There's scarcely any asset in Hawai'i more precious than land, so keeping the records clear on who owns what parcel can't be treated casually.

But the time has come for lawmakers to bring the process up to date through House Bill 2302, allowing the Bureau of Conveyances to record land transfers electronically. Senators seem hesitant to enable the switch, some favoring a feasibility study first. The House shows more openness toward change, and this approach should prevail.

It became clear more than a year ago that the state Bureau of Conveyances had a backlog that had raised ethical concerns among lawmakers because of the way the catch-up work had been outsourced.

Hawai'i has a complex land-recording system, with some conveyances given the all-clear by the Land Court, others through title search.

State law also sees that the paper trail is scrupulously checked, requiring hard copies of all documents and manual signatures. That may have made sense in the past, but now standards for electronic filings have improved to the point that there's no reason to cling to an inefficient system.

In the bureau's offices sit stacks of documents waiting to be unstapled, scanned for the electronic archive, restapled and mailed out.

That's a ludicrous waste of time and money. Four years ago, a national conference on uniform state laws created standards of effective and retrievable electronic records and signatures that have been enacted in 15 states.

There's ample precedence to show this system works. And the state Department of Land and Natural Resources has tapped a working group of industry professionals to guide it through the conversion to electronic records.

More delay seems pointless. As HB 2302 moves toward conference committee this week, lawmakers should allow the bureau's plan to move forward. Considering the uproar in the Senate last year over the failings of the bureau, it shouldn't now impede the agency's drive to work harder and smarter.