1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to counties; providing for an alternative 
  1.3             method of describing real property for some purposes; 
  1.4             proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.5             chapter 507.  
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [507.071] [ALTERNATIVE DESCRIPTION.] 
  1.8      (a) On the written recommendation of the county recorder or 
  1.9   county registrar, a board of county commissioners, by 
  1.10  resolution, may authorize an alternate method of describing real 
  1.11  estate on documents recorded or filed with the county. 
  1.12     (b) The alternate method must be a unique number that must 
  1.13  be assigned by the county recorder or registrar to each 
  1.14  individual property as described in the first instrument of 
  1.15  conveyance for each newly created real property description; or 
  1.16  created by recorded or filed plats, condominium floor plans, CIC 
  1.17  plats, or registered land surveys. 
  1.18     (c) When converted to this system, the real property 
  1.19  description from the most recent instrument of conveyance must 
  1.20  be assigned a unique number by the county recorder or registrar 
  1.21  and lots or units shown on previously recorded or filed plats, 
  1.22  registered land surveys, condominium floor plans, and CIC plats 
  1.23  must be assigned a unique number by the county recorder or 
  1.24  registrar. 
  1.25     (d) The county recorder and registrar must keep a record of 
  2.1   all parcels of land that have been coded under this system.  In 
  2.2   the record, the recorder or registrar must enter the description 
  2.3   of the land as described in the instrument of conveyance of 
  2.4   record in the office of the county recorder or registrar of 
  2.5   titles and the unique number assigned to each parcel.  In a 
  2.6   county using a tract index, as provided in section 386.05, the 
  2.7   unique number must be indexed to provide a cross-reference from 
  2.8   the tract index to the unique number. 
  2.9      (e) If a parcel of land has been numbered, as provided in 
  2.10  this section, and notice of the numbering has been given to the 
  2.11  owner of the land, the number is a legal and valid description 
  2.12  of the land and must be so used on any documents requiring a 
  2.13  real property description.  
  2.14     (f) The described notice must be mailed by first class mail 
  2.15  to the fee owner and taxpayer of record for each property 
  2.16  converted to this system.  The notice must contain the real 
  2.17  property description of the property and the unique assigned 
  2.18  number.  
  2.19     (g) Instruments of conveyance that are divisions of 
  2.20  existing real property descriptions that have previously been 
  2.21  assigned a unique number, as described in this section, must 
  2.22  contain the full real property description of the property to be 
  2.23  conveyed and must be accompanied by another document containing 
  2.24  the real property description of the rest of the previously 
  2.25  numbered description.  On receipt of the instruments, the county 
  2.26  recorder or registrar must assign unique numbers to each real 
  2.27  property description and notify the fee owner and taxpayer as 
  2.28  required in this section.  
  2.29     (h) Liens, mortgages, notices, or other documents that do 
  2.30  not convey title may still contain real property descriptions if 
  2.31  they only affect part of properties covered by the unique 
  2.32  numbers described in this section.