Senate Bill 234 Summary

• Secretary of state may refuse to file or record documents that are not authorized for filing or that the secretary has reasonable cause to believe are materially false or fraudulent.

• Establishes specific types of financing statements considered fraudulent, including those with identical debtor and secured party names, those identifying individual debtors as transmitting utilities, those filed without consent of the debtor or collateral owner, and forged documents.

• Requires secretary of state to file a previously rejected Uniform Commercial Code record with a notice of correction stating the original tender date and time if a secured party demonstrates the rejection was improper.

• Permits individuals to file a motion for judicial review of a financing statement; courts may award costs (including filing fees and attorney's fees), declare the statement ineffective, and order its termination or purge if found fraudulent.

• Secretary of state has no duty to inspect, evaluate, or investigate documents presented for filing, and must create and post a form to assist unrepresented individuals with judicial review filings.