Summary
August 12, 2025
The Honorable Steve Bennett
California State Assembly
1021 O Street, Suite 5240
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: Support for AB 1430 (Bennett) – County Recorders: Fees
Dear Assemblymember Bennett,
On behalf of the Marin County Board of Supervisors, I am writing in support of AB 1430, which updates and modernizes the fee structure governing the operations of county recorder offices.
Recording fees have not been adjusted since 2010, despite increasing service demands and rising labor, technology, and archival costs. AB 1430 responsibly aligns recording fees with the actual cost of service provision, allowing county recorder offices to keep pace with inflation, invest in digital infrastructure, and continue delivering timely, accessible, and secure public services.
While we recognize that this change will reduce a modest, but reliable, source of general fund revenue, our Board will work closely with our elected Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk to mitigate that fiscal impact. This includes shifting appropriate positions or programmatic costs currently supported by the general fund to the new dedicated Recorder Fees Fund created under AB 1430. This will ensure continuity of service and staffing without compromising the County’s broader fiscal stability. AB 1430 is expected to generate more fee revenue to support the actual work of the Recorder’s Office, and—with strong collaboration between our Board and the Assessor-Recorder—we believe the legislation’s benefits will outweigh the modest general fund revenue shift.
We appreciate that AB 1430 includes safeguards to ensure fee levels do not exceed the actual cost of providing recording services, and we believe the bill provides counties with both the resources and flexibility needed to modernize service delivery and preserve public records effectively.
Thank you for your leadership and continued support of local government service delivery.
Sincerely,
Mary Sackett, President
Marin County Board of Supervisors
CC: Marin County Board of Supervisors
Senator Mike McGuire
Assemblymember Damon Connolly
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