Bill Text: CA AB1093 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 1093 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Remote online notaries public.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-06-20 - In committee: Set, second hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. [AB1093 Detail]

Download: California-2021-AB1093-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly March 18, 2021

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1093

Introduced by Assembly Member Jones-Sawyer

February 18, 2021

An act to ~~amend Section 1189 of the Civil Code,~~ add the heading of Article 1 (commencing with Section 8200) to, and to add Article 2 (commencing with Section 8231) to, Chapter 3 of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code, relating to notaries public.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1093, as amended, Jones-Sawyer. ~~Notaries public: certificate of acknowledgment.~~ Remote online notaries public.

Existing law authorizes the Secretary of State to appoint and commission notaries public in the number the Secretary of State deems necessary for the public convenience. Existing law authorizes notaries public to act as notaries in any part of the state and prescribes the manner and method of notarizations.
This bill, the California Notary Protection Act, would authorize a notary public to apply for registration with the secretary to be a remote online notary public. The bill would authorize the secretary to adopt rules necessary to implement those provisions.
Existing law provides for the appointment and commission of notaries public by the Secretary of State. Existing law authorizes the proof or acknowledgment of an instrument to be made before a notary public, as provided, and requires the instrument to be endorsed or have a certificate of acknowledgment attached to it. Existing law requires a certificate of acknowledgment to include a notice at the top of the certificate in an enclosed box stating that the acknowledgment verifies only the identity of the individual who signed the document to which the certificate is attached, and not the truthfulness, accuracy, or validity of the document.
~~This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.~~

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NOYES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Notarization is a key part of the real estate transaction process. Through notarization, a notary verifies the identity of the signer of a document.
(b) California notaries serve as the vital component of everyday life ensuring trusts, wills, power of attorneys, and financial transactions can be completed.
(c) Since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic many individuals have chosen to use remote online notarization and avoid in person notarizations as a socially distanced alternative.
(d) Under current law, Californians who wish to have their documents notarized can use notaries in another state that currently allows remote online notarization leaving California-based notaries at a disadvantage.
(e) California needs to ensure that our California-based notaries are on the same footing as their counterparts in other states.
(f) States across the country have enacted remote online notarization legislation that allows for closing documents to be notarized without requiring all individuals to be physically present in the same room.
(g) Remote notarization is an established process that can allow the notarization of essential documents without physical presence.
(h) It is the intent of the Legislature to allow notaries public to apply for registration as a remote online notary public.

SEC. 2.

The heading of Article 1 (commencing with Section 8200) is added to Chapter 3 of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:

Article 1. Notaries Public

SEC. 3.

Article 2 (commencing with Section 8231) is added to Chapter 3 of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:

Article 2. California Notary Protection Act
8231.
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the California Notary Protection Act.
8231.1.
(a) A notary public may apply for registration with the Secretary of State to be a remote online notary public.
(b) A remote online notary public is a notary public for purposes of Article 1 (commencing with Section 8200), and in order to become a remote online notary public, the person is required to also be a notary public pursuant to Article 1.
8231.2.
The Secretary of State may adopt rules necessary to implement this article.

SECTION 1.Section 1189 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
1189.
(a)(1)A certificate of acknowledgment taken within this state shall include a notice at the top of the certificate of acknowledgment in an enclosed box stating: “A notary public or other officer completing this certificate verifies only the identity of the individual who signed the document to which this certificate is attached, and not the truthfulness, accuracy, or validity of that document.” This notice shall be legible.
(2)The physical format of the boxed notice at the top of the certificate of acknowledgment required pursuant to paragraph (3) is an example, for purposes of illustration and not limitation, of the physical format of a boxed notice fulfilling the requirements of paragraph (1).
~~(3)A certificate of acknowledgment taken within this state shall be in the following form:~~

A notary public or other officer completing this
certificate verifies only the identity of the
individual who signed the document to which this
certificate is attached, and not the truthfulness,
accuracy, or validity of that document.
State of California
⎫
County of
⎭
Onbefore me,
(here insert name and title of the officer),
personally appeared,
who proved to me on the basis of
satisfactory evidence to be the person(s) whose name(s) is/are
subscribed to the within instrument and acknowledged to me that
he/she/they executed the same in his/her/their authorized
capacity(ies), and that by his/her/their signature(s) on the
instrument the person(s), or the entity upon behalf of which the
person(s) acted, executed the instrument.
I certify under PENALTY OF PERJURY under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing paragraph is true and correct.
WITNESS my hand and official seal.
Signature(Seal)
(4)A notary public who willfully states as true any material fact that the notary public knows to be false shall be subject to a civil penalty not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000). An action to impose a civil penalty under this subdivision may be brought by the Secretary of State in an administrative proceeding or any public prosecutor in superior court, and shall be enforced as a civil judgment. A public prosecutor shall inform the secretary of any civil penalty imposed under this section.
~~(b)Any certificate of acknowledgment taken in another place shall be sufficient in this state if it is taken in accordance with the laws of the place where the acknowledgment is made.~~
(c)On documents to be filed in another state or jurisdiction of the United States, a California notary public may complete any acknowledgment form as may be required in that other state or jurisdiction on a document, provided the form does not require the notary to determine or certify that the signer holds a particular representative capacity or to make other determinations and certifications not allowed by California law.
(d)An acknowledgment provided prior to January 1, 1993, and conforming to applicable provisions of former Sections 1189, 1190, 1190a, 1190.1, 1191, and 1192, as repealed by Chapter 335 of the Statutes of 1990, shall have the same force and effect as if those sections had not been repealed.