Chapter 0054 - 462R - H Ver of HB2253

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 41-311, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE41-311. Definitions

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Acknowledgment" means a notarial act in which a notary certifies that a signer, whose identity is proven by satisfactory evidence, appeared before the notary and acknowledged that the signer signed the document.

2. "Commission" means to authorize to perform notarial acts and the written authority to perform those acts.

3. "Copy certification" means a notarial act in which the notary certifies that the notary has made a photocopy of an original document that is neither a public record nor publicly recordable.

4. "Identity is personally known" means familiarity with an individual resulting from interactions with that person over a sufficient time to eliminate reasonable doubt that the individual has the identity claimed.

5. "Incomplete document" means a document that has not been signed where a signature line is provided or where other obvious blanks appear in the document or that lacks a notarial certificate.

6. "Jurat" means a notarial act in which the notary certifies that a signer, whose identity is proven by satisfactory evidence, has made in the notary's presence a voluntary signature and has taken an oath or affirmation vouching for the truthfulness of the signed document.

7. "Notarial act" or "notarization" means any act that a notary is authorized to perform under section 41‑313.

8. "Notarial certificate" or "certificate" means the part of or attachment to a notarized document for completion by the notary that bears the notary's signature and seal and states the facts that are attested by the notary in a particular notarization.

9. "Notary public" or "notary" means any person commissioned to perform notarial acts under this article.

10. "Oath" or "affirmation" means a notarial act or part of a notarial act in which a person made a vow in the presence of the notary under penalty of perjury, with reference made to a supreme being in the case of an oath.

11. "Satisfactory evidence of identity" means that proof is evidenced by one of the following:

(a) At least one current form of identification issued by the united states government or a federal, state or tribal government with the individual's photograph, signature and physical description. The individual's physical description contained in the form of identification shall be written and shall include at a minimum a description of the individual's height, weight, color of hair and color of eyes.

(b) The oath or affirmation of a credible person who is personally known to the notary and who personally knows the individual.

(c) The oath or affirmation of a credible person who personally knows the individual and who provides satisfactory evidence of identity pursuant to subdivision (a) of this subsection paragraph.

(d) Personal knowledge of the individual by the notary.END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 41-312, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE41-312. Appointment; term; oath and bond

A. The secretary of state may appoint notaries public in each county to hold office for four years who shall have jurisdiction in the county in which they reside and in which they are appointed. Acknowledgments of documents may be taken and executed and oaths may be administered by a notary public in any county of the state although the commission is issued to the notary public in and for another county.

B. The secretary of state shall transmit the commission of the person appointed as notary public to the clerk of the superior court in the county for which the notary was appointed. The clerk shall give notice of the appointment to the person appointed who shall take, within twenty days after receiving such notice, take the oath prescribed by law and give a bond to the state, with sureties approved by the clerk, in an amount prescribed by the secretary of state and file it with the clerk. Upon filing the official oath and bond the clerk shall deliver the commission to such person and give notice to the secretary of state of the time and filing of the oath and bond.

C. A notary public is a public officer commissioned by this state and the following apply without regard to whether the notary public's employer or any other person has paid the fees and costs for the commissioning of the notary public, including costs for the official seal and journals:

1. A notary public's official seal and commission and any journal that contains only public record entries remain the property of the notary public.

2. A notary public may perform notarizations outside the workplace of the notary's employer except during those times normally designated as the notary public's hours of duty for that employer. All fees received by a notary public for notarial services provided while not on duty remain the property of the notary public.

3. An employer of a notary public shall not limit the notary public's services to customers or other persons designated by the employer.

D. A notary public shall continue to serve until the notary public's commission expires, the notary public resigns the commission, the notary public dies or the secretary of state revokes the commission. An employer may not cancel the notary bond or notary commission of any notary public who is an employee and who leaves that employment.

E. A notary public shall comply with all of the following:

1. Be at least eighteen years of age.

2. Be a resident of this state for income tax purposes and claim the individual's residence in this state as the individual's primary residence on state and federal tax returns.

3. Except as provided in section 41‑330, subsection A, paragraph 2, never have been convicted of a felony.

4. keep as a reference a manual that is approved by the secretary of state that describes the duties, authority and ethical responsibilities of notaries public.

F. An applicant for appointment and commission as a notary public shall complete an application form prescribed by the secretary of state. Except for the applicant's name and business address, all information on the application is confidential and may not be disclosed to any person other than the applicant, the applicant's personal representative or an employee or officer of the federal, state or local government who is acting in an official capacity. The secretary of state shall use the information contained on the application only for carrying out the purposes of this article.

G. The state or any of its political subdivisions may pay the fees and costs for the commissioning of a notary public who is an employee of this state or any of its political subdivisions and who performs notarial services in the course of the notary public’s employment or for the convenience of public employees.END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Section 41-313, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE41-313. Duties

A. Notaries public shall perform the following notarial acts, when requested:

1. Take acknowledgments and give certificates of the acknowledgments endorsed on or attached to the instrument.

2. Administer oaths and affirmations.

3. Perform jurats.

4. Perform copy certification.

B. Notaries public shall:

1. Keep, maintain and protect as a public record a journal of all official acts performed by the notary as described in section 41‑319.

2. Provide and keep the official seal that is imprinted in dark ink with the words "notary public", the name of the county in which the notary is commissioned, the name of the notary as it appears on the notarial application, the great seal of the state of Arizona and the expiration date of the notarial commission.

3. Authenticate with the official seal all official acts, and affix the date of the expiration of the notary's commission as the notary on every certificate or acknowledgment signed and sealed by the notary.

4. respond to any requests for information and comply with any investigations that are initiated by the secretary of state or the attorney general.END_STATUTE

Sec. 4. Section 41-319, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE41-319. Journal

A. The notary shall keep a paper journal and, except as prescribed by subsection D e, shall keep only one journal at a time. The notary shall record all notarial acts in chronological order. The notary shall furnish, when requested, a certified copy of any public record in the notary's journal. Records of notarial acts that violate the attorney‑client privilege or that are confidential pursuant to federal or state law are not a public record. Each journal entry shall include at least:

1. The date of the notarial act.

2. A description of the document or type of notarial act.

3. The printed full name, signature and address of each person for whom a notarial act is performed.

4. The type of satisfactory evidence of identity presented to the notary by each person for whom a notarial act is performed, if other than the notary's personal knowledge of the individual is used as satisfactory evidence of identity.

5. A description of the identification document, its serial or identification number and its date of issuance or expiration.

6. The fee, if any, charged for the notarial act.

B. If a notary has personal knowledge of the identity of a signer, the requirements of subsection A, paragraphs 1 through 5 may be satisfied by the notary retaining a paper or electronic copy of the notarized documents for each notarial act.

C. If a notary does more than one notarization for an individual within a six month period, the notary shall have the individual provide satisfactory evidence of identity the first time the notary performs the notarization for the individual but may not require satisfactory evidence of identity or the individual to sign the journal for subsequent notarizations performed for the individual during the six month period.

D. If a notary performs more than one notarization of the same type for a signer either on like documents or within the same document and at the same time, the notary may group the documents together and make one journal entry for the transaction.

E. If one or more entries in a notary public's journal are not public records, the notary public may keep one journal that contains entries that are not public records and one journal that contains entries that are public records. A notary public's journal that contains entries that are not public records is the property of the employer of that notary public and shall be retained by that employer if the notary public leaves that employment. A notary public's journal that contains only public records is the property of the notary public without regard to whether the notary public's employer purchased the journal or provided the fees for the commissioning of the notary public.

F. Except as provided in subsections A and D e, the notary's journal is a public record that may be viewed by or copied for any member of the public, but only upon presentation to the notary of a written request that details the month and year of the notarial act, the name of the person whose signature was notarized and the type of document or transaction.END_STATUTE

Sec. 5. Section 41-323, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE41-323. Change of address; lost journal or seal; civil penalty

A. Within thirty days after the change of a notary's mailing or residential address, the notary shall deliver to the secretary of state, by certified mail or other means providing a receipt, a signed notice of the change that provides both the old and new addresses.

B. Within ten days after the loss or theft of an official journal or seal, the notary shall deliver to the secretary of state, by certified mail or other means providing a receipt, a signed notice of the loss or theft. The notary also shall inform the appropriate law enforcement agency in the case of theft.

C. If a notary fails to comply with subsection A or B, the notary has failed to fully and faithfully discharge the duties of a notary and the secretary of state may impose a civil penalty of twenty‑five dollars against the notary. The notary shall pay any civil penalty imposed by the secretary of state pursuant to this subsection prior to the renewal of the notary's commission.END_STATUTE

Sec. 6. Section 41-327, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE41-327. Name change; new commission

A. A notary public who has a change of surname due to marriage may continue to use the official seal and commission in the notary public's prior name until that commission expires. While using a married name in notarizations, the notary shall sign the married name on the line that is designated for the notary public's signature on the notarial certificate. Immediately below that signature, the notary public shall sign the name under which the notary was commissioned. The notary public shall notify the secretary of state's office within thirty days of the notary's change of surname due to marriage. failure to notify the secretary of state of this change of surname is evidence of the notary's failure to fully and faithfully discharge the duties of a notary.

B. Except as prescribed by subsection A, a notary public whose name changes shall apply for a new notary commission under the new name.END_STATUTE

Sec. 7. Section 41-330, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE41-330. Grounds for refusal, revocation or suspension of commission

A. The secretary of state may refuse to appoint any person as a notary public or may revoke or suspend the commission of any notary public for any of the following reasons:

1. Substantial and material misstatement or omission in the application for a notary public commission that is submitted to the secretary of state.

2. Conviction of a felony unless restored to civil rights, or of a lesser offense involving moral turpitude or of a nature that is incompatible with the duties of a notary public. A conviction after a plea of no contest is deemed to be a conviction for purposes of this paragraph.

3. Revocation, suspension, restriction or denial of a professional license if that action was for misconduct, dishonesty or any cause that substantially relates to the duties or responsibilities of a notary public.

4. Failure to discharge fully and faithfully any of the duties or responsibilities required of a notary public.

5. The use of false or misleading advertising in which the notary public has represented that the notary public has duties, rights or privileges that the notary public does not possess by law.

6. Charging more than the fees authorized by statute or rule.

7. The commission of any act involving dishonesty, fraud or deceit with the intent to substantially benefit the notary public or another person or to substantially injure another person.

8. Failure to complete the acknowledgment or jurat at the time the notary's signature and seal are affixed to the document.

9. Failure to administer the oath or affirmation required at the time of performing a jurat for an individual.

10. Execution of any notarial certificate by the notary public containing a statement known by the notary public to be false.

11. The return for insufficient funds or any other reason for nonpayment of a check issued for application fees to the secretary of state or the bond filing fees to the clerk of the superior court in the applicant's county of residence.

12. notarizing a document that contains no notarial certificate.

B. If an application is denied the secretary of state shall notify the applicant within thirty days after receipt of the application and shall state the reasons for the denial.

C. The secretary of state may suspend the commission of a notary for at least thirty days and for not more than one hundred eighty days.

D. If a person has had a notary commission in this state revoked, the secretary of state may refuse to appoint the person as a notary public for four years from the date of the revocation.

C. E. On revocation or suspension of a notary public's commission, the secretary of state shall give notice to the notary public and shall provide the person with notice of the opportunity for a hearing on the revocation or suspension pursuant to chapter 6, article 10 of this title. The revocation or suspension of a notary public commission is an appealable agency action. END_STATUTE

Sec. 8. Section 41-331, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE41-331. Complaints; investigations

a. Any person may make a complaint to the office of the secretary of state regarding a notary public. The secretary of state shall receive any complaints and shall provide notice of those complaints to the office of the attorney general who shall investigate and take action on all complaints involving allegations of any violations of this article.

B. A notary's failure to respond to an investigation is a failure by the notary to fully and faithfully discharge the responsibilities and duties of a notary. END_STATUTE