BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                             AB 625
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          Date of Hearing:   April 2, 2013

                           ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
                                Bob Wieckowski, Chair
                  AB 625 (Quirk) - As Introduced:  February 20, 2013

           SUBJECT  :  NOTARIES PUBLIC: ACCEPTANCE OF IDENTIFICATION

           KEY ISSUE  :  SHOULD A NOTARY PUBLIC BE AUTHORIZED TO REASONABLY  
          RELY ON THE PRESENTATION OF AN INMATE IDENTIFICATION CARD ISSUED  
          BY THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION ("CDCR") TO  
          ESTABLISH THE IDENTITY OF THE INMATE DESCRIBED IN AND EXECUTING  
          A WRITTEN INSTRUMENT?

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  As currently in print this bill is keyed  
          non-fiscal.
                                          
                                      SYNOPSIS
          
          This bill, sponsored by Justice Now, seeks to authorize notaries  
          public to reasonably rely on the presentation of an inmate  
          identification card issued by the Department of Corrections and  
          Rehabilitation (CDCR), if the inmate is in custody, to establish  
          the identity of the inmate described in and executing a written  
          instrument.  According to the sponsor, in California, roughly  
          195,000 children have a parent in state prison.  Eighty percent  
          of people in women's prisons are mothers.  According to the  
          California Research Bureau, approximately two-thirds of mothers  
          in prison were the primary care provider for their children  
          before imprisonment.  In order for parents in prison to arrange  
          temporary guardianship, approve visits for their children, and  
          take care of a wide range of family matters, access to notary  
          services is absolutely necessary.  All people in prison have the  
          right to access notary services.  Supporters emphasize that this  
          bill will ensure timely access to valuable notary services,  
          while incarcerated, by allowing use of a CDCR inmate  
          identification card.  This bill will help incarcerated parents  
          be able to visit with their children by authorizing notaries  
          public to reasonably rely on the presentation of an inmate  
          identification card, which is already issued by the CDCR, if the  
          inmate is in custody, to establish the identity of the inmate.   
          The bill will also benefit all state prisoners who must rely  
          upon notary services.  

           SUMMARY  :  Seeks to authorize notaries public to reasonably rely  








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          on the presentation of an inmate identification card issued by  
          the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), if the  
          inmate is in custody, to establish the identity of the inmate  
          described in and executing a written instrument.  Specifically,  
           this bill  :  

          1)Authorizes a notary public to take acknowledgement of a  
            written instrument in reasonable reliance upon the  
            presentation of an inmate identification card issued by the  
            CDCR, if the inmate is in custody, without requiring the  
            identification card to be current or have been issued within  
            the past five years, and without certain additional  
            identifying information, including a photograph and  
            description of the person named on it, is signed by the  
            person, and has a serial or other identifying number.  

          2)Authorizes a notary public to accept as verification of an  
            affiant's identity, when executing a jurat and the statement  
            sworn or subscribed to is contained in a document that  
            purports to identify the affiant, an inmate identification  
            card issued by the CDCR, if the inmate is in custody.  

          3)Makes the following findings and declarations:

             a)   The state and its counties have a financial and public  
               safety interest in ensuring the children of people  
               convicted of felonies and sentenced to state prison time  
               have access to appropriate schooling and medical treatment.  
                Eighty percent of imprisoned women are mothers and the  
               vast majority were the primary care provider of minor  
               children at the time of their arrest and imprisonment.   
               These minor children's access to school and medical  
               treatment may be unnecessarily interrupted should their  
               incarcerated parent lack timely and affordable access to a  
               notary necessary for them to complete paperwork to  
               establish temporary guardianship for their children.

             b)   The state and its counties have a financial and public  
               safety interest in ensuring people convicted of felonies  
               and sentenced to state prison time are able to successfully  
               reenter their communities upon completion of their  
               sentences and live a crime-free life.  Evidence-based  
               research demonstrates a clear connection between decreased  
               recidivism rates and strength of familial bonds during  
               periods of incarceration.  These bonds are weakened when  








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               minor children are unnecessarily prevented from visiting  
               incarcerated parents due merely to the incarcerated  
               parents' lack of timely and affordable access to a notary  
               public required to complete required visitation forms.

             c)   The state has taken significant measures to assure due  
               process and accuracy in determining the identity of people  
               convicted of felonies and held in control of the Department  
               of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and in tracking these  
               individuals' appropriate identity through issuance and  
               monitoring of state inmate identification cards.

           EXISTING LAW  : 

          1)Authorizes the proof or acknowledgment of a written instrument  
            before specified officers of the state, including notaries  
            public.  (Civil Code Sections 1181-1183.)  

          2)Provides that acknowledgement of a written instrument shall  
            not be taken unless the officer taking it has satisfactory  
            evidence that the person making the acknowledgement is the  
            individual who is described in and who executed the  
            instrument.  (Civil Code Section 1185(a).)  

          3)Defines "satisfactory evidence" to mean the absence of  
            information, evidence, or other circumstances that would lead  
            a reasonable person to believe that the person making the  
            acknowledgment is not the individual he or she claims to be  
            and reasonable reliance on the presentation to the officer of  
            one of several specified documents.  (Civil Code Section  
            1185(b)(3).)  

          4)Specifies that an inmate identification card that is current  
            or has been issued within 5 years by the CDCR, if the inmate  
            is in custody, is an allowable form of identification, for a  
            credible witness, who, by oath or affirmation, attests to the  
            identity of an individual executing a written instrument in  
            the presence of, and acknowledged by, a notary public, if it  
            contains certain identifying information, including a  
            photograph and description of the person named on it, is  
            signed by the person, and has a serial or other identifying  
            number.  (Civil Code Section 1185(b)(4).)  

          5)Requires a notary public, when executing a jurat, to  
            administer an oath or affirmation to the affiant to determine,  








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            from satisfactory evidence as described in Section 1185 of the  
            Civil Code, that the affiant is the person executing the  
            document.  In addition, the affiant must sign the document in  
            the presence of the notary.  (Gov. Code Section 8202.)  

          6)Authorizes a notary public to accept as verification of an  
            affiant's identity, when executing a jurat and the statement  
            sworn or subscribed to is contained in a document that  
            purports to identify the affiant, either of the following: a  
            certified copy of the person's birth certificate or an  
            identification card or driver's license issued by the  
            Department of Motor Vehicles.  (Gov. Code Section 8230.) 
                   
           COMMENTS  :  This bill, sponsored by Justice Now, seeks to  
          authorize notaries public to reasonably rely on the presentation  
          of an inmate identification card issued by the CDCR, if the  
          inmate is in custody, to establish the identity of the inmate  
          described in and executing a written instrument.  According to  
          the sponsor of the bill, Justice Now, a legal services and human  
          rights organization that works with people inside California  
          women's prisons:

               In California, roughly 195,000 children have a parent  
               in state prison.  Eighty percent of people in women's  
               prisons are mothers.  According to the California  
               Research Bureau, approximately two-thirds of mothers  
               in prison were the primary care provider for their  
               children before imprisonment.  In order for parents in  
               prison to arrange temporary guardianship, approve  
               visits for their children, and take care of a wide  
               range of family matters, access to notary services is  
               absolutely necessary.  All people in prison have the  
               right to access notary services.  

           Children of Incarcerated Parents  :  According to a report  
          published in 2008 by the CDCR, titled The Master Plan for Female  
          Offenders, incarcerated women, who are mothers, are less likely  
          to have a partner on the outside that can help care for and  
          raise their children.  This is in stark contrast to incarcerated  
          fathers who are more likely to have a partner that can care for  
          and raise their children.  The incarceration of a parent can be  
          traumatic and life altering for children.  Uninterrupted access  
          to guardianship, school and medical treatment are necessary in  
          order for a child of an incarcerated parent to retain a sense of  
          "normalcy" in their lives.  Once a parent is incarcerated, these  








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          arrangements can be legally made through a notary.

          According to materials published in 2010 by the American Bar  
          Association, there is evidence that children who maintain close  
          ties with their incarcerated parents experience less emotional  
          distress and exhibit fewer problematic behaviors than children  
          who do not have contact with their parents.  Maintaining contact  
          with parents has been shown to be particularly beneficial in  
          cases where the parent had significant presence in the child's  
          life prior to being incarcerated.  (Margolies, Julie Kowitz and  
          Tamar Kraft-Stolar. When "Free" Means Losing Your Mother: The  
          Collision of Child Welfare and the Incarceration of Women in New  
          York State. New York: Women in Prison Project, Correctional  
          Association of New York, 2006.)  Furthermore, maintaining  
          contact with their children helps the incarcerated parent by  
          improving the reentry process and reducing recidivism rates,  
          which would likely benefit the child.  

          According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice  
          Statistics, more than half of mothers and father in state  
          prisons report having received no in-person visits from their  
          children since their admission.  In addition, parents with  
          multiple children may receive visits from some children, but not  
          from others.  The sponsor of the bill, Justice Now, illustrates  
          the above point with the following anecdote:

               A mother who was recently transferred from Valley  
               State Prison for Women ("VSPW") to Central California  
               Women's Facility ("CCWF") called to inform Justice  
               Now's lawyers that she was denied a family visit in  
               January 2013.  She was pregnant while imprisoned at  
               VSPW and gave birth in October 2012.  She has not seen  
               her newborn since he was born.  Although her sister  
               traveled for hours to bring all of the children,  
               including her newborn, to see their mother, CDCR  
               denied the visit because the sister failed to provide  
               the proper notarized paperwork.  This mother is  
               working to obtain paperwork that is in compliance with  
               CDCR requirements in order to see her children.   
               However, it is likely that such as visit will not  
               happen for a few more months.

           Inmate Identification Cards  :  Currently, under Title 15 of the  
          California Code of Regulations, Section 3019, inmates must carry  
          on their person any identification or privilege card issued for  








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          identification purposes.  Under the current statutory scheme, an  
          inmate identification card that is current or issued within the  
          previous five years by the CDCR if the inmate is in custody is  
          an allowable form of identification only if it contains certain  
          identifying information, including a photograph and description  
          of the person named on it, is signed by the person, and has a  
          serial or other identifying number.  This bill would make an  
          inmate identification card presumptively an allowable form of  
          identification, without the additional identifying information,  
          for a credible witness to prove the identity of an individual  
          who executes a written instrument.  
           
          According to the sponsor, as it currently stands, CDCR issues a  
          separate form of identification to inmates for notary purposes.   
          CDCR has taken significant measures to assure due process and  
          accuracy in determining the identity of people sentenced to  
          prison.  "As such, the process of creating and issuing  
          additional specialized IDs is costly, unnecessary and delays  
          access to service.  By removing an unnecessary step and  
          streamlining the process through which people in prison seek  
          important notary services, this bill will help reduce barriers  
          to maintaining family bonds as well as save the state money and  
          resources."

          Supporters emphasize that this bill will ensure timely access to  
          valuable notary services, while incarcerated, by allowing use of  
          a CDCR inmate identification card.  The Legal Services for  
          Prisoners with Children writes in support of this bill because  
          allowing notaries to accept an inmate identification card,  
          issued by the CDCR, as a form of identification will help  
          incarcerated parents be able to visit their children, stating: 

               Sometimes, the child of an incarcerated parent is  
               cared for informally by a relative or friend without  
               official documentation.  The law permits this  
               arrangement.  However, CDCR will not allow such a  
               child to visit his or her incarcerated parent unless  
               the incarcerated parent executes a document giving  
               formal legal custody to someone.  This mandatory  
               document, entitled "Temporary Custody  
               Arrangement/Power of Attorney", must be notarized.   
               Until recently, notaries were using the CDCR-issued  
               inmate [identification] card to establish a prisoner's  
               identity. 









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               This card has recently been deemed by the CDCR as not  
               qualifying as proper identification for notaries.   
               CDCR is apparently in the process of creating a  
               notary-acceptable identification card, which it will  
               charge prisoners for.  Not only must prisoners pay for  
               notary services at $10 per document, they will also  
               have to pay an [undetermined] amount for an  
               identification card.  Ten dollars is a small fortune  
               for many prisoners?. This bill will benefit those  
               incarcerated parents and their minor children for whom  
               formal legal custody arrangements have not been  
               established. 

          This bill will help incarcerated parents visit with their  
          children by authorizing notaries public to reasonably rely on  
          the presentation of an inmate identification card, which is  
          already issued by the CDCR, if the inmate is in custody, to  
          establish the identity of the inmate described in and executing  
          the written instrument.  This bill will also benefit all state  
          prisoners who must rely upon notary services.  
           
          Prior Related Legislation  :  AB 2452 (Davis), Chap. 67 (Stats.  
          2008) added specified governmental employee identification cards  
          as an allowable form of identification for a credible witness to  
          prove the identity of an individual who executes a written  
          instrument.

          AB 2420 (McClintock), Chap. 307 (Stats. 1987) included within  
          the documents that established "satisfactory evidence" an inmate  
          identification card issued by the Department of Corrections and  
          Rehabilitation, if the inmate is in custody.  
           
          REGISTERED SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:

          Support

           Justice Now (sponsor)
          American Civil Liberties Union of California (ACLU)
          California Coalition for Women Prisoners
          Get On the Bus
          Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
          Women's Foundation for California

           Opposition
           








                                                             AB 625
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          None on file
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Drew Liebert and Rebecca Kramer / JUD.  
          / (916) 319-2334