Good Documentation and Enforcement of Estate Deeds Act of 2022 or the Good DEED Act
This bill addresses deed fraud (i.e., forgery, impersonation, or willful misrepresentation of authority in connection with the execution of a written instrument transferring an interest in real property) by standardizing federal reporting of crimes related to deed fraud, enhancing federal penalties for individuals convicted of such crimes, and establishing a competitive grant program for states and certain localities to respond to deed fraud.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9192 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9192
To direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish a
grant program to address deed fraud, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 18, 2022
Mr. Cleaver (for himself and Mr. Evans) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in
addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish a
grant program to address deed fraud, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Good Documentation and Enforcement
of Estate Deeds Act of 2022'' or the ``Good DEED Act''.
SEC. 2. DEED FRAUD GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
shall establish a program (in this section referred to as the
``Program'') to award grants, on a competitive basis, to address deed
fraud in accordance with this section.
(b) Eligibility.--
(1) Eligible entities.--In carrying out the Program, the
Secretary may award a grant to the following:
(A) A State.
(B) A political subdivision of a State with a
population of 200,000 or more individuals.
(2) Applications.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
the Program, an entity specified in paragraph (1) shall submit
to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner,
and containing such information as the Secretary determines
appropriate.
(3) Fingerprint requirement.--To be eligible to receive a
grant under the Program, an entity specified in paragraph (1)
that is a State shall require that if a document to be
notarized is a written instrument transferring an interest in
real property, any notary public preforming an in-person
notarization shall--
(A) if a print notary journal is used, require the
party signing the document to place his or her right
thumbprint or other finger print as appropriate in a
sequential notary journal entry; and
(B) if an electronic notary journal is used--
(i) save to such journal a picture of the
signing party's face; or
(ii) save to such journal a video of the
signer during the act of signing.
(4) Recording retention requirement.--To be eligible to
receive a grant under the Program, a State shall require any
notary public performing remote notarization using audio-visual
technology with respect to a written instrument transferring an
interest in real property to submit an audio and visual
recording of the notarization to a repository approved by such
State where such recording shall be retained for not less than
10 years.
(c) Use of Funds.--A grant recipient under the Program may only use
grant amounts to fund the following activities carried out by the
recipient or a covered organization:
(1) Legal assistance related to deed fraud for a low-income
individual.
(2) Coverage of costs associated with clearing a title for
a low-income individual.
(3) Acquisition, upgrade, or implementation of technology
that--
(A) assists in preventing or detecting or
responding to deed fraud;
(B) facilitates communication in response to the
detection of deed fraud;
(C) assists in the creation of websites relating to
deed fraud;
(D) assists in the creation and use of public
notification systems;
(E) allows for geospatial information system
mapping of deed fraud report locations;
(F) enhances the indexing of information relating
to deed fraud;
(G) improves the exchange of data relating to deed
fraud; or
(H) reduces notarial fraud or mistake in the
performance of notarial acts.
(4) Assistance in the prevention, detection, investigation,
and prosecution of deed fraud, including through the provision
of--
(A) education and training;
(B) information sharing and partnership
facilitation;
(C) research support and other assistance
supportive of intelligence-focused policing; and
(D) investigative support, including support staff,
detectives, and prosecutors.
(d) Selection Criteria.--
(1) Priority.--In awarding grants under the Program, the
Secretary shall give priority to grant applications that
propose to assist an area with a high actual or potential risk
of deed fraud affecting title, as determined by the Secretary.
(2) Minimum allocation for legal services.--At least 35
percent of the amounts awarded by the Secretary under the
Program shall be used to provide legal assistance described in
subsections (c)(1) and (c)(2).
(e) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Financial
Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking,
Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate a report on the Program,
including--
(1) a description of activities funded under the Program;
(2) an identification of factors that increase and decrease
the likelihood of deed fraud, which shall include the impact of
state laws; and
(3) an assessment of the effectiveness of the Program in
assisting victims of deed fraud affecting title.
(f) Uniform Crime Reporting Program.--The Director of the Federal
Bureau of Investigations shall, not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, add a categories for deed fraud to the
Uniform Crime Reporting Program.
(g) United States Sentencing Commission.--The United States
Sentencing Commission, shall, not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act promulgate guidelines or amend existing
guidelines to provide sentencing enhancements for offenses that involve
deed fraud.
(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2023 through 2027.
(i) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Covered organization.--The term ``covered
organization'' means each of the following:
(A) A legal services organization;
(B) a non-profit organization, or a State, Tribal,
or local government agency that develops laws, policies
or programs designed to prevent, detect, deter and
remedy deed fraud and related issues; and
(2) Journal.--The term ``journal'' means--
(A) a record of notarial acts that is created and
maintained by a notary public; or
(B) all journals of notarial acts created and
maintained by a notary public.
(3) Legal services organization.--The term ``legal services
organization'' means--
(A) an accredited law school;
(B) a public provider of legal aid or legal
services; or
(C) a nonprofit provider of legal aid or legal
services.
(4) Low-income individual.--The term ``low-income
individual'' means an individual with a household income that
does not exceed 80 percent of the median income of the area in
which such individual resides, as determined by the Secretary.
(5) Deed fraud.--The term ``deed fraud'' means forgery,
impersonation, or willful misrepresentation of authority in
connection with the execution of a written instrument
transferring an interest in real property.
(6) Written instrument transferring an interest in real
property.-- The term ``written instrument transferring an
interest in real property'' includes any deed, mortgage,
satisfaction of mortgage, contract of sale, assignment or
termination of any of the foregoing, or any other instrument
which does or may evidence, create, transfer, terminate or
otherwise affect a legal right or interest in real property, or
is required for the filing of a deed, including a notarial
certificate, with an agency of a State or any political
subdivision, public authority or public benefit corporation of
a State.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
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