Modifies provisions governing the recording of land surveys
Summary
HB 1078 revises Missouri law governing the recording and preservation of land survey records. The bill repeals and reenacts sections 60.650 and 60.653 to require surveyors who establish, restore, or reestablish corners creating a new parcel of land to file the survey results with the county recorder of deeds within 60 days after certification. It also preserves an alternative filing option by allowing surveyors to file those results with the Missouri Department of Agriculture’s land survey program instead of the recorder of deeds.
The bill further updates the duties of recorders of deeds regarding survey plats. Recorders must maintain copies of survey plats in a reproducible file medium, place them in plat books or other established record books, provide duplicates to the land survey program at cost, and maintain an index of survey plats, subdivision plats, and condominium plats by legal description and name. The bill also clarifies evidentiary rules: certified copies of recorded survey plats remain admissible in court, but survey results filed only with the land survey program are not evidence in court unless they are also filed with and certified by the recorder of deeds.
Impact
HB 1078 would amend Missouri’s land records and surveying statutes by refining filing procedures, recordkeeping duties, and evidentiary treatment of survey plats. It affects surveyors, county recorders of deeds, the Missouri Department of Agriculture’s land survey program, and parties relying on survey records in property disputes, title work, and court proceedings. The bill preserves the recorder of deeds as the primary public record for legal evidentiary purposes while allowing an administrative filing alternative with the state land survey program.
Sentiment
No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate or partisan division in the available materials. Based on the bill text and caption, the measure appears technical and administrative in nature, with an apparent goal of improving the handling and preservation of land survey records rather than changing substantive property rights. The available context suggests a neutral to likely routine reception typical of recordkeeping and land administration updates.
Contention
The main potential point of contention is the dual-filing structure: surveyors may file with the Department of Agriculture instead of the recorder of deeds, but those state-filed records do not carry the same evidentiary status in court unless also filed with the recorder and certified. That distinction could matter to surveyors, county recorders, title professionals, and litigants who depend on survey plats as legal evidence. Another possible issue is the added administrative burden on recorders of deeds to maintain indexes, copies, and duplicates, though the bill also standardizes and clarifies those responsibilities.