Bill Text: HI SB891 | 2013 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Notaries Public
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2013-04-23 - Act 029, 4/22/2013 (Gov. Msg. No. 1129). [SB891 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2013-SB891-Amended.html
STAND. COM. REP. NO. 17
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: S.B. No. 891
Honorable Donna Mercado Kim
President of the Senate
Twenty-Seventh State Legislature
Regular Session of 2013
State of Hawaii
Madam:
Your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection, to which was referred S.B. No. 891 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO NOTARIES PUBLIC,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose and intent of this measure is to improve the regulation of notaries by:
(1) Clarifying the information required to be on notary seals; and
(2) Authorizing the Attorney General to adjust notary commission and renewal fees and establish and adjust other fees relating to the regulation of notaries through the adoption of administrative rules.
Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of the Attorney General.
Your Committee finds that this measure requires a notary public to include the notary public's unique commission number on the notary public's stamp or seal. This requirement will help deter the fraudulent use of notary stamps or seals, assist in ascertaining and tracking the correct notary public, and locate a specific notary public's record books.
Your Committee further finds that fees associated with notary commission and renewal have not increased since 1998. However, the number of notaries in the State has significantly increased over the years, along with a rising number of complaints against notaries and requests for copies of entries in notary record books relating to disputed or litigated transactions.
Your Committee also finds that this measure allows fees related to the regulation of notaries public to be established and adjusted upon the adoption of administrative rules. The Department of the Attorney General has spent significant time overseeing the State's notary program, and the flexibility afforded to the Department by this measure will enable continued improvements to the processing of applications and renewals; research and timely responses to inquiries, requests, and complaints; and general regulation of notary practice and conduct.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 891 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection,
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____________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair |
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