BILL #    SB 1310	TITLE: false documents; recording; violations
SPONSOR:    Carroll	STATUS: As Amended by Senate JUDE
PREPARED BY:    Benjamin Beutler

Description

The bill would change the penalty for a forged document that asserts a claim to real property from a class 1 misdemeanor to a class 4 felony.

Estimated Impact

We estimate the bill could have a fiscal impact on the Superior Court to the extent that additional deed fraud cases are heard by the Superior Court rather than municipal courts. The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) believes these costs will not be significant. 

Analysis

Municipal courts have jurisdiction for misdemeanor crimes committed in a city or town, while the Superior Court has jurisdiction over felony offenses committed in each county. Changing the penalty from a class 1 misdemeanor to a class 4 felony would move deed fraud cases from the municipal courts to the Superior Court, resulting in additional caseload for the Superior Court.  

2/17/25