ST. PAUL – State Rep. Dennis Smith’s (R-Maple Grove) first piece of legislation was passed unanimously by the Minnesota House of Representatives on Thursday, February 26, 2015.
House File 262 allows cities, towns, and counties to use additional evidence of title to approve plats. Because of an unclear state law, some local governments require property owners and developers to submit an abstract with a request for plat approval. However, many localities permit the title insurance or title opinion – rather than an abstract – to be sufficient evidence of title.
House File 262 clarifies that local governments have the discretion to do this.
“This common sense solution will save our counties and landowners time and money in plat transactions,” said Smith. “I am thankful that my colleagues saw the necessity for passing this important fix of current state statutes in order to ease the process for all Minnesotans.”
Smith is the first of the 26 freshmen members of the House of have a stand-alone bill pass off of the House floor this session.
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