Legislature(2005 - 2006)CAPITOL 120
02/16/2005 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB97 | |
| Department of Health & Social Services, Division of Juvenile Justice | |
| HB88 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 88 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 97 | TELECONFERENCED | |
HB 97 - OATHS; NOTARIES PUBLIC; STATE SEAL 1:16:16 PM CHAIR McGUIRE announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 97, "An Act relating to the authority to take oaths, affirmations, and acknowledgments in the state, to notarizations, to verifications, to acknowledgments, to fees for issuing certificates with the seal of the state affixed, and to notaries public; and providing for an effective date." [Before the committee was CSHB 97(STA).] 1:16:25 PM BRIAN WESTAD, Intern, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, relayed that HB 97 would make changes to Alaska's notary statutes, which have not been updated since 1961. These changes have been proposed by Alaska's notaries working together with the Lieutenant Governor's office, and are outlined in a handout titled, "Notary Statue Comparison - CSHB 98(STA)", which lists the following categories: Qualifications, Term, Fees, Bond, Commission Types, Commission Revocation, Notary Data, And Non- Commissioned Notaries. With regard to qualifications, the bill proposes to lower the minimum age requirement to 18 - one of the reasons for doing this is to allow bank tellers to become notaries public - and also proposes to require notaries public to reside legally in the U.S. and not be convicted of or incarcerated for a felony within 10 years of application. MR. WESTAD said that with regard to terms, notaries public will continue to serve a term of four years, but the bill proposes to create limited governmental notaries public commissions, which will be linked with one's position as a government worker and will end when one's job ends. With regard to fees, the application fee for non-state government notaries will remain the same - $40 - but the fee for a Lieutenant Governor certificate will increase from $2 to $5. With regard to bonds, the requirement will remain the same. With regard to commission types, notaries public will continue to serve four years, but limited governmental notaries public will serve as long as they hold their governmental positions. With regard to commission revocation, the bill proposes to allow the Lieutenant Governor to revoke a commission for good cause via a formal disciplinary procedure using the administrative hearing office. With regard to notary data, the bill proposes that the Lieutenant Governor may collect information in addition to that which is already gathered and made public. 1:19:53 PM REPRESENTATIVE GARA asked why a notary must reapply every four years, and whether anyone who has reapplied has been turned down. SCOTT CLARK, Notary Commission Administrator, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, remarked that current law requires reapplication every four years, and that "there's not very many people, if any," that have ever been denied. ANNETTE KREITZER, Chief of Staff, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, said that in creating the bill, it was thoroughly vetted amongst current notaries and other industry groups, and changing the length of term didn't seem to be an issue, so the bill keeps the term at four years. REPRESENTATIVE GARA surmised that increasing the length of a notary's term could reduce the state's paperwork, and suggested that the lieutenant governor's office pursue that concept further. MS. KREITZER said that point is well taken and the lieutenant governor's office will continue to consider that concept. At this point, however, even though a version of the current bill has been proposed [several] times, it has not yet passed, and so the lieutenant governor's office would like to see the current proposal adopted before considering other changes. In response to further questions, she relayed that the increase in licensing fees for Lieutenant Governor certificates is simply a reflection of the higher cost of doing business since 1961, and that Mr. Clark has done research to justify the proposed $3 increase. 1:24:53 PM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG [although the following alterations were already incorporated into CSHB 97(STA)] made a motion to adopt Amendment 1, to incorporate alterations detailed by the drafter in a memo dated 1/28/05: replace commas with semicolons in proposed AS 44.50.032(b)(2) and (c)(2); add "; delegation" to the catchline of proposed AS 44.50.069; remove parentheses and add "created under" to proposed AS 44.50.069(e); rewrite the definition of "notary public" in proposed AS 44.50.200(1) to be more precise with regard to the cross-referenced sections. CHAIR McGUIRE suggested making Amendment 1 conceptual. MS. KREITZER indicated that the lieutenant Governor's office has no objections to the motion. 1:27:33 PM CHAIR McGUIRE asked whether there were any objections to [Conceptual] Amendment 1. There being none, Conceptual Amendment 1 was adopted. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG, referring to a change suggested by the drafter in the aforementioned memo, made a motion to adopt Amendment 2, to delete "shall" and insert "may" on page 11, line 9. CHAIR McGUIRE objected for the purpose of discussion. MS. KREITZER indicated that the lieutenant governor's office has no objections to Amendment 2. CHAIR McGUIRE asked whether there were any further objections to Amendment 2. There being none, Amendment 2 was adopted. 1:29:17 PM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG made a motion to adopt Amendment 3, labeled 24-GH1008\F.1, Luckhaupt, 2/16/05, which read: Page 11, line 22, following "handwriting": Insert "or by electronic means as authorized by regulations adopted by the lieutenant governor" Page 13, lines 14 - 15: Delete "; a notary public may not sign through the use of a facsimile stamp or an electronic or graphic printing method" Insert ", or sign an electronic document by electronic means as authorized by regulations adopted by the lieutenant governor" Page 13, line 19: Following "official": Insert "handwritten" Following "signature": Insert "and information regarding the notary public's electronic signature" Page 13, following line 19: Insert a new subsection to read: "(c) Within 10 days after the security of a notary public's electronic signature has been compromised, the notary public shall provide the lieutenant governor with written notification that the signature has been compromised. After the notary public has provided the lieutenant governor with the notification, the notary public shall provide the lieutenant governor with any additional information that the lieutenant governor requests about the compromise of the signature." Page 13, line 28: Delete "or" Insert "," Page 13, line 30, following "length": Insert ", or may be an electronic form as authorized by regulations adopted by the lieutenant governor" Page 13, line 31, through page 14, line 1: Delete "in a secure area" Insert "secure and" Page 14, line 2, following "lost,": Insert "or the security of the notary public's official electronic seal is compromised," Page 14, line 4: Delete "or" Insert "," Following "loss": Insert ", or compromised security. After the notary public has provided the lieutenant governor with the notification, the notary public shall provide the lieutenant governor with any additional information that the lieutenant governor requests about the compromise of the seal" Page 14, line 12: Delete "A" Insert "With regard to each paper document being notarized, a" Page 14, line 15: Delete "of each paper document notarized," Page 14, line 18: Delete "Illegible" Insert "For a notarized paper document, illegible" Page 14, following line 23: Insert a new subsection to read: "(d) A notary public may use a seal in electronic form on electronic documents notarized by the notary public as authorized by regulations adopted by the lieutenant governor. The seal shall be affixed only at the time the notarial act is performed." Page 15, line 14, following "signature": Insert "and information regarding the notary public's electronic signature" CHAIR McGUIRE objected for the purpose of discussion. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said Amendment 3 was crafted so as to allow the use of electronic notarizations when that technology becomes available. CHAIR McGUIRE asked whether there were any further objections to Amendment 3. There being none, Amendment 3 was adopted. 1:30:44 PM REPRESENTATIVE GARA asked whether initial or subsequent applications to become a notary must be done in person. MR. CLARK said it can be done by mail, but the signature must be notarized as must the oath on the notary bond. REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG disclosed that he is a notary. CHAIR McGUIRE, after ascertaining that no one else wished to testify, closed public testimony on HB 97. 1:31:43 PM REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG moved to report CSHB 97(STA), as amended, out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHB 97(JUD) was reported from the House Judiciary Standing Committee.
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