BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                          Senator Carole Migden, Chairwoman

                                           799 (Simitian)
          
          Hearing Date:  4/25/05          Amended: 4/12/05
          Consultant:  Lisa Matocq        Policy Vote: Judiciary 6-0
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          BILL SUMMARY:   

          SB 799 reduces the special filing fee, from $20 to $10 per  
          document, charged by the Secretary of State (SOS) for  
          authenticating official documents related to child adoptions.  
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                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions               2005-06    2006-07    2007-08    Fund
                                                                   
          Revenue loss                       $230              $460         
             $460           General 
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          STAFF COMMENTS:  This bill meets the criteria for referral to  
          the Suspense File. 

          Under current law, the SOS authenticates public officials'  
          signatures on documents, such as birth certificates or notarized  
          documents, to be used outside the United States, such as in  
          international adoptions. The authentication process involves  
          certifying that the signature of the notary is authentic and  
          issuing a certificate of official character.  Existing law  
          authorizes the SOS to charge a $20 fee per certificate of  
          official character.  

          This bill reduces the fee, from $20 to $10, for adoption-related  
          certificates of official character.  The bill is intended to  
          reduce the costs of international adoptions. 

          The SOS issues approximately 45,000 adoption-related  
          certificates of official character annually.  Therefore, the  
          annual revenue loss to the General Fund (assuming a General Fund  
          backfill to the Business Fees Fund) would be about $450,000  
          annually.