LQL9YW-1 05/23/2023 KMS (L)cr 2023-2242 SUB SB322 ENROLLEDJUDICIARY F14LC5-3SUBSTITUTE ByTO SenatorSB322 GivhanOFFERED RFD:BY SENATOR GIVHAN 2 4 SYNOPSIS:

JudiciaryThis Firstbill Read:would provide further for the appointment and service of notaries public and the fee collected by the judge of probate for a commission.

16-May-23This 2023bill Regularwould Sessionexpand Pagethe 0grounds SB322under Enrolledwhich Enrolled,a Anjudge Act,of 3probate Relatingmay toaccept theor employmentdeny ofan notariesapplication public;for a notary commission and would require an applicant, before being commissioned, to complete a training program.

This bill would increase the amount of the bond required of a notary public.

This bill would provide further for the acknowledgment of signatures and the fee collected for notarial acts performed.

This bill also specifies what acts committed by a notary or other individual constitute a crime.

Section 111.05 of the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, prohibits a general law whose purpose or effect would be to require a new or increased expenditure of local funds from becoming effective with regard to a local governmental entity without enactment by a 2/3 vote unless:

it comes within one of a number of specified exceptions;

it is approved by the affected entity;

or the Legislature appropriates funds, or provides a local source of revenue, to the entity for Page 1 the purpose.

The purpose or effect of this bill would be to require a new or increased expenditure of local funds within the meaning of the amendment.

However, the bill does not require approval of a local governmental entity or enactment by a 2/3 vote to become effective because it comes within one of the specified exceptions contained in the amendment.

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT Relating to the employment of notaries public;

and in connection therewith would have as its purpose or effect the requirement of a new or Page 2 increased expenditure of local funds within the meaning of Section 111.05 of the Constitution of Alabama of 2022.

Page 1 SB322 Enrolled Notaries public shall perform all the acts and exercise all authority under the general laws of the State of Alabama.Alabama and shall be appointed and serve at the discretion of the judge of probate issuing their commission or the judge's successor in office.

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

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

Page 3 (c) EachA applicantjudge of probate may accept or deny any application for notary public commission and shall paydeny aan tenapplication dollarfor ($10)notary applicationpublic fee.commission 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:

(4) The applicant is currently a debtorparty into a bankruptcy Page 2 SB322 Enrolled proceeding.

(7) The applicant is unable or unwilling to successfully complete the training program required in subsection (e)(e). within 30 days after submitting his or her application.

This time frame may be extended by the judge of probate upon good cause shown.

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

(e) Before being commissioned, an applicant for a notary public commission shall successfully complete a Page 4 training program prepared by the Alabama Probate Judges Association and the Alabama Law Institute that reinforcestests andhis updatesor theher applicants knowledge of all matters relevant to the appointment, authority, duties, and legal and ethical responsibilities of a notary public.

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 ($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.

"§36-20-71Such PageThe 3bond SB322 Enrolled (a) Notaries public shall givebe bondexecuted, withapproved, sureties,filed, obtainedand fromrecorded anin Alabamathe licensedoffice producer of such bonds, to be approved by the judge of probate of the county of their residence, inbefore thethey sumenter ofon 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 officeoffice. so long as they may continue therein or discharge any of the duties thereof.

Such(b) TheAll bondexisting notaries public functioning on January 1, 2012 2023, shall becontinue executed,to approved,function filed,pursuant andto recordedtheir inexisting bond for the officeremainder of their existing commission." "§36-20-72 (a) For the judgeauthentication of probatehis ofor theher countyofficial acts, each notary shall provide a seal of theiroffice, residence,which beforeshall theyPage 955 enterpresent, onby its impression or stamp, the dutiesname, ofoffice, suchand the office.state for which he or she was appointed.

(b) AllThe existingform notariesand publiccontent functioningof onany Januarynotarial 1,act 2012shall 2023,include shallan continueoath, toacknowledgment, functionand pursuantsignature of each party to theirthe existingdocument, bondor forhis or her mark, and the remaindersignature of the notary public and their existingseal commission."of "§36-20-72office by either ink stamp or embossed impression." "§36-20-73.1 (a) ForExcept theas authenticationotherwise ofprovided hisin orthis hersection, officialany acts,signature eachacknowledged by a notary public shall providebe aexecuted sealwithin ofthis office,state whichand shall present,be byexecuted itsin impressionthe orphysical stamp,presence of the name,notary office,public andat the statetime forof whichthe heacknowledgment, only after the notary public has positively identified the prospective signatory via personal knowledge of the affiant or shethe wasexamination appointed.of photo identification issued by a governmental entity or agency.

(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 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.

(c)(d) For purposes of this article, and subject to subsections (d) to (f) (e) to (g), inclusive, an individual Page 6 may personally appear before an acknowledging notary by either of the following:

(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 7 (3) An attestation by the notary public of being physically located in this state.

(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.

(i) A notary who intentionally or fraudulently violates this section shall be guilty of a Class C misdemeanor." "§36-20-74 Notaries public are entitled to the sum of five dollar ($5) for carrying out any of the enumerated powers in Section 36-20-73.A notary public commissioned pursuant to this article Page 8 is permitted a reasonable fee, not to exceed ten dollars ($10), for each notarial act performed.

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, 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.

Page 9 (4) Charging a fee for a notarial act in excess of the maximum fee allowed by 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.

(4) Performs notarial acts in this state with the knowledge that he or she is not properly commissioned under Page 10 this chapter.

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.

Page 11 (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." Section 2.