UT House Bill 470

Legislation

State: Utah
Signed: March 14, 2023

Effective: May 02, 2023
Chapter: 201

Summary

Defines “digital signature” and requires recommendations to be provided to government entities regarding verifiable records and credentials.

Affects
Adds Section 63A-16-108 to the Utah Code Annotated.

Changes

Defines "digital signature" to mean a tamper-evident, immutable, electronic seal that is equivalent in function and status to a notary seal issued by a government entity.
Requires the Division of Technology Services to provide recommendations to government entities regarding digital verifiable records and credentials.
Requires the Division of Technology Services to create a pilot program for digital verifiable credentials.

Analysis

House Bill 470 is an example of a bill that confuses the essential services provided by a Notary Public with a technological solution. The NNA has been opposing bills like House Bill 470 for over 20 years. HB 470 equates a “digital signature” with the function and status of a Notary seal, the official insignia of the Notary Public office. Let’s be clear about the NNA position on bills like HB 470: the NNA holds that no technological solution can ever compare with or replace the official human impartial witnessing of a Notary Public who is a public officer. Presumably, any recommendations that the Division of Technology Services issues under HB 470 would apply only to a government entity, which is defined in the bill to mean a Utah state agency or political subdivision. This may be the only saving grace of this unfortunate bill.

Read the text of House Bill 470.