BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1050
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 10, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
Bob Wieckowski, Chair
SB 1050 (Monning) - As Amended: June 2, 2014
PROPOSED CONSENT
SENATE VOTE : 35-0
SUBJECT : NOTARIES PUBLIC: VERIFICATION OF IDENTITY: NOTICE
KEY ISSUE : IN ORDER TO REDUCE MISREPRESENTATION OF NOTARIZED
DOCUMENTS TO COMMIT FRAUD, SHOULD THE NOTARY CERTIFICATE CONTAIN
A CONSUMER NOTICE INDICATING THAT THE NOTARY'S SEAL ON THE
DOCUMENT VERIFIES ONLY THE IDENTITY OF THE SIGNER, AND NOT THE
VALIDITY OR ACCURACY OF THE DOCUMENT ITSELF?
SYNOPSIS
This non-controversial bill, sponsored by the Secretary of
State, seeks to protect consumers and reduce the opportunity for
fraud that stems from a common misperception about what it means
when a notary public affixes his or her seal and signature to a
document (i.e. "notarizes" the document.) According to the
author, when people are unfamiliar with the meaning of a
notary's seal, it creates an opportunity for criminals to imply
or falsely state that a notary's seal and signature represent an
official endorsement or approval of the document. Because of
this kind of fraud, people have reportedly been cheated out of
title to homes and rental property. This bill revises the three
types of common forms used by notaries to include a consumer
notification statement indicating that the notary public
verifies only the identity of the signer, and not the content of
the documents to which the notary certificate is attached. The
bill requires this statement to be in text box above the body of
the certificate, so that the statement will be more visible and
will stand alone above the dense legal language in the actual
notary certificate. The bill is intended to alert those
receiving the document signed by the individual that the
document, though notarized, is not necessarily legal, accurate,
or valid merely because of the notarization. This bill passed
the Senate without receiving any "No" votes and has no known
opposition.
SB 1050
Page 2
SUMMARY : Requires a statutory notice to appear at the top of
specified notary documents clarifying the meaning and effect of
the notary's seal and signature. Specifically, this bill :
1)Adds a statutory notice to a form certificate of
acknowledgment, proof of execution, and jurat that the
notarial certification verifies only the identity of the
person who signed the document to which the certification is
attached, and not the truthfulness, accuracy, or validity of
that document.
2)Requires the above notice to be printed legibly and inserted
in a box at the top of the certificate of acknowledgment,
proof of execution, or jurat.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Authorizes the proof or acknowledgment of written instruments
before specified officers of the state, including notaries
public. (Civil Code Sections 1180 to 1183. All further
references are to this code unless otherwise stated.)
2)Provides that the acknowledgment of an instrument may not be
taken unless the notary public taking it has satisfactory
evidence, as specified, that the person making the
acknowledgment is the individual who is described in and who
executed the instrument. (Section 1185.)
3)Provides that, when an instrument is executed prior to being
presented to a notary public for certification of the document
signer, he or she may certify a proof of execution after
verifying the identification of the signer or person who
witnessed the execution of the document (also known as the
"subscribing witness.") (Section 1195.)
4)Provides that a public notary may execute a jurat, as
specified, to be attached to an affidavit or deposition
testimony whereby a person swears under oath that the
statement contained in the affidavit or deposition testimony
are true and correct. (Government Code Section 8202.)
5)Specifies a statutory form for the certificate of
acknowledgment, proof of execution, and jurat to be used by a
SB 1050
Page 3
notary public when certifying the identity of a person signing
a document. (Civil Code Sections 1189 and 1195; Government
Code Section 8202.)
FISCAL EFFECT : As currently in print this bill is keyed fiscal.
COMMENTS : This non-controversial bill, sponsored by the
Secretary of State, seeks to protect consumers and reduce the
opportunity for fraud that stems from a common misperception
about what it means when a notary public affixes his or her seal
and signature to a document (i.e. "notarizes" the document.)
In the animated 1966 Peanuts television special "It's the Great
Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," there is a classic scene in which Lucy
tries to persuade a skeptical Charlie Brown to kick the football
she will hold for him, despite the many previous times she has
pulled it away at the last moment, causing him to fly through
the air and land flat on his back.
Lucy: This time you can trust me. See? (offering
document) Here's a signed document testifying that I
promise not to pull it away.
Charlie Brown (examining the document): It is signed.
It's a signed document! I guess if you have a signed
document in your possession, you can't go wrong. This
year, I'm really going to kick that football!
(He runs up to kick the football, falls flat on his
back after Lucy pulls the ball away.)
Lucy (re-examining the document): Peculiar thing about
this document, it was never notarized.
Lucy's suggestion that the content of the document would have
been more trustworthy had it been simply notarized is precisely
the kind of misperception about notarized documents that the
author of this bill seeks to dispel. According to the author:
When consumers are unfamiliar with the meaning and
effect of a notary's action and certificate, there is
an opportunity for criminals to pass deceptive legal
documents claiming a false right to money, authority,
or real property by inferring, suggesting, or stating
that the notary's seal and signature constitute an
SB 1050
Page 4
official endorsement of authenticity of the legal
document to which it is attached.
SB 1050 seeks to reduce fraud and protect consumers by
including a clear notification statement on a notary
certificate outlining the limited effect of a notary's
actions. People unfamiliar with notary seals who are
studying a fraudulent document presented to them will
not give undue consideration to a notary certificate as
an official endorsement of authenticity and legal
correctness.
Background on notarization of documents . 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 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
non-acceptance 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 that: (1) the signer
personally appeared before the notary public on the date
indicated in the county indicated; (2) the identity of the
signer; and (3) the signer acknowledged executing the document.
The "proof of execution" is a notarized form that can be used
when the actual signer of a legal document does not physically
appear before a commissioned notary, but when a subscribing
witness appears in place of the consumer who signed the legal
document. Finally, the "jurat" form is used by a commissioned
notary to verify the identity of a consumer who signs a legal
document in front of the notary, and then performs a sworn oath
to the notary confirming their identity. Importantly, it should
be noted that while all three of these forms serve the purpose
of confirming the identity of a person, none of them purport to
SB 1050
Page 5
verify the contents of the actual document being signed.
This bill requires a specified consumer notification statement
to be added to the top of all three forms. This bill revises
the three types of common forms used by notaries to include a
consumer notification statement indicating that the notary
public verifies only the identity of the signer, and not the
content of the documents to which the notary certificate is
attached. The bill requires this statement to be in text box
above the body of the certificate, so that the statement will be
more visible and will stand alone above the dense legal language
in the actual notary certificate.
In order to better inform the public that a notary public merely
verifies identification of the signer, not the validity of the
document itself, this bill seeks to educate the public as to the
function of a notary by clearly stating the role of the notary
in a notice to be included in a certificate of acknowledgment,
proof of execution, or jurat. The bill is intended to alert a
third-party receiving the document signed by the individual that
the document, though notarized, is not necessarily legal,
accurate, or valid merely because of the notarization.
Recent amendments to the bill delete the requirement that the
notification statement appear in a 12 point boldface font, and
instead simply require the notice to be "legible." According to
the author, the requirement that the notice simply be legible
reflects existing law, and is intended only to provide some
flexibility to those responsible for administering and printing
the forms-not to suggest that other forms and notices may be
illegible unless otherwise specifically required to be legible
by statute.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The Secretary of State (SOS), sponsor of
this bill, has reported receiving inquiries from the public
regarding the validity of documents that bear a notary's seal
and signature. The SOS reports that "One recent instance of
notary fraud involved false property titles and led to dozens of
people being cheated out of homes and rental properties worth
millions of dollars. The victims may have been more suspicious
about the fraudulent transactions if they were warned that a
notary's seal did not guarantee the legal correctness of [the]
property transaction documents." The SOS asserts that the
consumer protection statement in this bill will protect
businesses and members of the public, and will also prevent
SB 1050
Page 6
commissioned notaries from having their work misrepresented or
used for illegal purposes.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Secretary of State Debra Bowen
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Anthony Lew / JUD. / (916) 319-2334