AnalysisA trend in recent years in many states has been to broaden the term “oath” or “swear” to include not just affirmations that are made in the presence of a Notary or notarial officer, but statements made under penalty of perjury that do not need to be made before a notarial officer. The effect of such laws is to make the notarial act of jurat, verification upon oath or affirmation or affidavit, depending upon how the term is referred to by statute in the law of a state, obsolete. The NNA has typically opposed broad bills such as Idaho House Bill 30, but others counter that these laws make notarization more meaningful by removing the notarization requirement from scores of documents where it is not really needed. In addition proponents point out that HB 30 does not apply the taking of acknowledgments before a Notary or notarial officer, leaving this most important and widely used notarial act intact.