Florida Senate - 2025                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 1524
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì815920ÇÎ815920                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  04/01/2025           .                                
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       The Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability
       (Grall) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment to Amendment (487810) (with title
    2  amendment)
    3  
    4         Before line 5
    5  insert:
    6         Section 1. Section 113.01, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
    7         Section 2. Section 113.02, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
    8         Section 3. Section 113.03, Florida Statutes, is repealed.
    9         Section 4. Section 113.051, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   10  read:
   11         113.051 Grants and commissions.—All grants and commissions
   12  shall be in the name and under the authority of the State of
   13  Florida, sealed with the great seal of the state, signed by the
   14  Governor, and countersigned by the Secretary of State. A
   15  commission may not be issued by the Governor or attested to by
   16  the Secretary of State and may not bear the seal of the state
   17  until the oath of office is filed as required by s. 113.06.
   18         Section 5. Subsection (2) of section 117.01, Florida
   19  Statutes, is amended to read:
   20         117.01 Appointment, application, suspension, revocation,
   21  application fee, bond, and oath.—
   22         (2) The application for appointment must shall be signed
   23  and sworn to by the applicant and must shall be accompanied by a
   24  fee of $25, together with the $10 commission fee required by s.
   25  113.01, and a surcharge of $4, which $4 is appropriated to the
   26  Executive Office of the Governor to be used to educate and
   27  assist notaries public. The Executive Office of the Governor may
   28  contract with private vendors to provide the services set forth
   29  in this section. However, a no commission fee is not shall be
   30  required for the issuance of a commission as a notary public to
   31  a veteran who served during a period of wartime service, as
   32  defined in s. 1.01(14), and who has been rated by the United
   33  States Government or the United States Department of Veterans
   34  Affairs or its predecessor to have a disability rating of 50
   35  percent or more; such a disability is subject to verification by
   36  the Secretary of State, who has authority to adopt reasonable
   37  procedures to implement this act. The oath of office and notary
   38  bond required by this section must shall also accompany the
   39  application and must shall be in a form prescribed by the
   40  Department of State which must shall require, but is not be
   41  limited to, the following information: full name, residence
   42  address and telephone number, business address and telephone
   43  number, date of birth, race, sex, social security number,
   44  citizenship status, driver license number or the number of other
   45  official state-issued identification, affidavit of good
   46  character from someone unrelated to the applicant who has known
   47  the applicant for 1 year or more, a list of all professional
   48  licenses and commissions issued by the state during the previous
   49  10 years and a statement as to whether or not the applicant has
   50  had such license or commission revoked or suspended, and a
   51  statement as to whether or not the applicant has been convicted
   52  of a felony, and, if there has been a conviction, a statement of
   53  the nature of the felony and restoration of civil rights. The
   54  applicant may not use a fictitious or assumed name other than a
   55  nickname on an application for commission. The application must
   56  shall be maintained by the Department of State for the full term
   57  of a notary commission. A notary public shall notify, in
   58  writing, the Department of State of any change in his or her
   59  business address, home telephone number, business telephone
   60  number, home address, or criminal record within 60 days after
   61  such change. The Governor may require any other information he
   62  or she deems necessary for determining whether an applicant is
   63  eligible for a notary public commission. Each applicant must
   64  swear or affirm on the application that the information on the
   65  application is true and correct.
   66         Section 6. Subsection (3) of section 117.225, Florida
   67  Statutes, is amended to read:
   68         117.225 Registration; qualifications.—A notary public, a
   69  civil-law notary appointed under chapter 118, or a commissioner
   70  of deeds appointed under part IV of chapter 721 may complete
   71  registration as an online notary public with the Department of
   72  State by:
   73         (3) Paying a notary public registration fee as required by
   74  s. 113.01.
   75         Section 7. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
   76  117.295, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   77         117.295 Standards for electronic and online notarization;
   78  rulemaking authority.—
   79         (2) The Department of State shall:
   80         (b) Publish on its website a list containing each online
   81  notary public, the online notary public’s RON service providers
   82  from January 1, 2022, and thereafter, the effective dates during
   83  which the online notary public used each RON service provider,
   84  as identified pursuant to ss. 117.225(4) and 117.265(5)(b) ss.
   85  117.225(5) and 117.265(5)(b), any secure repositories to which
   86  the online notary public may have delegated his or her duties
   87  pursuant to s. 117.245(4) from January 1, 2022, and thereafter,
   88  and the effective dates of that delegation.
   89  
   90  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   91  And the title is amended as follows:
   92         Delete line 786
   93  and insert:
   94         An act relating to the Department of State; repealing
   95         s. 113.01, F.S., relating to a fee for commissions
   96         issued by the Governor; repealing s. 113.02, F.S.,
   97         relating to fees to be paid before commissions are
   98         issued; repealing s. 113.03, F.S., relating to
   99         disposition of proceeds; amending s. 113.051, F.S.;
  100         prohibiting commissions from being issued by the
  101         Governor, attested to by the Secretary of State, or
  102         bearing the seal of the state until the oath of office
  103         is filed as required; amending ss. 117.01 and 117.225,
  104         F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the
  105         act; amending s. 117.295, F.S.; conforming a cross
  106         reference;