BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 625|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 625
Author: Quirk (D)
Amended: 6/10/13 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/4/13
AYES: Evans, Anderson, Corbett, Jackson, Leno, Monning
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 4/11/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Notaries Public: acceptance of identification
SOURCE : Justice Now
DIGEST : This bill adds inmate identification cards, issued by
the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
(CDCR), to the list of documents presumed to prove the identity
of an incarcerated individual who executes a written instrument,
for the purposes of notarization of an instrument.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Authorizes the proof or acknowledgment of written instruments
before specified officers of the state, including notaries
public. (Civ. Code Sections 1180-1183.)
2.Provides that the acknowledgment of an instrument may not be
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taken unless the officer (notary public) taking it has
satisfactory evidence that the person making the
acknowledgment is the individual who is described in and who
executed the instrument. (Civ. Code Sec. 1185 (a).)
3.Provides that the officer may reasonably rely on the
presentation of any one of the following, provided that the
document is current or has been issued within five years and
contains a photograph and description of the person named on
it, is signed by the person, and bears a serial or other
identifying number:
A. A passport issued by a foreign government.
B. A driver's license issued by a state other than
California or by a Canadian or Mexican public agency
authorized to issue driver's licenses.
C. An ID card issued by a state other than California.
D. An ID card issued by any branch of the Armed Forces of
the U.S.
E. An inmate ID card issued on or after January 1, 1988, by
the CDCR, if the inmate is in custody.
F. An employee ID card issued by an agency or office of the
State of California, or by an agency or office of a city,
county, or city and county in this state.
G. An inmate ID card issued prior to January 1, 1988,
issued by CDCR, if the inmate is in custody. (Civ. Code
Sec. 1185(b)(4).)
1.Provides that the officer may reasonably rely on the
presentation of any one of the following, provided that the
document is current or has been issued within five years:
A. An identification card or driver's license issued by the
California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
B. A passport issued by the Department of State of the
United States. (Civ. Code Sec. 1185(b)(3).)
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1.Provides that a notary public shall require as a condition to
executing a jurat (a certification added to an affidavit or
deposition) that the affiant verify the birthdate or age
contained in the statement by showing either (1) a certified
copy of the affiant's birth certificate, or (2) an ID card or
driver's license issued by DMV, when the statement sworn or
subscribed to is contained in a document purporting to
identify the affiant, and includes the birthdate or age of the
person and a purported photograph or finger or thumbprint of
the person so swearing or subscribing. (Gov. Code Sec. 8230.)
This bill:
1.Adds an identification card issued by CDCR to the list of
proper identifications specified in Civil Code Section
1185(b)(3) that an officer may reasonably rely on, provided
that the inmate seeking to establish identity with the card is
in custody.
2.Eliminates the requirement that an ID card must contain a
photograph and description of the person named on it, be
signed by the person, or bear a serial or other identifying
number, in order to serve as satisfactory evidence of
identity.
3.Adds an identification card issued by CDCR to the list of
proper identifications specified in Government Code Section
8230 that an officer may reasonably rely on in executing a
jurat that purports to identify the affiant and verify the
affiant's birthdate or age, provided that the affiant seeking
to establish identity with the card is an inmate in custody in
prison, and provided that the card contains the inmate's date
of birth.
4.Makes findings and declarations related to the importance of
maintaining familial bonds between children and parents during
periods of incarceration.
Background
A notary public is a public officer appointed and commissioned
by the Secretary of State to serve the public in non-contentious
matters generally concerning estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney,
foreign and international business, and other written
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instruments. Occasionally, an individual who is party to a more
sensitive formal agreement, such as a child custody agreement, a
confidential marriage license, or an advance healthcare
directive, must have the agreement notarized before it can enter
into force. A notary's main functions are to take
acknowledgements of various written instruments, administer
oaths and affirmations, take depositions and affidavits, certify
copies of powers of attorney under the Probate Code, demand
acceptance and payment of foreign and inland bills of exchange
or promissory notes, and to protest nonpayment and nonacceptance
of bills and notes.
A certificate of acknowledgment is the form most frequently
completed by a notary public. In the certificate of
acknowledgment, the notary public certifies: (1) that the
signer personally appeared before the notary public on the date
indicated in the county indicated; (2) the identity of the
signer; and (3) that the signer acknowledged executing the
document.
Under existing law, the identity of the signer of an
acknowledgment may be established by the notary public's
reasonable reliance on any one of a number of documents.
Certain government documents that are current or have been
issued within five years, such as a California driver's license
or ID card, or a U.S. passport, provide sufficient proof of
identity without having to meet separately specified criteria.
Other documents, including a foreign passport, a government
employee ID card, and a driver's license issued by another state
or a Canadian or Mexican public agency authorized to issue
driver's licenses, must meet certain threshold criteria before a
notary can reasonably rely on them to establish identity.
Documents within this latter category must contain a photograph,
description of the person, signature of the person, and an
identifying number, in order to constitute a valid proof of
identity for obtaining notarization of an instrument.
Existing law does not allow a notary public to rely on an inmate
identification card issued by CDCR to establish an inmate's
identity for the purpose of notarizing a document. This
restriction in existing law impairs the ability of incarcerated
individuals without alternate acceptable forms of ID from, among
other things, obtaining the proper authorizations to permit a
minor child (such as a son or daughter) to visit them while in
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prison.
Prior Legislation
AB 2452 (Davis, Chapter 67, Statutes of 2008), added specified
government employee identification cards as an allowable form of
identification to prove the identity of an individual who
executes a written instrument before a notary public. This bill
also deleted a provision allowing a witness to an individual's
identification who is personally known to the notary to serve as
evidence for an acknowledgment by a notary public.
AB 886 (Runner, Chapter 399, Statutes of 2007), required, among
other things, notaries public to determine by satisfactory
evidence only, that a person acknowledging an instrument is the
individual who is described in and who signed the instrument,
and certifies the document under penalty of perjury. This bill
also required notaries to obtain the thumbprint of a party
signing a document where the document to be notarized is a deed,
quitclaim deed, deed of trust affecting real property, or a
power of attorney.
AB 2062 (Nakano, Chapter 539, Statutes of 2004), required a
notary public to use a jurat (i.e., an official declaration
similar to an affidavit) form to certify the identity of persons
signing documents.
AB 1090 (Tucker, Chapter 1044, Statutes of 1993), among other
things, revised the criteria for determining whether an
individual has presented satisfactory evidence of identity for a
notary public to take an acknowledgment of an instrument.
AB 2420 (McClintock, Chapter 307, Statutes of 1987), included
within the documents that established "satisfactory evidence"
for notarization an inmate identification card issued by CDCR,
if the inmate is in custody.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/7/13)
Justice Now (source)
American Civil Liberties Union of California
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California Association of Licensed Investigators
California Catholic Conference of Bishops
California Coalition for Women Prisoners
Californians United for a Responsible Budget
Get on the Bus
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Women's Foundation of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office:
The IDs CDCR issues to prisoners do not meet all of the
requirements set out in Civil Code Section 1185. Prisoners
have a legal right to seek the services provided by
licensed notaries. As such, CDCR must issue inmates a
secondary form of ID that will be accepted as presumptively
valid by notaries.
Inmates often need access to notaries for services that
include the following:
Temporary custody . A "temporary custody" form must be
filled and notarized that will give temporary custody to an
appointed caregiver until the parent is released from
prison. This allows the caregiver to provide the child
with uninterrupted care.
Visitation . Parents are not allowed to have their children
visit without CDCR's "Written Consent for Notification"
form being notarized.
Birth Certificates . A request for a birth certificate that
is done by mail, must be notarized. Legal guardians must
present a certified birth certificate to the prison for any
child they bring to visit with an imprisoned parent.
Power of Attorney: Financial . Many people in prison wish
to complete this form to ensure their financial matters are
handled properly while in prison and to clearly indicate
who they would like to make financial decisions/actions for
them. This includes matters regarding their bank account
and property.
Access to a notary is an inmate's legal right, and CDCR
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goes to great lengths to ensure that access is obtained in
a reasonable manner. Additionally, CDCR has taken
significant measures to assure due process and accuracy in
determining the identity of people sentenced to prison. As
such, an additional ID is unnecessary and can delay access
to service.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 4/11/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dahle, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell,
Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Roger Hern�ndez, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel
P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone,
Ting, Torres, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,
Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Daly, Harkey, Lowenthal, Vacancy
AL:ej 6/11/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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