:

(a) The debtor's name and address as shown on the financing statement.

(b) The secured party's name and address as shown on the financing statement.

(c) The remedies available to the debtor under this act if he or she believes that the financing statement is erroneously or fraudulently filed.

(5) In addition to the written notice described in subsection (4), the secretary of state shall provide at no charge to a debtor described in that subsection a copy or image of the filed financing statement and any attachments. If the debtor requests additional copies or searches, the fees provided in section 9525 apply to that request.

(6) A person shall not knowingly or intentionally file a false or fraudulent financing statement with the office of the secretary of state under subsection (1)(b) or (2). In addition to any other penalty provided by law, a violation of this subsection is a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine of not more than $2,500.00, or both. If the person is convicted of the violation, the court may find that the financing statement is ineffective and may order the office of the secretary of state to terminate the financing statement and may order restitution.

(7) If a person files a false or fraudulent financing statement with the office of the secretary of state under subsection (1)(b) or (2), a debtor named in that financing statement may file an action against the person that filed the financing statement seeking appropriate equitable relief or damages, including, but not limited to, an order declaring the financing statement ineffective and ordering the office of the secretary of state to terminate the financing statement, and reasonable attorney fees.

Sec. 9525. (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3) or (4), the fee for filing and indexing a record under this part is $15.00.

(2) A filing office shall charge a person a fee for responding to a request for a search of the records filed with a filing office concerning a debtor, including issuance of a certificate describing each presently effective record filed concerning the debtor if requested. The fee is $6.00, plus 1 or more of the following, if applicable:

(a) If the person requests expediting of the regular search process, an additional fee of $25.00.

(b) If the person requests copies of the presently effective records disclosed by the search, an additional fee of $2.00 per page.

(c) If the filing office is the secretary of state and the person requests that the secretary of state include an impression of the official seal of the secretary of state on the certificate, an additional fee of $6.00.

(3) This section does not require a fee with respect to a record of a mortgage that is effective as a financing statement filed as a fixture filing or as a financing statement covering as-extracted collateral or timber to be cut under section 9502(3). However, the recording and satisfaction fees that otherwise would be applicable to the record of the mortgage apply.

(4) There is no fee for filing and indexing a correction statement filed with the office of the secretary of state under section 9518, filed by an individual named as a debtor on a record indexed by the secretary of state.

Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect January 1, 2005.

Enacting section 2. This amendatory act does not take effect unless Senate Bill No. 1260 of the 92nd Legislature is enacted into law.

This act is ordered to take immediate effect.

Clerk of the House of Representatives

Secretary of the Senate

Approved

Governor