The Land Records Improvement Fund committee met on Friday, November 2nd at the Administrative Office of the Court. MLTA members Bill O’Connell and Jim Cosgrove attended to represent the interests of the Maryland land title industry. Maryland’s Courts are quickly rolling out e-recording across the state, with only a few jurisdictions still working toward going “live” with the new technology.
Counties Currently e-Recording
- Allegany County
- Anne Arundel County
- Baltimore County
- Carroll County
- Cecil County
- Charles County
- Dorchester County
- Frederick County
- Garrett County
- Harford County
- Howard County
- Kent County
- Montgomery County
- Prince George’s County
- Queen Anne’s County
- Talbot County
- Washington County
- Wicomico County
- Worcester County
Counties not yet e-Recording
- Baltimore City
- Calvert County
- Caroline County
- Somerset County
- St. Mary’s County
The Land Records Improvement Fund is projected to be depleted by 2022 due to a systemic structural deficit; all the interest generated by the Fund is directed to the State’s General Fund. If the surcharge is allowed to go back to $20 per instrument from the current $40 in 2020 as presently scheduled, the Fund will be exhausted in 2021. Note – these are estimates based on historical data, assuming no significant changes.
The committee did not discuss any options, but AOC will be issuing its annual report in the coming weeks to inform the Governor and Maryland State Legislature of potential problems.