AnalysisHouse Bill 1222 was prescient in a way that could not have been predicted when the bill was prefiled for introduction in the Virginia House of Delegates on January 7, 2020. At that time news of the novel coronavirus spreading in Wuhan, China had been reported and just four days earlier on January 3, 2020, the Chinese alerted the Centers of Disease Control on the spread of the then-unknown virus. Fast forward to today. Many elderly are among the victims of COVID-19 and find themselves sick in their homes and hospitals and in need of the capability of signing powers of attorney, estate documents and other instruments to bring their affairs in order. Notarizing for the elderly has always been a challenge since these individuals often allow their driver's license to lapse and may not have obtained a non-driver's ID to replace it. House Bill 1222 will help these individuals to obtain Notary services by presenting certain expired identification credentials, as specified, to a Notary, provided that not more than 5 years have elapsed since the credential expired.
Read House Bill 1222.