§39A-4-5. Administration and standards.

(a) For the purpose of keeping the standards and practices of county clerks in this state in harmony with the standards and practices of recording offices in other jurisdictions that enact substantially the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act, and to keep the technology used by clerks in this state compatible with technology used by recording offices in other jurisdictions that enact substantially this act, the Secretary of State shall establish the Real Property Electronic Recording Standards Advisory Committee, developed pursuant to this article, to assist in the adoption, amendment, and repeal of standards and practices.

(b) The Secretary of State shall appoint at least 18 persons to serve on the committee. In selecting persons to serve on the committee, the Secretary of State shall appoint:

(1) At least one person who is an attorney who specializes in title work;

(2) At least one person who is a specialist in geographic information system (GIS) mapping;

(3) A representative of the Division of Highways;

(4) A representative of the County Clerks’ Association;

(5) A representative of the County Commissioners’ Association;

(6) A representative of the State Auditor;

(7) A representative of the Governor’s Office of Technology;

(8) A representative of the Division of Culture and History;

(9) A representative of the Community Bankers of West Virginia;

(10) A representative of the West Virginia Bankers’ Association;

(11) A representative of the West Virginia Housing Development Fund;

(12) A representative of the Real Estate Division of the Department of Administration;

(13) A representative of the Property Tax Division of the Department of Tax and Revenue;

(14) A representative of the West Virginia Board of Professional Surveyors;

(15) A representative of the West Virginia Real Estate Commission;

(16) At least one representative representing the mineral extraction industry;

(17) A representative of the West Virginia University College of Law with experience in real property law; and

(18) A representative of the Real Estate Lawyers Division of the West Virginia State Bar Association.

(c) In establishing, amending, and repealing standards and practices for the recording of documents in electronic form, storing electronic records, and setting up systems for searching for and retrieving these land records, the committee shall consider:

(1) Standards and practices of other jurisdictions;

(2) The most recent standards promulgated by national standard-setting bodies such as the Property Records Industry Association;

(3) The views of interested persons and governmental officials and entities;

(4) The needs of counties of varying size, population, and resources; and

(5) Standards requiring adequate information security protection to ensure that electronic documents are accurate, authentic, adequately preserved, and resistant to tampering.

(d) The Secretary of State, or his or her designee, shall serve as chair of the Real Property Electronic Recording Standards Advisory Committee.

(e) The Secretary of State shall:

(1) Provide administrative support to the committee; and

(2) Propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code that contain the standards to implement this article.

(f) Each person, agency, board, and organization on the committee shall cover his or her own expenses necessitated by participation on the committee.

(g) The Secretary of State shall submit a report to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance on or before January 1 of each year until its tasks are complete. The report shall include its efforts to adopt standards in accordance with the requirements of this article and recommendations for further legislative action necessary to effectuate the purposes of this article.