Senate Bill sb0298

    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 298

    By Senator Lynn





    7-168A-05

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to notaries public; amending s.

  3         117.05, F.S.; authorizing notaries to charge

  4         per-person fees; prohibiting notaries from

  5         charging specified persons for acts relating to

  6         application for a benefit resulting from public

  7         service; creating s. 117.055, F.S.; requiring

  8         notaries to maintain journals of notarial acts;

  9         prescribing information to be recorded in such

10         journals; providing penalties for failure to

11         comply with such requirement; providing that

12         failure to comply with such requirement does

13         not invalidate a notarial act; providing an

14         effective date.

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16  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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18         Section 1.  Subsection (2) of section 117.05, Florida

19  Statutes, is amended to read:

20         117.05  Use of notary commission; unlawful use; notary

21  fee; seal; duties; employer liability; name change;

22  advertising; photocopies; penalties.--

23         (2)(a)  The fee of a notary public may not exceed $10

24  per person for any one notarial act, except as provided in s.

25  117.045.

26         (b)  A notary public may not charge a fee for

27  witnessing an absentee ballot in an election, and must witness

28  such a ballot upon the request of an elector, provided the

29  notarial act is in accordance with the provisions of this

30  chapter.

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 298
    7-168A-05




 1         (c)  A notary public may not charge a fee for any

 2  notarial act performed for a United States military veteran or

 3  a firefighter or law enforcement officer applying for a

 4  pension, allotment, allowance, compensation, insurance policy,

 5  or other benefit resulting from public service.

 6         Section 2.  Section 117.055, Florida Statutes, is

 7  created to read:

 8         117.055  Journal of notarial acts.--

 9         (1)  Each notarial act must be recorded by the notary

10  sequentially, either in a permanently bound book with numbered

11  pages or in electronic form. This journal of notarial acts

12  shall be kept by the notary or the notary's estate for at

13  least 5 years after the date of the last entry.

14         (2)  For each notarial act, the notary shall record in

15  the journal at the time of notarization:

16         (a)  The date, time, and type of notarial act;

17         (b)  The date and type, title, or description of the

18  document or proceeding;

19         (c)  The name of the signer or principal;

20         (d)  A description of the evidence of identity of the

21  signer or principal. However, a social security number or

22  identification or serial number from a state driver's license

23  or a state-issued identification document other than a

24  driver's license, from a military or other identification

25  document issued by a United States government agency, from a

26  passport or other identification document issued by an agency

27  of a foreign government, or from a commercial credit or debit

28  card may not be recorded; and

29         (e)  The fee charged, if any.

30         (3)  Failure of a notary public to comply with this

31  section constitutes neglect of duty for which the notary is

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    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 298
    7-168A-05




 1  subject to appropriate sanctions, including suspension under

 2  s. 7, Art. IV of the State Constitution, but does not affect

 3  the validity of any acknowledgement, jurat, or other notarial

 4  act.

 5         Section 3.  This act shall take effect January 1, 2006.

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 7            *****************************************

 8                          SENATE SUMMARY

 9    Authorizes notaries public to charge fees per-person
      rather than a flat fee per document. Provides for
10    notaries to provide services without fee for military
      veterans, firefighters, and law enforcement officers when
11    applying for benefits based on public service. Requires
      notaries to keep journals of notarial acts; the failure
12    to do so subjects a notary to suspension for neglect of
      duty but does not invalidate the document that is the
13    subject of the notarial act.

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