Bill Text: NY S05688 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Requires notaries public and commissioners of deeds to complete and retain certain documents relating to the transfer of residential real property; relates to forgery and offering a false document concerning residential real property.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-05-28 - referred to codes [S05688 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S05688-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5688--A 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 13, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to the requirements for notaries public and commissioners of deeds relating to certain instru- ments affecting real property; and to amend the penal law, in relation to forgery and the offering of false documents concerning residential real property The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 135-d 2 to read as follows: 3 § 135-d. Requirements of notaries public and commissioners of deeds 4 related to certain instruments affecting real property. 1. This section 5 shall apply to every notarial act in the state involving a document of 6 conveyance that transfers or purports to transfer title with respect to 7 residential real property located in the state. It shall also apply to 8 commissioners of deeds appointed pursuant to section one hundred forty 9 of this article. 10 2. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the follow- 11 ing meanings: 12 a. "document of conveyance" shall mean a deed, indenture, or other 13 written instrument that transfers or purports to transfer title effect- 14 ing a change in ownership to residential real property, or otherwise 15 presented to evidence the conveyance of real property ownership from one 16 party to another excluding: 17 (i) court ordered transfer or otherwise effected change of residential 18 real property including but not limited to a transfer between spous- 19 es or former spouses as a result of a decree of divorce, dissol- 20 ution of marriage, annulment, or legal separation, or as a result of EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00998-05-3S. 5688--A 2 1 property settlement related thereto, or agreement incidental to a 2 decree of divorce, dissolution of marriage, annulment, or legal sepa- 3 ration; 4 (ii) a transfer order by a probate court during the administration of 5 a decedent's estate; 6 (iii) a court ordered voiding of an instrument affecting real proper- 7 ty; 8 (iv) a transfer of property to a trust in which the beneficiary is or 9 includes the grantor; and 10 (v) a deed from a grantor to himself or herself that is intended to 11 change the nature or type of tenancy by which he or she owns residential 12 real property. 13 b. "financial institution" shall mean a bank, trust company, savings 14 institution, or credit union, chartered and supervised under state or 15 federal law. 16 c. "notarial record" shall mean the written document created in 17 conformity with the requirements of this section. 18 d. "residential real property" shall mean a building or buildings 19 consisting of one to four dwelling units where the square footage of the 20 residential portion exceeds the square footage of any commercial 21 portion. 22 e. "signatory" shall mean the person or persons whose signature is 23 being acknowledged by a notary public or commissioner of deeds. 24 3. A notary appointed and commissioned as a notary in this state and a 25 commissioner of deeds shall create a notarial record of each notarial 26 act performed in connection with a document of conveyance. The notarial 27 record shall contain: 28 a. the date of the notarial act; 29 b. the type, title or description of the document of conveyance being 30 notarized, the block and lot number used to identify the residential 31 real property for assessment or taxation purposes, and the common street 32 address for the residential real property that is the subject of the 33 document of conveyance; 34 c. the signature, printed name and residence street address of each 35 person whose signature is the subject of the notarial act, and a certif- 36 ication by the person that the property is residential real property as 37 defined in this section; 38 d. a description of the satisfactory evidence reviewed by the notary 39 or the commissioner of deeds to determine the identity of the person 40 whose signature is the subject of the notarial act. Satisfactory 41 evidence shall include presentation of any one of the following docu- 42 ments identifying the signatory or signatories: 43 (i) a valid driver's license or non-driver identification card issued 44 by the commissioner of motor vehicles, the federal government, any 45 United States territory, Commonwealth or possession, the District of 46 Columbia, or a state government within the United States; 47 (ii) a valid passport issued by the United States government; 48 (iii) a valid passport issued by a foreign government; or 49 (iv) a valid municipal identification card issued pursuant to section 50 3-115 of the administrative code of the city of New York; and 51 e. the date of notarization, the fee charged for the notarial act, the 52 notary's home or business phone number, the notary's business or resi- 53 dence street address, the notary's commission expiration date or the 54 commissioner of deeds appointment expiration date, the correct legal 55 name of the notary's employer or principal, and the business street 56 address of the notary's employer or principal.S. 5688--A 3 1 4. The notarial record required under subdivision three of this 2 section shall be created and maintained for each person or represen- 3 tative whose signature is the subject of a notarial act regarding a 4 document of conveyance. It shall be in substantially the following form: 5 NOTARIAL RECORD: 6 DEED TRANSFER 7 I, ________________________(GRANTOR) HEREBY AUTHORIZE THE TRANSFER OF 8 OWNERSHIP OF MY PROPERTY TO THE GRANTEE DESIGNATED BELOW. I UNDERSTAND I 9 MAY BE TRANSFERRING OWNERSHIP OF MY HOME. 10 Date Notarized: 11 Fee: $ 12 The undersigned grantor hereby certifies that the real property identi- 13 fied in this notarial record is residential real property as defined in 14 section 135-d of the executive law. 15 Grantor's (Signer's) Printed Name: 16 Grantor's (Signer's) Signature: 17 Grantor's (Signer's) Residential Street Address, City, State and Zip 18 Code: 19 Grantee's Relationship to Grantor: 20 Grantee's (Signer's) Printed Name: 21 Grantee's (Signer's) Signature: 22 Grantee's (Signer's) Residential Street Address, City, State and Zip 23 Code: 24 Type or Name of Document of Conveyance: 25 PIN No. of Residential Real Property: 26 Common Street Address of Residential Real Property: 27 Description of Means of Identification: 28 Additional Comments: 29 Name of Notary or Commissioner of Deeds Printed: 30 Notary Phone Number: 31 Commission or Appointment Expiration Date: 32 Street Address of Notary, City, State and Zip Code: 33 Name of Notary's Employer or Principal: 34 Business Street Address of Notary's Employer or Principal, City, State 35 and Zip Code: 36 5. Filing of the notarial record. The notary or commissioner of deeds 37 shall file the notarial record in accordance with the procedures set 38 forth in this subdivision. 39 a. The notarial record shall be delivered no later than fourteen days 40 after it is created to the clerk or office of the register of the county 41 or city within which the residential property that is the subject of the 42 conveyance is located. 43 b. If the notarial record was created by a notary public in the scope 44 of his or her work for a title insurance company, title insurance agent, 45 financial institution, law firm or attorney at law, the notary public 46 shall deliver the notarial record no later than fourteen days after it 47 is created to such title insurance company, financial institution, law 48 firm or attorney at law. Such title insurance company, financial insti- 49 tution, law firm or attorney at law, or any successor or assignee of 50 such title insurance company, financial institution, law firm or attor- 51 ney at law within the seven-year retention period. 52 6. The notarial record shall be retained for ten years in accordance 53 with the procedures described in subdivision five of this section. No 54 copies of the original notarial record may be made or retained by the 55 notary. The notary's employer or principal pursuant to paragraph b of 56 subdivision five of this section, or a notary attorney acting within theS. 5688--A 4 1 scope of his or her employment may retain copies of the notarial records 2 as business records. 3 7. Any person or entity violating the provisions of this section 4 shall, in addition to all other penalties provided by law, be required 5 to file an official bond in the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars 6 for a first offense and fifty thousand dollars for a subsequent offense. 7 The secretary of state shall assess such penalty following an adjudica- 8 tory proceeding conducted in accordance with the state administrative 9 procedure act. 10 8. The failure of a notary or a commissioner of deeds to comply with 11 the procedure set forth in this section shall not affect the validity of 12 the residential real property transaction in connection to which the 13 document of conveyance is executed, in the absence of fraud and forgery. 14 § 2. Section 136 of the executive law is amended by adding a new 15 subdivision 4 to read as follows: 16 4. For performing a notarial act related to a document of conveyance 17 for which a notarial record is required pursuant to section one hundred 18 thirty-five-d of this article, the notary or commissioner of deeds may 19 charge a fee of twenty-five dollars in addition to any fees required to 20 file the notarial record. 21 § 3. Section 170.10 of the penal law, subdivision 1 as amended by 22 chapter 949 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows: 23 § 170.10 Forgery in the second degree. 24 A person is guilty of forgery in the second degree when he or she 25 forges an owner's signature on a document purporting to be a document of 26 conveyance under false pretenses or, with intent to defraud, deceive or 27 injure another, he or she falsely makes, completes or alters a written 28 instrument which is or purports to be, or which is calculated to become 29 or to represent if completed: 30 1. A [deed,] document of conveyance, will, codicil, contract, assign- 31 ment, commercial instrument, credit card, as that term is defined in 32 subdivision seven of section 155.00 of this chapter, or other instrument 33 which does or may evidence, create, transfer, terminate or otherwise 34 affect a legal right, interest, obligation or status; or 35 2. A public record, or an instrument filed or required or authorized 36 by law to be filed in or with a public office or public servant; or 37 3. A written instrument officially issued or created by a public 38 office, public servant or governmental instrumentality; or 39 4. Part of an issue of tokens, public transportation transfers, 40 certificates or other articles manufactured and designed for use as 41 symbols of value usable in place of money for the purchase of property 42 or services; or 43 5. A prescription of a duly licensed physician or other person author- 44 ized to issue the same for any drug or any instrument or device used in 45 the taking or administering of drugs for which a prescription is 46 required by law. 47 Forgery in the second degree is a class D felony. 48 § 4. Section 170.15 of the penal law is amended to read as follows: 49 § 170.15 Forgery in the first degree. 50 A person is guilty of forgery in the first degree when, with intent to 51 defraud, deceive or injure another, he or she falsely makes, completes 52 or alters a written instrument which is or purports to be, or which is 53 calculated to become or to represent if completed: 54 1. Part of an issue of money, stamps, securities or other valuable 55 instruments issued by a government or governmental instrumentality; [or]S. 5688--A 5 1 2. Part of an issue of stock, bonds or other instruments representing 2 interests in or claims against a corporate or other organization or its 3 property; or 4 3. Part of a deed or a part of any type of a deed or other instrument 5 that transfers or otherwise affects residential real property, including 6 a mortgage, an assignment of mortgage, a satisfaction of mortgage, a 7 contract of sale, and any document that is required for recording a deed 8 with a governmental agency. 9 Forgery in the first degree is a class C felony. 10 § 5. The penal law is amended by adding two new sections 175.31 and 11 175.32 to read as follows: 12 § 175.31 Offering a false instrument for filing in the second degree; 13 real property. 14 A person is guilty of offering a false instrument for filing in the 15 second degree; real property when, knowing that a written instrument 16 contains a false statement or false information concerning a deed or 17 a part of any type of a deed or other instrument that transfers or 18 otherwise affects residential real property, including a mortgage, an 19 assignment of mortgage, a satisfaction of mortgage, a contract of sale, 20 and any document that is required for recording a deed with a govern- 21 mental agency, he or she offers or presents it to a public office or 22 public servant with the knowledge or belief that it will be filed 23 with, registered or recorded in or otherwise become a part of the 24 records of such public office or public servant. 25 Offering a false instrument for filing in the second degree; real 26 property is a class E felony. 27 § 175.32 Offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree; 28 real property. 29 A person is guilty of offering a false instrument for filing in the 30 first degree; real property when: 31 1. knowing that a written instrument contains a false statement or 32 false information concerning a deed or a part of any type of a deed or 33 other instrument that transfers or otherwise affects residential real 34 property, including a mortgage, an assignment of mortgage, a satisfac- 35 tion of mortgage, a contract of sale, and any document that is required 36 for recording a deed with a governmental agency, and with intent to 37 defraud the state or any political subdivision, public authority or 38 public benefit corporation of the state, he or she offers or presents 39 it to a public office, public servant, public authority or 40 public benefit corporation with the knowledge or belief that it will 41 be filed with, registered or recorded in or otherwise become a 42 part of the records of such public office, public servant, public 43 authority or public benefit corporation. 44 Offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree; real prop- 45 erty is a class D felony. 46 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
