Current law requires an individual who wishes to have a document notarized to appear personally before the notary public. The bill authorizes notaries public to perform a notarial act on behalf of an individual who is not in the notary's physical presence, but only with respect to an electronic document.
To perform a 'remote notarization', a notary must use a tamper-evident electronic system that conforms to standards established by rules of the secretary of state, including using real-time audio-video communications and keeping an audio-video recording of the notarization for at least 10 years. The bill establishes the standards that a notary must comply with to have satisfactory evidence of the identity of the person seeking the remote notarization. A notary is prohibited from using information collected during a remote notarization other than as allowed by applicable federal or state law.
The bill appropriates $42,895 to the department of state for the implementation of the act.

Year

2018

Current status

  • House Committee on Appropriations Postpone Indefinitely (05/10/2018)
  • House Committee on Finance Refer Unamended to Appropriations (05-07-18)
  • House Committee on Judiciary Refer Amended to Finance (05-03-18)
  • House Committee on Judiciary Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only (04-10-18)
  • Introduced In House - Assigned to Judiciary (03-27-18)
  • Senate Third Reading Passed - No Amendments (03-21-18)
  • Senate Second Reading Special Order - Passed with Amendments - Committee (03-20-18)
  • Senate Committee on Appropriations Refer Amended - Consent Calendar to Senate Committee of the Whole (03-20-18)
  • Senate Committee on Finance Refer Unamended to Appropriations (03-08-18)
  • Senate Committee on Business, Labor, & Technology Refer Amended to Finance (03-05-18)
  • Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Business, Labor, & Technology (01-19-2018)

Sponsors

A. Garnett /C. Wist/ R. Gardner

Bill number

SB18-109

Position

Oppose