Oklahoma Bankers Association We make bankers better!
We have finally arrived at the last month of the state legislative session and I will say that everyone seems to be playing nice for now.
As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, the only thing the legislature is statutorily required to accomplish is pass a state budget. So, all the policy issues still being considered must be across the finish line b
efore the final budget is passed. Budget talks are heating up and we are getting close to leadership at the Capitol starting the difficult process of coming up with a final budget. There are several bills we are very involved with, but one is front and center.
SB 988
This bill moves EFS filings from the secretary of state’s office to Central Filing in Oklahoma County.
We haven’t had any group come out opposed to the bill, let alone have any concerns. We are excited for this bill, hopefully our banks and other stakeholders will gain access to real-time data and all the relevant information they need at their fingertips.
We will have to make one small change in the House, and once it passes there, it will have to go back to the Senate for final approval.
Below is a lot of information on what this bill does. We want to make sure everyone who would be impacted by this legislation has all the information they need.
Groups who are supporting this legislation:
Livestock Marketing Association (Sale Barns).
OK Ag Cooperative Council.
OBA.
Secretary of State’s Office.
Oklahoma County Clerk’s Office.
Why the change?
Desire of the industry (ag community and bankers) to have access to real-time data when it comes to EFS (Effective Finance Statement/agriculture liens). Currently there is a 30-day report you can sign up to receive.
Government efficiency — shorter delays for industry partners to receive data.
Streamline the process for the customer/client. One location for filings.
Why Oklahoma County Clerk’s office?
OKCC office is already the central filing system for UCC filings statewide. In 2001, UCC filings moved from the 77 individual counties to OKCC. They had a system and staff ready to take on the additional filings.
Just as in 2001, OKCC office is equipped and prepared to take on the additional workload of the EFS filings.
1. What will happen with all the existing filings? They will be transferred over from the SOS office to OKCC. How long will the SOS have to maintain a separate system for looking up previously filed liens? This is currently being discussed between the SOS office and OKCC. The plan is for there not to be two systems running at the same time. The active liens will be transferred first.
2. Any concern on moving over/transition time and there being discrepancy with order of priority on liens? No. UCC and ESF will both be filed as soon as they are submitted to the OKCC’s office. There will be two different documents, but to the same office. Postings can be finalized 24-28 hours (business hours).
3. Will the EFS fees change to be the same as the UCC fees? No, EFS will be the same as they are currently. The only thing that changes is where the EFS is filed.
3. How will the banks and customers become aware of this change? The OBA plans to do webinars and other training for the banks. The agriculture industry will communicate with their members.
4. Does it matter who is elected to the Clerk’s office? No, one of the main functions of the OKCC’s office is filing and preserving property documents.
5. What is an EFS? An EFS is a document that creditors file with the Secretary of State (currently) to indicate that farm products are subject to a security interest.
6. What information is included in the EFS?
Names and address of the secured party and the debtor.
The debtor’s unique identifier, such as a social security number.
A description of the farm products, including the amount and where they are located.
While I rarely spend this much time on a single piece of legislation, I felt this bill deserved the lengthy explanation since it will impact a lot of our bankers.
Once this bill is hopefully signed into law by Gov. Stitt, it will still be a while before it goes into effect. Should this bill pass, the Oklahoma County Clerk’s office will still have to be certified by the USDA. Once certification has been completed, this change in the process will go into effect 180 days after certification.
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The next time we go to press I’ll have a full re-cap of this entire session with a summary of what passed and what didn’t.