CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for CS for SB 1566
Amendment No.
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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11 Senator Grant moved the following amendment:
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13 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
14 On page 120, line 22, through
15 page 124, line 16, delete those lines
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17 and insert:
18 Section 47. Subsection (6) is added to section 15.16,
19 Florida Statutes, to read:
20 15.16 Reproduction of records; admissibility in
21 evidence; electronic receipt and transmission of records;
22 certification; acknowledgment.--
23 (6) The Secretary of State is authorized to issue
24 apostilles. The Secretary of State shall have the sole
25 authority to establish, in conformity with the laws of the
26 United States, the requirements and procedures for the
27 issuance of apostilles and may charge a fee for the issuance
28 of an apostille not to exceed $10 per apostille.
29 Section 48. Section 117.103, Florida Statutes, is
30 amended to read:
31 117.103 Certification of notary's authority by
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Amendment No.
1 Secretary of State.--A notary public is not required to record
2 his or her notary public commission in an office of a clerk of
3 the circuit court. If certification of the notary public's
4 commission is required, it must be obtained from the Secretary
5 of State. Upon the receipt of a written request, the notarized
6 document, and a fee of $10 payable to the Secretary of State,
7 the Secretary of State shall provide a certified copy of the
8 notary public's original certificate of commission which shall
9 be legally sufficient to establish the notary public's
10 authority to provide the services specifically authorized for
11 a notary public by the Florida Statutes, and shall issue a
12 certificate of notarial authority, the contents of which shall
13 be determined by the Secretary of State and shall establish
14 for third parties the extent of the legal authority of the
15 notary public. certificate of notarial authority. Documents
16 destined for countries participating in an International
17 Treaty called the Hague Convention require an Apostille, and
18 that requirement shall be determined by the Secretary of
19 State.
20 Section 49. Section 118.10, Florida Statutes, is
21 amended to read:
22 118.10 Civil-law notary.--
23 (1) As used in this section, the term:
24 (a) "Authentic act" means an instrument executed by a
25 civil-law notary referencing this section, which includes the
26 particulars and capacities to act of the transacting party or
27 parties, a confirmation of the full text of the instrument,
28 the signatures of the party or parties or legal equivalent
29 thereof, and the signature and seal of a civil-law notary as
30 prescribed by the Florida Secretary of State.
31 (b) "Civil-law notary" means a person who is a member
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for CS for SB 1566
Amendment No.
1 in good standing of The Florida Bar, who has practiced law for
2 at least 5 years, and who is appointed by the Secretary of
3 State as a civil-law notary.
4 (c) "Protocol" means a registry maintained by a
5 civil-law notary in which the acts of the civil-law notary are
6 archived.
7 (2) The Secretary of State shall have the power to
8 appoint civil-law notaries and administer this section.
9 (3) A civil-law notary is authorized to issue
10 authentic acts and thereby may authenticate or certify any
11 document, transaction, event, condition or occurrence. The
12 contents of an authentic act and matters incorporated therein
13 shall be presumed correct. A civil-law notary may also
14 administer an oath and make a certificate thereof when it is
15 necessary for execution of any writing or document to be
16 attested, protested, or published under the seal of a notary
17 public. A civil-law notary may also take acknowledgements of
18 deeds and other instruments of writing for record, and
19 solemnize the rites of matrimony, as fully as other officers
20 of this state. A civil-law notary is not authorized to issue
21 authentic acts for use in a jurisdiction if the United States
22 Department of State has determined that the jurisdiction does
23 not have diplomatic relations with the United States or is a
24 terrorist country, or if trade with the jurisdiction is
25 prohibited under the Trading With the Enemy Act of 1917, as
26 amended, 50 U.S.C. ss. 1, et seq.
27 (4) The authentic acts, oaths and acknowledgements,
28 and solemnizations of a civil-law notary shall be recorded in
29 the civil-law notary's protocol in a manner prescribed by the
30 Secretary of State.
31 (5) The Secretary of State may adopt rules
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Amendment No.
1 prescribing:
2 (a) The form and content of authentic acts, oaths,
3 acknowledgments, solemnizations and signatures and seals or
4 their legal equivalents. for authentic acts;
5 (b) Procedures for the permanent archiving of
6 authentic acts, maintaining records of acknowledgments, oaths
7 and solemnizations, and procedures for the administration of
8 oaths and taking of acknowledgments and for solemnizations;
9 (c) The charging of reasonable fees to be retained by
10 the Secretary of State for the purpose of administering this
11 section;
12 (d) Educational requirements and procedures for
13 testing applicants' knowledge of all matters relevant to the
14 appointment, authority, duties or legal or ethical
15 responsibilities of a civil-law notary the effects and
16 consequences associated with authentic acts;
17 (e) Procedures for the disciplining of civil-law
18 notaries, including but not limited to the suspension and
19 revocation of appointments for failure to comply with the
20 requirements of Chapter 118 or the rules of the Department of
21 State, for misrepresentation or fraud regarding the civil-law
22 notary's authority, the effect of the civil-law notary's
23 authentic acts, or the identities or acts of the parties to a
24 transaction; and
25 (f) Bonding or errors and omissions insurance
26 requirements, or both, for civil-law notaries.
27 (g)(f) Other matters necessary for administering this
28 section.
29 (6) The Secretary of State shall not regulate,
30 discipline or attempt to discipline, or establish any
31 educational requirements for any civil-law notary for, or with
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Amendment No.
1 regard to, any action or conduct that would constitute the
2 practice of law in this state, except by agreement with The
3 Florida Bar. The Secretary of State shall not establish as a
4 prerequisite to the appointment of a civil-law notary any test
5 containing any question that inquires of the applicant's
6 knowledge regarding the practice of law in the United States,
7 unless such test is offered in connection with an educational
8 program approved by the Florida Bar for continuing legal
9 education credit except by agreement with The Florida Bar.
10 (7) The powers of civil-law notaries include, but are
11 not limited to, all of the powers of a notary public under any
12 law of this state.
13 (8) This section shall not be construed as abrogating
14 the provisions of any other act relating to notaries public,
15 attorneys, or the practice of law in this state.
16 Section 50. Section 118.42, Florida Statutes, is
17 created to read:
18 118.12 Certification of civil-law notary's authority;
19 apostilles.--If certification of a civil-law notary's
20 authority is necessary for a particular document or
21 transaction, it must be obtained from the Secretary of State.
22 Upon the receipt of a written request from a civil-law notary,
23 a copy of the document, and a fee of $10 payable to the
24 Secretary of State, the Secretary of State shall provide a
25 certification of the civil-law notary's authority which may be
26 used in support of the document submitted and any related
27 transaction. Documents destined for countries participating
28 in an International Treaty called the Hague Convention may
29 require an Apostille and the Secretary of State shall upon
30 receiving a written request from a civil-law notary, a copy of
31 the document, and a fee of $10 payable to the Secretary of
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Amendment No.
1 State, provide an apostille conforming to the requirements of
2 the Hague Convention and including such other matters as the
3 Secretary of State may establish by rule.
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5 (Redesignate subsequent sections.)
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9 And the title is amended as follows:
10 On page 8, line 8, after the first semicolon
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12 insert:
13 amending s. 15.16, F.S.; authorizing the
14 Secretary of State to issue apostilles;
15 authorizing a fee;
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