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Posted by Matt Miller on 12/6/23 3:24pm
Here's the article I published about it, while there is some really good things that will up the bar in the world of RON, I can't say that I'm exactly happy with it. Particularly around article three and the launch date.
The Golden State Goes Digital: SB 696 Now Law
California has now joined 44 other states that have passed legislation allowing for remote online notarization (RON). Senate Bill 696, which was signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom on September 30, authorizes California notaries to apply for registration with the Secretary of State to perform online notarizations, eventually.
As passed, SB 696 stipulates that California notaries could begin to perform online notarization services beginning January 1, 2030, provided that the Secretary of State does not inform the Legislature and Governor on or before January 1, 2029, that it needs additional time to ready the necessary rules and technology for it to implement the new RON statutes.
Some notable provisions included in the law are a $30 fee for online notarial acts, requires current notaries who wish to become an online notary to resign their current commission and reapply, complete an additional 2-hour training course specific to online notarization in addition to the currently mandated 3 or 6-hour training, purchase a $25,000 bond and maintain one tangible sequential journal pertaining to online notarizations, in addition to any electronic journals that a notary maintains. Notaries will be required to keep online journal data for 10 years after the performance of any online notarial acts.
Also included in the legislation are various requirements for online notarization platforms including prohibiting an online notarization platform or depository from accessing, using, sharing or selling the contents of an online notarial act. The bill also specifies that an online notary platform, commencing on January 1, 2025, consents to the jurisdiction of the courts of California for transactions related to an individual who has stated to the platform that they are located in the state of California. For these transactions, the bill requires online notary platforms to create an encrypted electronic journal entry for each remote online notarial act and an recording of the audio-video communication of each remote online notarial act facilitated by the platform. Finally, the law creates a civil cause of action against approved platforms for a violation of any provision of the law, a completely new policy in the world of RON.
Amendments made to the original version of the bill include the removal of a requirement that the Secretary of State maintain a central, indexed repository of electronic journal entries and audio-video recordings, as well as the removal of the ability for California notaries to certify that a tangible copy of an electronic record is a true and correct copy.
The bill was supported by California Land Title Association, National Notary Association and Notarize, Inc. The remaining states that have not yet passed RON legislation include Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Mississippi and South Dakota. Connecticut’s legislation regarding RON authorizes only Remote Ink Notarization.
The full text of the law can be found here: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB696 |
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