LegislationSep 04, 2011 - North Carolina
NC Senate Bill 349 - Senate Bill 349 allows a person harmed by any person engaging in the unauthorized practice of law or knowingly aiding or abetting a person engaging in the unauthorized practice of law, or fraudulently holding themselves out as a paralegal, to file a private cause of action to recover damages and reasonable attorneys’ fees.
LegislationSep 01, 2011 - Texas
TX House Bill 3674 - House Bill 3674 authorizes an unsworn declaration to be made in any circumstance in which a written sworn declaration, verification, certification, oath or affirmation is permitted.
LegislationAug 26, 2011 - Nebraska
NE Legislative Bill 690 - In Legislative Bill 690, Nebraska becomes the first state to declare in statute that a Notary commits malfeasance (wrongdoing by a public official) if the Notary violates the confidentiality provisions of various sections in the Nebraska Revised Statutes pertaining to consents or declarations to abortion.
LegislationAug 23, 2011 - Illinois
IL House Bill 3041 - House Bill 3041 amends the definition of “financial institution” to include a trust company. Notaries who create a “Notarial Record” for a document of conveyance that transfers or purports to transfer title to residential real property must file the Notarial Record with their employer if the employer is a financial institution.
LegislationAug 13, 2011 - Maine
ME House Paper 241 - House Paper 241 permits a municipal treasurer or treasurer’s assignee to sign a discharge of sewer tax lien with a facsimile signature and a Notary or notarial officer to notarize the facsimile signature.
LegislationAug 01, 2011 - North Dakota
ND House Bill 1136 - North Dakota becomes the first state to enact the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (RULONA) published by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL). HB 1136 repeals prior Chapter 44-06 and several other sections containing rules pertaining to Notaries and replaces them with many of RULONA’s provisions. While the NNA is supportive of the many provisions of the RULONA adopted in this legislation, unfortunately, the journal, education and examination requirements contained in the introduced version of the bill were removed by the House of Representatives.
LegislationJul 20, 2011 - Arizona
AZ Senate Bill 1230 - Senate Bill 1230 implements a number of ethical standards which generally strengthen the integrity of both paper-based and electronic notarial acts and protect the public. The most interesting – and novel – change is that any attached “loose” certificate used by a Notary must contain additional information besides the wording for the acknowledgment or jurat designed to protect the certificate from being used with another document.
LegislationJul 13, 2011 - Washington
WA House Bill 1345 - Washington enacts the Uniform Unsworn Foreign Declarations Act (UUFDA) published by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. Subject to the limitations prescribed in the Act, the UUFDA permits a person living or traveling outside of the U.S. who must sign a sworn statement to make the statement under penalty of perjury without having to appear before a Notary or U.S. consular officer to take an oath or affirmation.
LegislationJul 08, 2011 - Arkansas
AR Senate Bill 887 - Arkansas enacts the Uniform Power of Attorney Act (UPOAA). If a power of attorney is presented for notarization, a Notary will need to know that a signer may sign the power of attorney or may direct another person to sign it for him or her. The Act doesn’t require a power of attorney to be notarized, but a court will presume the signature to be genuine if it is acknowledged before a Notary or an officer authorized to take acknowledgments.
LegislationJul 01, 2011 - Wyoming
WY Senate File 150 - Senate Bill 150 adopts many of the NNA‟s most esteemed best Notary practices and ethical standards taken from the Model Notary Act of 2010. It including a solid definition of the “satisfactory evidence of identity” a notarial officer must obtain to perform a notarial act. For the first time, a state has adopted the Model Notary Act’s “verification of fact” notarial act. However, the bill also contains a vaguely-worded definition of the terms “personally appear,” “in the presence of,” and “appear before” which could erode the integrity of notarial acts in Wyoming.