Legislature(2003 - 2004)
02/19/2004 03:40 PM Senate STA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SB 302-OATHS; NOTARIES PUBLIC; STATE SEAL
CHAIR GARY STEVENS announced SB 302 to be up for consideration.
He invited Annette Kreitzer to come forward.
ANNETTE KREITZER, chief of staff to Lt. Governor Leman, said
Scott Clark was joining her. The reason for the bill, she
explained, is the notary statutes have seen little updating
since about 1961. She noted member's had a sectional analysis, a
page of frequently asked questions, and a page comparing the
current and proposed notary statute policy issues.
Although she was happy to answer any questions, she said she
would just highlight the sectional analysis. She noted that she
and others in the office were surprised to learn that the lt.
governor and the presiding officers of both bodies must be
notaries to be able to administer the oath of office so that
change is addressed in section 1.
Section 5 increases the fee for a notary certificate from $2.00
to $5.00. Section 6 relates to the two categories of notaries.
The notary public without limitation has a four year term and
may charge fees for service. The limited governmental notary may
conduct only official government business, the term is the same
as the length of government employment, and they may not charge
a fee. A notary public may hold both types of commission
concurrently.
Section 7 changes qualifications. The age was lowered from 19 to
18; the notary must be an Alaska resident and reside in the
U.S.; and he or she may not be a convicted felon or have had a
commission revoked.
MS. KREITZER reported that the remaining sections relate to
changing antiquated language. Section 13 is the repealer section
and for the most part the repeals are rewritten then
reincorporated elsewhere in the bill.
CHAIR GARY STEVENS noted that is on page 14 of the bill.
Section 14 relates to applicability and sets forth that
commissions continue in effect until the term of office expires
or if the commissioned is a felon; bonds, seals and liabilities
in effect continue through the term of office; all notaries must
follow the notary procedures encompassed in the legislation; and
when commissions expire, application for new commissions will be
under AS 44.50.031.
CHAIR GARY STEVENS asked for verification that a convicted felon
would lose his or her commission.
MS. KREITZER said that's correct.
SENATOR COWDERY asked if notaries could charge fees because he
notices that in the post office they may not charge fees.
MS. KREITZER replied limited governmental notaries doing
government business may not charge fees while private notaries
may charge fees, but the latter must develop and adhere to a fee
schedule. Referring to the postmaster, she pointed to a proposed
amendment in the packets and explained that they recently
discovered that Alaska law has been inconsistent with the
federal law.
SENATOR COWDERY asked if there is any regulation on how much
could be charged.
SCOTT CLARK, notary commission administrator, advised that
notaries are free to develop their own fee schedule.
CHAIR GARY STEVENS asked Ms. Kreitzer to stay for potential
questions then asked Mr. Clark if he would care to comment on
the bill.
MR. CLARK wasn't close enough to the microphone to pick up his
response.
SENATOR STEDMAN contended the question about the fee structure
had merit. He noted that many businesses offer the service to
their customers and the notaries he has worked with over the
years have been proud to be a notary and take their job
seriously.
He asked if there is data on how many convicted felons are
notaries.
MR. CLARK replied there is no current restriction so they don't
track that information. Nonetheless, he wouldn't expect the
number to be very high.
SENATOR STEDMAN noted that a great deal of responsibility comes
with a notary commission and asked for an explanation for why
the age was reduced.
MR. CLARK admitted he wasn't working in his current capacity
when the original notary bill passed, but he surmised it had
something to do with the drinking age. He continued to say that
all states but Alaska and Nebraska have established 18 as the
minimum age for a notary. He expressed full agreement that a
notary work is an important service that should be taken
seriously. On the other hand, many entry-level positions in
banks tend to go to younger people. Yesterday he received a call
from a bank that was trying to hire an 18 year old. Part of the
job description was to perform notary services and they were
uncertain about the age limit. That person might not have
qualified for the job because they weren't eligible to become a
notary for another six months.
SENATOR STEDMAN then asked for an explanation of current and
proposed authority regarding revocations and extensions.
MS. KREITZER replied the current process for revocation is
through the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). If there is a
complaint against a notary, the governor must find a hearing
officer to process the complaint. The hearing officer can
continue or revoke a notary commission, but the lt. governor
lacks that authority.
In the course of their review, they evaluated the process in
Washington, Oregon and Texas and took an amalgam. As proposed,
the lt. governor would have the authority to evaluate complaints
for merit and then take action ranging from conducting a
disciplinary hearing up to revoking a commission.
SENATOR STEDMAN asked how many commissions have been revoked.
MR. CLARK answered he was not aware of any.
MS. KREITZER gave the following background. One of the first
things she did as chief of staff was to look at the jobs in the
lt. governor's office to determine whether or not there was a
better way to do things. With regard to notaries, they found
that the test they give is not mandatory. Although they want to
continue that, they would like to move to an educational, web
based, model to better serve the 12,000 notaries in the state.
Even though there haven't been a large number of complaints,
they have determined that the disciplinary section is important.
Since Lt. Governor Leman has been in office, she knows of three
instances in which notaries pushed the line of propriety.
SENATOR STEDMAN commented that most people are honest, but
occasionally an unscrupulous person will modify the signature on
a notarized document. He knew that notaries usually keep a log
for their own protection and he was curious about the
requirements for keeping a log.
MS. KREITZER replied that is a policy point they discussed, but
because they don't have the staff to ensure that notaries keep
logs, they just make the strong recommendation that one is kept.
MR. CLARK confirmed that the office has always strongly
recommended that a log is kept and they intend to continue that
recommendation. It's important to the public to be able to
follow up on a notarized signature and because a notary is
liable for every action he or she takes as a notary, it's
important for their protection as well. An accurate detailed log
is the only proof a notary has to show that they have complied
with the law.
SENATOR GRETCHEN GUESS referred to page 3, line 27 and asked
what qualifications are associated with limited notaries, other
than being a state, municipal or federal employees. She observed
it wasn't clear whether or not the qualifications in section 7
covered both public and limited notaries.
MS. KREITZER replied both commissions have the same
qualifications.
SENATOR GUESS asked if the drafter said that is clear, because
it doesn't explicitly say that.
MS. KREITZER gave a nod.
SENATOR GUESS asked about the process for revoking the
commission if a notary subsequently becomes a felon.
CHAIR GARY STEVENS noted she was referring to page 4, line 6.
MS. KREITZER replied that because they don't collect such
information, someone would first have to file a complaint and
then the process on page 11 would be set into place. The lt.
governor would hear the complaint and since felony convictions
are a matter of public record, determining the validity of the
complaint would be a simple matter.
SENATOR GUESS asked if there is a reapplication process after
four years at which time the office might check for felony
convictions.
MS. KREITZER said they decided they didn't want to disrupt
current commissions so the only way someone would lose their
commission would be if a valid complaint were filed. The new
requirements become effective when a term ends and the notary
reapplies.
SENATOR GUESS clarified she was asking about cases in which a
notary became a felon after they had received a commission.
MS. KREITZER said it would be the same complaint driven process.
CHAIR GARY STEVENS asked for verification that no one had ever
lost their commission because of a felony conviction.
MR. CLARK said he has received complaints from the public about
notaries supposedly being felons, but because they don't have
the authority to investigate or discipline notaries, they
haven't followed up on the allegations.
SENATOR GUESS noted she didn't see any mention in the fiscal
note, but she wondered if the lt. governor's office would begin
to conduct background checks.
MS. KREITZER stated they wouldn't run checks. Applicants will be
taken at their word.
SENATOR COWDERY asked if signature verification is the only duty
a notary performs or is there also a requirement to determine
whether or not the document is valid as well.
MR. CLARK replied notaries verify signatures and are empowered
to give oaths.
CHAIR GARY STEVENS asked him to clarify that the job is to
verify that the signer is who they say they are and not to prove
the document in any way.
MR. CLARK said that is exactly correct. "A notary serves as an
impartial third party witness to the signer of a document. They
verify the identity of the signer and they witness the act. The
act has to take place in front of the notary - at least the
notarization..." Notaries take an oath swearing that the
information they gave on their application is full and correct
and giving oaths is another common act for a notary.
CHAIR GARY STEVENS announced a proposed amendment was before the
committee.
SENATOR COWDERY made a motion to adopt amendment number 1
reading:
Page 10, line 10:
Delete "a $5 name change fee"
Insert "the fee under AS 44.19.024"
Page 14, line 11:
Insert: "44.50.180(c),"
CHAIR GARY STEVENS asked Ms. Kreitzer to explain the amendment.
MS. KREITZER said after the bill was drafted she realized that
the $5 name change fee was confusing because it appeared that it
was different than the $5 fee for certificate under AS
44.19.024.
The second change is related to charging fees for notary
services. It repeals AS 44.50.180(c) because it is the
inconsistency she mentioned between Alaska law and federal law.
CHAIR GARY STEVENS asked if there were any questions or
objections to adopting amendment number one and there were none.
He asked for a motion to move the bill.
SENATOR COWDERY motioned to pass CSSB 302(STA) from committee
with the accompanying fiscal note. There being no objection, it
was so ordered.
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