How Will The Potential State Shutdown in Minnesota Affect Your UCC & Corporate Transactions?
UCC, Corporate, Due Diligence
Across the nation, state and county-level governments face overwhelming budget shortfalls, dramatically impacting their ability to deliver public services. We learned this week that things are particularly bad in the state of Minnesota.
Due to a statewide budget crisis, the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office is facing a potential closure. The Minnesota State Legislature adjourned last month without appropriating money to fund state government operations for the fiscal year that begins on July 1, 2011. The Secretary of State’s office will be unable to provide public services without these funds. Minnesota and county recorders and courts are also at risk.
Read the Secretary of State’s press release here
The Attorney General has intervened, seeking a court order that would allow essential government functions to continue, including the services provided by the Secretary of State’s office. It is unknown at this time whether a decision can be reached before June 30, 2011 in order to avoid disruption of services.
In the event of a Secretary of State shutdown:
§ No UCC Financing Statements or Amendments will be filed
§ No UCC and Lien searches will be performed
§ No new business entities can be formed
§ No copies of corporate records can be made or certificates issued
§ No apostilles or authentications will be applied to documents
§ No substituted service of process will be available
If you have any upcoming deals in Minnesota, we encourage you to submit your search and filing requests as soon as possible to avoid any negative consequences of the potential shutdown.
In the event of a Secretary of State shutdown, First Corporate Solutions will still be able to provide UCC and Lien searches; however please note the index date will not advance until the state reopens for business.
Please feel free to contact us at 800.406.1577 | info@ficoso.com with any questions or to initiate an expedited Minnesota service request.
[Update: 6/30/2011]
It is unknown at this time whether lawmakers can reach an agreement before close of business on June 30, 2011 in order to avoid disruption of services. We encourage you to submit your search and filing requests as soon as possible to avoid any negative consequences of the potential shutdown. The Secretary of State’s office will remain open until 8:00pm CDT today to assist customers in completing their critical transactions.