| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to notaries public; amending s. 117.05, |
| 3 | F.S.; requiring notaries public to provide services |
| 4 | without charge to certain persons; creating s. 117.071, |
| 5 | F.S.; requiring notaries public to maintain a journal and |
| 6 | to record notarial acts; providing exceptions; providing |
| 7 | requirements for journal entries; requiring retention of |
| 8 | the journal for a specified period after the last entry |
| 9 | and requiring certain notice upon failure to do so; |
| 10 | providing that failure to comply with such requirements |
| 11 | may constitute grounds for suspension or nonrenewal of the |
| 12 | notary public commission by the Executive Office of the |
| 13 | Governor; amending s. 117.10, F.S.; providing an exemption |
| 14 | for certain law enforcement officers; providing an |
| 15 | effective date. |
| 16 |
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| 17 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 18 |
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| 19 | Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 117.05, Florida |
| 20 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 21 | 117.05 Use of notary commission; unlawful use; notary fee; |
| 22 | seal; duties; employer liability; name change; advertising; |
| 23 | photocopies; penalties.-- |
| 24 | (2)(a) The fee of a notary public may not exceed $10 for |
| 25 | any one notarial act, as indicated by the affixing of the |
| 26 | notary's seal to a document accompanied by a written certificate |
| 27 | or jurat, except as provided in s. 117.045. |
| 28 | (b) A notary public may not charge a fee: |
| 29 | 1. For witnessing an absentee ballot in an election, and |
| 30 | must witness such a ballot upon the request of an elector, |
| 31 | provided the notarial act is in accordance with the provisions |
| 32 | of this chapter. |
| 33 | 2. For any notarial act performed for a United States |
| 34 | military veteran or a firefighter or law enforcement officer |
| 35 | applying for a pension, allotment, allowance, compensation, |
| 36 | insurance policy, or other benefit resulting from public |
| 37 | service. This subparagraph does not apply unless the notary |
| 38 | public who performs the notarial act is an employee of a state |
| 39 | agency and is performing notarial acts as part of the assigned |
| 40 | duties of that employee. |
| 41 | Section 2. Section 117.071, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 42 | to read: |
| 43 | 117.071 Use of journal for notarial acts.-- |
| 44 | (1) Each notarial act shall be recorded by the notary |
| 45 | public in a sequential paper journal or a journal maintained in |
| 46 | a computer or other electronic storage device in accordance with |
| 47 | this chapter. A notary who is an attorney licensed to practice |
| 48 | in this state or who is employed by an attorney licensed to |
| 49 | practice in this state is exempt from this requirement. A |
| 50 | notary who is employed by a licensed title insurance agency in |
| 51 | this state or by a title insurance underwriter authorized to |
| 52 | conduct business in this state is exempt from this section. |
| 53 | (a) For each notarial act, the notary public shall record |
| 54 | in the journal at the time of notarization: |
| 55 | 1. The date and time of the notarial act. |
| 56 | 2. The type of notarial act. |
| 57 | 3. The title or name of the document or transaction. |
| 58 | 4. The signer's printed name and signature; and, in the |
| 59 | case of a journal maintained in a computer or other electronic |
| 60 | storage device, the notary may retain an original signature or |
| 61 | copy of the signature. |
| 62 | 5. The signer's complete address, telephone number, and |
| 63 | specific type of identification presented by the signer. |
| 64 | (b) The notary public must retain the journal for |
| 65 | safekeeping for at least 5 years after the date of the last |
| 66 | entry. |
| 67 | (c) If the notary public journal is stolen, lost, |
| 68 | misplaced, destroyed, or rendered unusable within the time |
| 69 | period specified in paragraph (b), the notary public must |
| 70 | immediately notify the Executive Office of the Governor in |
| 71 | writing of the circumstances of the incident. |
| 72 | (2) Failure of a notary public to comply with the |
| 73 | requirements of this section may constitute grounds for |
| 74 | suspension or nonrenewal of the notary public commission by the |
| 75 | Executive Office of the Governor. |
| 76 | Section 3. Section 117.10, Florida Statutes, is amended to |
| 77 | read: |
| 78 | 117.10 Law enforcement and correctional officers.--Law |
| 79 | enforcement officers, correctional officers, and correctional |
| 80 | probation officers, as defined in s. 943.10, and traffic |
| 81 | accident investigation officers and traffic infraction |
| 82 | enforcement officers, as described in s. 316.640, are authorized |
| 83 | to administer oaths when engaged in the performance of official |
| 84 | duties. Sections 117.01, 117.04, 117.045, 117.05, 117.071, and |
| 85 | 117.103 do not apply to the provisions of this section. An |
| 86 | officer may not notarize his or her own signature. |
| 87 | Section 4. This act shall take effect January 1, 2007. |