Section 9--710. Transitional Provision for Maintaining and Searching Local-Filing Office Records

(a) In this Section:
         (1) "Local-filing office" means a filing office, other  than  the
             department  of  state, that is designated as the proper place
             to file a financing statement under Section 9-401  of  Former
             Article  9.  The  term  applies only with respect to a record
             that covers a type of  collateral  as  to  which  the  filing
             office  is  designated in that section as the proper place to
             file.
         (2) "Former-Article-9 records" means:
             (A) financing statements and other  records  that  have  been
                 filed  in a local-filing office before the effective date
                 of this Article, and that are,  or  upon  processing  and
                 indexing  will  be, reflected in the index maintained, as
                 of  the  effective  date  of   this   Article,   by   the
                 local-filing  office  for  financing statements and other
                 records filed  in  the  local-filing  office  before  the
                 effective date of this Article, and
             (B) the index as of the day before the effective date of this
                 Article.
             The term does not include records presented to a local-filing
                 office  for  filing  after  the  effective  date  of this
                 Article, whether or not the records relate  to  financing
                 statements  filed  in  the local-filing office before the
                 effective date of this Article.
         (3) "Cooperative     interest",     "mortgage",     "as-extracted
             collateral",  "fixture  filing",  "goods" and "fixtures" have
             the meanings set forth in this Article.
    (b) A  local-filing  office  must  not  accept  for  filing  a  record
  presented on or after the effective date of this Article, whether or not
  the  record  relates  to a financing statement filed in the local-filing
  office before the effective date of this Article.
    (c) Until at least seven  years  after  the  effective  date  of  this
  Article,  each  local-filing  office shall maintain all former-Article-9
  records in accordance with Former Article 9. A  former-Article-9  record
  that  is  not  reflected  on  the index maintained on the day before the
  effective date of this  Article  by  the  local-filing  office  must  be
  processed  and  indexed as soon as practicable but in any event no later
  than thirty days after the effective date of this Article.
    (d) Until at least seven  years  after  the  effective  date  of  this
  Article,   each  local-filing  office  shall  respond  to  requests  for
  information with respect  to  former-Article-9  records  relating  to  a
  debtor  and issue certificates, in accordance with Former Article 9. The
  fees charged for responding to requests for information  relating  to  a
  debtor and issuing certificates with respect to former-Article-9 records
  shall be the fees in effect under Former Article 9 on the day before the
  effective  date  of  this  Article,  unless  a  different  fee  is later
  determined in accordance with section ninety-six-a of the executive law.
    (e) Subsequent to  seven  years  after  the  effective  date  of  this
  Article,  each local-filing office may remove and destroy, in accordance
  with any then  applicable  record  retention  law  of  this  state,  all
  former-Article-9 records, including the related index.
    (f) This section shall not apply, with respect to financing statements
  and  other  records, to a filing office in which mortgages or records of
  mortgages on real property are required to be filed or recorded, if:
         (1) the  collateral  is  timber  to  be   cut   or   as-extracted
             collateral; or

         (2) the  record is or relates to a financing statement filed as a
             fixture filing and the collateral is goods that are or are to
             become fixtures; or
         (3) the collateral is a cooperative interest.