BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 434|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 434
Author: Silva (R)
Amended: 6/25/07 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 5-0, 6/19/07
AYES: Corbett, Harman, Ackerman, Kuehl, Steinberg
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 72-0, 4/12/07 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Notaries public
SOURCE : Conference of Delegates of California Bar
Associations
DIGEST : This bill requires a notary public to either
provide a photostatic copy, as specified, to a requesting
member of the public, or acknowledge that the line item
requested does not exist, within 15 days of receipt of the
request by the notary.
ANALYSIS : Existing law specifies the qualifications to
be a notary public.
Existing law requires a notary to maintain a sequential
journal of official acts and specifies the manner in which
he/she maintains their official seal.
Existing law requires a notary public, upon written
request, "[T]o furnish to the Secretary of State certified
CONTINUED
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copies of the notary's journal?. To respond within 30 days
of receiving written requests sent by certified mail from
the Secretary of State's office for information relating to
official acts performed by the notary."
Existing law also requires a notary, upon written request
of any member of the public, to supply to the requesting
party a photostatic copy of the line item representing the
requested transaction at a cost of not more than thirty
cents per page.
This bill requires a notary public to either provide that
photostatic copy to a requesting member of the public, or
acknowledge that the line item requested does not exist,
within 15 days of receipt of the request by the notary.
This bill provides that, in a disciplinary proceeding for
noncompliance with these provisions, a notary may defend
his/her delayed action on the basis of unavoidable, exigent
business or personal circumstances.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/25/07)
Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations
(source)
National Notary Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author and bill's sponsor, the
Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations
state: "At present, absent a disciplinary proceeding, a
notary public who fails to respond, or fails to respond
within a reasonable time, to a request for information has
little if any incentive to provide the information that it
is obligated to provide to a member of the public?." The
author further asserts that "The public, in the conduct of
business may need verification of a given signature, but
the notary has no guidelines to respond to these requests.
Therefore few regulations or disciplinary rules have been
put forth by the Secretary of State on how to respond?."
This bill, the author and sponsor argue, provides
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reasonable and necessary guidelines for a notary public to
respond to a request, helping both a notary and the public.
Finally, the author contends that "AB 434 is a simple
measure that will? expedite the conduct of business in
California and provide for consumer protection without
unnecessary burdens on business. "
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Aghazarian, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall,
Benoit, Berg, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Brownley, Caballero,
Charles Calderon, Carter, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre,
De Leon, DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer,
Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Garcia, Garrick, Hancock,
Hayashi, Hernandez, Horton, Houston, Huff, Huffman,
Jeffries, Jones, Karnette, Keene, Krekorian, La Malfa,
Laird, Leno, Levine, Lieber, Lieu, Ma, Maze, Mendoza,
Mullin, Nakanishi, Niello, Plescia, Portantino,
Richardson, Sharon Runner, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva,
Smyth, Solorio, Strickland, Swanson, Torrico, Tran,
Villines, Walters, Wolk, Nunez
NO VOTE RECORDED: DeSaulnier, Dymally, Nava, Parra, Price,
Soto, Spitzer, Vacancy
RJG:mw 6/25/07 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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