I saw a mention on the XYZ site that CA has passed Assembly Bill 2004, available at
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2004
Rather than letting a notary certify that a tangible copy is a true copy of an electronic record, as many other states (including mine) have done, they wanted to avoid expanding notaries' certified copy authority, so they authorized a variation of a certified copy by document custodian. They created a specific affidavit for the "disinterested custodian" who made, or supervised the making, of the copy:
"Certification of a Printed Copy of an Electronic Record
"I hereby certify that the attached instrument entitled document title, if applicable, dated document date, and containing page count pages is an accurate reproduction of an electronic record printed by me or under my supervision. At the time of printing, I had access to the electronic record displaying intact tamper-evident security procedures. No security procedures used on the electronic record indicated any changes or errors in an electronic signature or other information in the electronic record after the completion of the electronic record’s creation, execution, or notarization.
"I am not a grantee, beneficiary, or otherwise a person who directly benefits from the attached instrument or electronic record.
"I certify under PENALTY OF PERJURY under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing paragraphs are true and correct.
"Dated: ______
"Name: ______
"Signature: ______"
An improvement over similar laws in other states is the disinterested custodian must insure that the record has one or more electronic, tamper-evident signatures. They must also insure that according to the built-in security procedures, the document has not been altered since the tamper-evident signature(s) were applied.
What all of these laws fail to address is metadata. The kind of electronic documents that would be used for deeds and other land records contain metadata that is not printed when you click the "print" button". How can the document custodian swear it is an "accurate reproduction" when the metadata is omitted from the paper copy? |
