the criminal element was a murder that occurred at a marijuana grow house. 35 However, there is not a lot of clarity as to how people would be prosecuted or sent to jail for making a false statement, but falsely averring to facts which would preclude applicability of Federal Drug Laws to the person or entity is quite a different matter altogether. Another question that arises is if a deed happened to be recorded without the affidavit after the effected date of the statue, where one was required, would that make the deed void? Currently there are no known situations where this has occurred, but with the uncertainty which existed immediately after the effective date of SB 212, and the inconsistency in which the various county clerks enforced the same, it is only a matter of time before a deed is challenged. In other similar situations the legislature has enacted savings provisions for non-compliant transactions, such as when a Power of Attorney is not filed in the county, or when there is a defect in execution or acknowledgment of a conveyance. We anticipate a similar legislative solution will be implemented in the future but will have to wait to see what form validation, if any, will take. Of course, more questions lead to more cases in the courts and more bills in the legislature. A new legislative proposal, SB 1705, was introduced with further proposed changes to SB 212, in an attempt to answer some of those lingering questions and provide further clarification on some of the issues pointed out above. SB 1705 has now passed in both the Senate and the House but has not yet been signed into law. Some 32.) Interestingly, the AG made clear that the 2023 amendments to §121 are intended to only affect surface interests where marijuana can be grown. The Opinion stated that there was no intent to affect any minerals, hard or soft, and that deeds conveying only subsurface mineral interest are necessarily exempt from the affidavit requirement. 33.) This statement has multiple purposes, while ostensibly to comply with §121(B), limiting the application only to intrastate business is an averment that the business is not in violation of Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, 50 Stat. 551 and Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, 84 Stat. 1236 a.k.a. Controlled Substances Act, 84 Stat. 1242. 34.) Id. 35.) Man demanded $300,000 before killing 4 workers at Oklahoma pot farm, prosecutors say, CBS NEWS (Dec. 5, 2022, 2:22 PM), https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chen-wu- charged-killing-4-workers-oklahoma-pot-farm-300000- investment/; State v. Chen Wu, No. CF-2022-72 (Dist. Ct. Kingfisher Cnty., Okla. filed Dec. 2, 2022)
judgments and decrees affecting title to land; · Deeds that do not convey title at time of recording – for example Transfer on Death Deeds, or correction deeds that cure title defects; · Deeds conveying only oil and gas, and other mineral interests; and · Leases and assignments of only oil and gas interests. 32 The Opinion also made clear that the elements which trigger the affidavit requirement are: (1) there is a recording of a deed, (2) the Grantee is taking title at the time of recording, and (3) the Grantee is a person, business entity, or trust. This Opinion helped to clear up many issues relating to application of the alien affidavit, outlined above, yet left others unanswered. This Opinion was also helpful in that it not only gave guidance to county clerks about the instruments requiring, or not requiring, affidavits to be filed, but also provided individuals and attorneys with official authority to provide to county clerks, on which they could rely, to record conveyances with or without affidavits, as their situation necessitated. The question as to what is considered interstate commerce is also tackled in this Opinion. “[E]ngaged in regulated interstate commerce” means that either the business is (a) expressly permitted by federal regulation or federal law or (b) not prohibited by federal regulation or federal law. We should note that the “exempt” business affidavit form does require the Affiant to acknowledge that “an entity engaged in or supporting the cultivation of marijuana in Oklahoma” does not qualify as engaging in regulated interstate commerce. 33 There was no mention in the affidavit or the AG’s Opinion about what “supporting” such operations might mean, leaving more questions as to marijuana manufacturing and sales, or even further ancillary businesses that could be affiliated with alien ownership, like lighting, heat and air systems, vaping equipment, to name a few. 34 Subsequent to the issuance of the AG’s Opinion, there are still various issues that arise and need clarification. The Affidavit itself adds a criminal element – the Affiant must acknowledge that making a false statement therein could result in criminal and/ or civil penalties. One reason given for the addition of
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G rowth T hrough E ducat i on - A pr i l / M ay / J une 2024
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