SB 322 — Relating to the employment of notaries public; to amend Sections 36-20-70, 36-20-71, 36-20-72, 36-20-73.1, 36-20-74, and 36-20-75, Code of Alabama 1975; to provide further for the appointment and service of notaries public; to increase the fee collected by the judge of probate for the commission of a notary; to expand the grounds under which a judge of probate may accept or deny an application for a notary commission; to require an applicant for a notary commission to complete a training program; to increase the bond required of a notary public; to provide further for the acknowledgment of signatures; to increase the fee collected for notarial acts performed; to specify the acts of a notary or other individual that constitute a crime; and in connection therewith would have as its purpose or effect the requirement of a new or increased expenditure of local funds within the meaning of Section 111.05 of the Constitution of Alabama of 2022.

SB322 ENGROSSEDENROLLED F14LC5-2F14LC5-3 By Senator Givhan RFD:

16-May-23 2023 Regular Session Page 0 SB322 EngrossedEnrolled 2Enrolled, 4An AAct, BILL3 TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT 9 Relating to the employment of notaries public;

Page 1 SB322 Engrossed "§36-20-70 (a) A competent number of notaries public for the state at large shall be appointed and commissioned by the judges of probate of the several counties of the state and shall hold office for four years from the date of their commission.

Page 1 SB322 Enrolled Notaries public shall perform all the acts and exercise all authority under the general laws of the State of Alabama.

The jurisdiction of the notaries public shall not be limited to the counties of their residence and shall extend to any countycounty+ of the state.

The judges of probate shall collect a fee of ten dollars ($10) onetwenty-five hundred dollars ($100)($25) for each notary commission issued.

(c) AEach judgeapplicant of probate may accept or deny any application for notary public commission and shall denypay ana applicationten fordollar notary($10) publicapplication commissionfee. on any of the following grounds:

A Judge of probate may accept or deny any application for notary public commission, as developed by the Alabama Probate Judges Association and the Alabama Law Institue, and shall deny an application for notary public commission on any of the following grounds:

Page 2 SB322 Engrossed (3) The applicant has been convicted of a felony or crime of moral turpitude.

(4) The applicant is currently a debtor in a bankruptcy Page 2 SB322 Enrolled proceeding.

A notary public shall not perform an acknowledgment in any transaction where he or she has a pecuniary interestinterest. or where any signatory being acknowledged by the notary is related by blood or marriage within the fourth degree of kinship.

An attorney who is commissioned as a notary public under this article is not Page 3 SB322 Engrossed required to complete the training requirement.

A notary public who is commissioned as of the effective date of this act shall be required to complete the training requirement upon submitting an application for the renewal of his or her expired commission."commission. "§36-20-71 (a) Notaries public shall give bond with sureties, obtained from an Alabama licensed producer of such bonds, to be approved by the judge of probate of the county of their residence, in the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars 95 ($25,000) fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), payable to the State of Alabama, and conditioned to faithfully discharge the duties of such the office so long as they may continue therein or discharge any of the duties thereof.

Such"§36-20-71 ThePage bond3 SB322 Enrolled (a) Notaries public shall begive executed,bond approved,with filed,sureties, andobtained recordedfrom inan theAlabama officelicensed producer of such bonds, to be approved by the judge of probate of the county of their residence, beforein theythe entersum onof twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000 fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), payable to the State of Alabama, and conditioned to faithfully discharge the duties of such the office.office so long as they may continue therein or discharge any of the duties thereof.

Such The bond shall be executed, approved, filed, and recorded in the office of the judge of probate of the county of their residence, before they 95 enter on the duties of such the office.

(b) The form and content of any notarial act on an instrument to be recorded in the public records, including the court system, shall include an oath, acknowledgment, and Page 4 SB322 Engrossed signature of each party to the document, or his or her mark, and the signature of the notary public and their seal of office by either ink stamp or embossed impression." "§36-20-73.1 (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, any signature acknowledged by a notary public shall be executed Page 4 SB322 Enrolled within this state and shall be executed in the physical presence of the notary public at the time of the acknowledgment, only after the notary public has positively identified the prospective signatory via personal knowledge of the affiant or the examination of photo identification issued by a governmental entity or agency.

Page 5 SB322 Engrossed (2) Appearing through the use of two-way audio-video communication technology that allows a notary public and a remotely located signatory to communicate with each other simultaneously by sight and sound, provided that the notary public is physically located in this state and the two-way audio-video communication is recorded and maintained for a Page 5 SB322 Enrolled period of seven years by the notary public.

Page 6 SB322 Engrossed (5) A clear image of any government issued identification, if applicable.

(f)(g) The official date and time of the notarization is the date and time the notary public witnessed the Page 6 SB322 Enrolled signature, including the date and time the signature was witnessed via two-way audio-video communication technology.

No fee may be charged by a state, county, or municipal employee for a notarial act performed during, and as a part of, his or her public service, Page 7 SB322 Engrossed unless otherwise provided by law." "§36-20-75 Any person who, having been a notary, willfully performs or assumes the authority to perform a notarial act after his or her commission expires, with knowledge that his or her commission has expired, or any person who without a Page 7 SB322 Enrolled notary's commission assumes the authority and performs a notarial act shall be guilty of a Class C misdemeanor.

(5) Taking an acknowledgment or administering an oath or affirmation without the principal appearing in person Page 8 SB322 Engrossed before the notary or following the procedures for remote notarization set out in this article.

(7) Taking a verification or proof without personal Page 8 SB322 Enrolled knowledge or satisfactory evidence of the identity of the subscribing witness.

(1) Any party to a transaction requiring a notarial Page 9 SB322 Engrossed certificate for verification and any attorney licensed in this state who is involved in such a transaction in any capacity, may execute an affidavit and file it with either the Secretary of State or the judge of probate who issued the commission to the notary public, setting forth the actions which the affiant alleges are violations.

Upon receipt of an affidavit, the Page 9 SB322 Enrolled Secretary of State or judge of probate shall forward the affidavit to the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency.

(e) Any individual who knowingly solicits, coerces, or in any material way influences a notary to commit official misconduct is guilty as an aider and abettor and is subject to the same level of punishment as the notary." Page 10 SB322 Engrossed Section 2.

Page 10 SB322 Enrolled Section 3.

Page 11 SB322 EngrossedEnrolled Senate________________________________________________ ReadPresident forand thePresiding firstOfficer timeof andthe referredSenate ................16-May-23________________________________________________ toSpeaker of the House of Representatives SB322 Senate committee06-Jun-23 onI Judiciaryhereby Readcertify forthat the secondwithin timeAct andoriginated placedin ................24-May-23and onpassed the calendar:Senate, as amended.

0 amendments Read for the third time and passed ................25-May-23 as amended Yeas 25 Nays 4 Abstains 0 Patrick Harris, Secretary.

PageHouse 12of Representatives Amended and passed:

06-Jun-23 Senate concurred in House amendment 06-Jun-23 By:

Senator Givhan Page 12