Bill Text: CA SB696 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

California Senate Bill 696

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

Bill Title: Notaries public.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-09-30 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 291, Statutes of 2023. [SB696 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB696-Introduced.html

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 696

Introduced by Senator Portantino
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Low)

February 16, 2023

An act to amend Section 1189 of the Civil Code, relating to notaries public.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 696, as introduced, Portantino. Certificate of acknowledgment.

Existing law authorizes the proof or acknowledgment of an instrument to be made before a notary public. 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. Existing law makes a notary public who willfully states as true any material fact that the notary public knows to be false subject to a civil penalty not exceeding $10,000.

This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

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

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

SECTION 1.

Section 1189 of the Civil Code is amended to read:

1189.

(a) (1) ~~Any~~ 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 ~~he or she~~ 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.