Bill Text: NJ A463 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Revises "Notaries Public Act of 1979."
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-03-04 - Reported out of Assembly Comm. with Amendments, 2nd Reading [A463 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-A463-Amended.html
ASSEMBLY, No. 463
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman JOAN M. VOSS
District 38 (Bergen)
SYNOPSIS
Revises "Notaries Public Act of 1979."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Assembly Regulated Professions Committee on March 4, 2010, with amendments.
An Act concerning notaries public and amending and supplementing P.L.1979, c.460 and amending P.L.1981, c.487.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 2 of P.L.1979, c.460 (C.52:7-11) is amended to read as follows:
2. a. The [Secretary of] State Treasurer shall appoint so many notaries public as the [Secretary of] State Treasurer shall deem necessary to commission, who shall hold their respective offices for the term of five years, but may be removed from office at the pleasure of the [Secretary of] State Treasurer.
b. A person desiring to be appointed and commissioned a notary public shall make application to the [Secretary of] State Treasurer on a form prescribed by the [Secretary of] State Treasurer and endorsed by a member of the Legislature or the [Secretary of] State Treasurer or Assistant [Secretary of] State Treasurer. Renewals thereof shall be made in the same manner as the original application.
c. The fee to be collected by the [Secretary of] State Treasurer for that appointment or renewal shall be [$25.00] $40.
(cf: P.L.1987, c.435, s.21)
2. Section 3 of P.L.1979, c.460 (C.52:7-12) is amended to read as follows:
3. No person shall be appointed a notary public unless:
a. he is 18 years of age or older; and
b. pursuant to a criminal history record background check, including fingerprint comparison, conducted through the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the State Bureau of Investigation in the Division of State Police, he has no record of conviction for a crime enumerated in sections 1 or 2 of P.L.1981, c.487 (C.52:7-20 or C.52:7-21), except that if the person has such a record of conviction the State Treasurer may make a determination for appointment of the person in accordance with the provisions of P.L.1968, c.282 (C.2A:168A-1 et seq.). The person seeking approval shall bear the cost for the criminal history record background check, including all costs of administering and processing the check; and
c. for appointments made on or after six months following the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):
(1) he has satisfactorily
completed a six-hour course of study
approved by the State Treasurer pursuant to subsection a. of section 10 of
P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill),
concerning the functions and duties of a notary public; and
(2) he has satisfactorily completed a written examination prescribed by the State Treasurer to determine the fitness and duties of the office of notary public, which examination shall be administered in English. All questions shall be based on the laws of this State as set forth in the public manual of the laws of New Jersey relating to notaries public issued by the State Treasurer.
(cf: P.L.1979, c.460, s.3)
3. Section 4 of P.L.1979, c.460 (C.52:7-13) is amended to read as follows:
4. No person shall be denied appointment as a notary public on account of residence outside of this State, provided such person resides in a State adjoining this State and maintains, or is regularly employed in, an office in this State. Before any such nonresident shall be appointed and commissioned as a notary public, he shall file with the [Secretary of] State Treasurer an affidavit setting forth his residence and the address of his office or place of employment in this State. Any such nonresident notary public shall file with the [Secretary of] State Treasurer a certificate showing any change of residence or of his office or place of employment address in this State.
(cf: P.L.1979, c.460, s.4)
4. Section 5 of P.L.1979, c.460 (C.52:7-14) is amended to read as follows:
5. a. Within [3] three months of the receipt of his commission, each notary public shall take and subscribe an oath before the clerk of the county in which he resides, faithfully and honestly to discharge the duties of his office, and that he will make and keep a true record of all such matters as are required by law, which oath shall be filed with said clerk. The oath of office of a nonresident notary public shall be taken and subscribed before the clerk of the county in which he maintains his office or is employed in this State.
b. Upon the administration of said oath, the said clerk shall cause the notary public to indorse a certificate of commission and qualification and shall transmit said certificate to the [Secretary of] State Treasurer within 10 days of the administration of said oath.
c. The [Secretary of] State Treasurer shall cancel and revoke the appointment of any notary public who fails to take and subscribe said oath within [3] three months of the receipt of his commission and any appointment so canceled and revoked shall be null, void and of no effect.
(cf: P.L.1979, c.460, s.5)
5. Section 8 of P.L.1979, c.460 (C.52:7-17) is amended to read as follows:
8. The [Secretary of] State Treasurer shall, by regulation, fix a fee to be charged to each notary for the costs of printing and distribution to each applicant of a manual prescribing the powers, duties and responsibilities of a notary.
(cf: P.L.1979, c.460, s.8)
6. Section 9 of P.L.1979, c.460 (C.52:7-18) is amended to read as follows:
9. After a notary public adopts a name different from that which he used at the time he was commissioned, and before he signs his name to any document which he is authorized or required to sign as notary public, he shall make and sign a statement in writing and under oath, on a form prescribed and furnished by the [Secretary of] State Treasurer, setting out the circumstances under which he has adopted the new name. The statement shall set forth whether the new name has been adopted through marriage or by a change of name proceeding or otherwise, and such other information as the [Secretary of] State Treasurer shall require.
The statement shall be filed in the office of the [Secretary of] State Treasurer and in the office of the clerk of the county where he qualified as a notary public and in the office of the clerk of any county in which he may have filed a certificate of his commission and qualification.
Such statement, or a certified copy thereof, shall be evidence of the right of said notary public to continue to exercise the powers and privileges and perform the duties of a notary public in his changed and new name.
(cf: P.L.1979, c.460, s.9)
7. Section 10 of P.L.1979, c.460 (C.52:7-19) is amended to read as follows:
10. Each notary public, in addition to subscribing his autograph signature to any jurat upon the administration of any oath or the taking of any acknowledgement or proof, shall affix thereto his name in such a manner and by such means, including, but not limited to, printing, typing, or impressing by seal or mechanical stamp, as will enable the [Secretary of] State Treasurer easily to read said name.
(cf: P.L.1979, c.460, s.10)
8. Section 1 of P.L.1981, c.487 (C.52:7-20) is amended to read as follows:
1. No person shall be appointed or, if so appointed, shall forfeit that appointment as a notary public if he has been convicted under the laws of this State of an offense involving dishonesty or of a crime of the second degree or above, but nothing in this section shall be deemed to supersede P.L.1968, c.282 (C.2A:168A-1 et seq.). A notary public shall report any disqualifying conviction to the State Treasurer within 48 hours of the conviction.
(cf: P.L.1981, c.487, s.1)
9. Section 2 of P.L.1981, c.487 (C.52:7-21) is amended to read as follows:
2. No person shall be appointed or, if so appointed, shall forfeit that appointment as a notary public if he has been convicted under the laws of another state, or of the United States, of an offense or crime involving dishonesty or which, if committed in this State, would be a crime of the second degree or above, but nothing in this section shall be deemed to supersede P.L.1968, c.282 (C. 2A:168A-1 et seq.). A notary public shall report any disqualifying conviction to the State Treasurer within 48 hours of the conviction.
(cf: P.L.1981, c.487, s.2)
10. (New section) a. Commencing July 1, 1[2009] 20111, the State Treasurer shall review the course of study proposed by any vendor to be offered pursuant to subsection c. of section 3 of P.L.1979, c.460 (C.52:7-12). If the course of study includes all material that a person is expected to know to satisfactorily complete the written examination required pursuant to subsection c. of section 3 of P.L.1979, c.460 (C.52:7-12), the State Treasurer shall approve the course of study.
b. The State Treasurer shall, by regulation, prescribe an application form and adopt a certificate of approval for the notary public education course of study proposed by a vendor.
c. The State Treasurer may also provide a notary public education course of study.
d. The State Treasurer shall compile a list of all persons offering an approved course of study pursuant to subsection a. of this section and shall provide the list with every public manual of the laws of New Jersey relating to notaries public issued by the State Treasurer.
11. (New section) The written examination prescribed by the State Treasurer to determine the fitness of an applicant to exercise the functions of a notary public as provided in subsection c. of section 3 of P.L.1979, c.460 (C.52:7-12), shall be a proctored examination administered by the State Treasurer. The State Treasurer shall charge a nonrefundable fee, to be established by regulation, which shall be payable at the examination site. This fee shall be established, prescribed or changed by the State Treasurer to defray any proper expenses incurred by the Department of the Treasury and any staff employed to administer this examination, except that fees shall not be fixed at a level that will raise amounts in excess of the amount estimated to be so required.
12. (New section) a. A notary public shall not perform a notarial act unless the person who is seeking the notarial act is personally known to the notary public or provides satisfactory evidence of his identity.
b. For the purposes of this section, satisfactory evidence of a person's identity shall consist of one or more of the following:
(1) a valid document issued by a government agency bearing the person's signature, a photographic image of the person's face, including a photographic image contained on a valid driver license issued by another state, and a physical description of the person;
(2) a valid passport;
(3) the oath or affirmation of one individual without interest in the notarial act to be performed who is personally known to the notary public and who personally knows the person;
(4) the oath or affirmation of two individuals without interest in the notarial act to be performed who personally know the person and produce to the notary public evidence of his identity described in paragraphs (1) or (2) of this subsection;
(5) a valid identification card issued by any branch of the armed forces of the United States; or
(6) a valid identification card issued by the United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services.
13. (New section) a. A notary public shall maintain in a sequential journal a record of all notarial acts performed. The journal shall be kept under the exclusive control of the notary. A notary public who is an attorney at law admitted to practice in this State, or who is employed by an attorney at law or employed by or acting as an agent for a title insurance company licensed to do business in this State pursuant to P.L.2001, c.210 (C.17:22A-26 et seq.), may maintain a record of notarial acts in the form of files regularly maintained for the attorney's law practice or the title insurance company's business activities, as the case may be, in lieu of maintaining a sequential journal.
b. For every notarial act involving one transaction, the notary shall record in the journal or file, as appropriate:
(1) the date and time of the notarial act;
(2) the type of notarial act, including but not limited to the taking of an acknowledgment, the taking of a proof of a deed, the administering of an oath, or the taking of an affidavit;
(3) the type, title, or description and date of every document notarized;
(4) the name, address, signature, and, in the case of immigration documents, the right thumbprint of each person whose signature is notarized;
(5) a statement explaining how the signer's identity was verified, including, if applicable, the type, serial number and date of issuance or expiration of an identification document, or the name and signature of any identifying witness and, if applicable, the type, serial number and date of issuance or expiration of a document identifying the witness; and
(6) the fee charged for the notarial act.
14. (New section) The provisions of sections 12 and 13 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall not apply to any notary public when performing a notarial act at the request of any person holding elective public office in this State, or any person appointed to a board, commission or agency or other public body created by or in this State or any county or municipality of the State, when that person is acting in his capacity as an elected or appointed official.
15. This act shall take effect on the 180th day after enactment, but the State Treasurer may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of the act.
