BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 434
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   March 27, 2007

                   ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
                                   Mike Eng, Chair
                     AB 434 (Silva) - As Amended:  March 22, 2007
           
          SUBJECT  :   Notaries public.

           SUMMARY  :   Requires a notary public to supply a member of the  
          public with a photostatic copy of any line item contained in his  
          or her journal within 15 days of receiving the request or  
          acknowledge that the requested line item does not exist.

           EXISTING LAW  requires a notary public to keep an active journal  
          of all official acts he or she performs and to include in this  
          journal, among other things, information regarding every  
          instrument acknowledged or proved before the notary.  A notary  
          must supply a photostatic copy of any line item contained in his  
          or her journal upon written request of any member of the public.

           FISCAL EFFECT :   Unknown.  This bill is keyed non-fiscal.

           COMMENTS  :   According to the sponsor, the California Bar  
          Association, Conference of Delegates (Association), absent a  
          disciplinary hearing, a notary currently has little if any  
          incentive to provide information that he or she is obligated to  
          provide to a member of the public within a reasonable time  
          frame.  The Association argues that a 15-day time period  
          provides a notary with adequate time to respond to someone who  
          is attempting to verify the authenticity of a signature  
          notarized by the notary and that this bill "adds no substantial  
          burden on the duties of the notary public and provides a  
          guideline and expectation for response to the requesting party."

          The California Escrow Association (CEA) has a "support if  
          amended" position on this bill because CEA believes that it  
          would be more reasonable to provide a notary with 30 days to  
          respond to requests for copies of line items.  CEA asserts that  
          the 15-day limit is too short "since requests may relate to very  
          old documents.  While 15 days may not be a problem for recent  
          notarial acts, if the notary journal relates to documents  
          executed decades ago, a search through archives may well be  
          necessary."

           Proposed amendment  .  To address the concern of CEA that 15  








                                                                  AB 434
                                                                  Page  2

          (calendar) days may not be sufficient time for a notary to  
          comply with a request, the author has committed to changing the  
          time period to "15 business days."

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          California Bar Association, Conference of Delegates (sponsor)

           Opposition 
           
          None on file.
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Pablo Garza / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301