Source: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb4012%20intr.htm&yr=2014&sesstype=RS&i=4012
Timestamp: 2015-09-01 16:36:14
Document Index: 415152199

Matched Legal Cases: ['§39', '§39', '§39', '§39', '§39', '§57', '§57', '§59', '§39', '§39', '§39', '§39', '§57', '§57', '§59', '§39', '§39', '§39', '§39', '§39', '§29', '§29', '§39']

House Bill 4012 History
OTHER VERSIONS - Committee Substitute | Enrolled Version - Final Version
§39-4-34, §39-4-35, §39-4-36, §39-4-37 and §39-4-38; to amend
and reenact §57-4-2 of said code; to amend and reenact §57-5-9
of said code; and to amend and reenact §59-1-2 of said code,
all relating to the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts;
establishing the effective date of the article; establishing
an operative date of enactment and the effect on existing law;
establishing the authority to perform notarial acts;
establishing requirements for certain notarial acts; requiring
a personal appearance and the identification of an individual;
authorizing the right to refuse to perform a notarial act;
establishing instructions for obtaining a signature if an
individual is unable to sign; setting forth who may perform a
notarial act in this state; establishing notarial reciprocity
with other states, any federally recognized Indian tribe, the
federal government, and foreign states; requiring a
certificate for a notarial act; authorizing short form
certificates; requiring an official stamp and the maintenance
and disposition of a stamping device; requiring notaries
public to keep a journal of notarial acts; authorizing
notaries public the option of selecting a technology for use
in notarial acts on electronic records; establishing minimum
qualifications and authorizing the commissioning of notaries
public; requiring a bond; requiring notaries public pass an
examination after a course of study offered by the Secretary
of State; providing grounds to deny, refuse to renew, revoke,
suspend, or condition commissions of notaries public;
requiring Secretary of State to maintain a database of
notaries public; prohibiting certain acts; authorizing the
validity of notarial acts; authorizing the Secretary of State
to promulgate rules; authorizing the continuation of a
commission in effect on the effective date of the act;
providing that any notarial act performed before the effective
date of the act is not invalidated by the act; providing for
the uniformity of the application and construction of the act;
clarifying the relationship to the Electronic Signatures in
Global and National Commerce Act; establishing maximum fees
that may be charged by a notary public; commissioning notaries
public for state and local government; establishing civil
liability and criminal penalties; authorizing injunctive
relief; authorizing the Secretary of State to investigate
complaints; requiring the Secretary of State to maintain
certain records; establishing an application fee; providing
for the disposition of fees; repealing statutes regulating
notaries public and commissioners including the Uniform Notary
Act; repealing the Uniform Recognition of Acknowledgments Act;
and removing obsolete references.
§39-4-35, §39-4-36, §39-4-37 and §39-4-38; that §57-4-2 of said
code be amended and reenacted; that §57-5-9 of said code be amended
and reenacted and that §59-1-2 of said code be amended and
established standards pursuant to section twenty-seven of this
(a) A notary public shall maintain a journal in which the
notary public chronicles all notarial acts that the notary public
performs. The notary public shall retain the journal for ten years
after the performance of the last notarial act chronicled in the
(b) A journal may be created on a tangible medium or in an
electronic format. A notary public shall maintain only one journal
at a time to chronicle all notarial acts, whether those notarial
acts are performed regarding tangible or electronic records. If
the journal is maintained on a tangible medium, it must be a
permanent, bound register with numbered pages. If the journal is
maintained in an electronic format, it must be in a permanent,
tamper-evident electronic format complying with the rules
(c) An entry in a journal must be made contemporaneously with
performance of the notarial act and contain the following
(2) A description of the record, if any, and type of notarial
(3) The full name and address of each individual for whom the
notarial act is performed;
(4) If identity of the individual is based on personal
knowledge, a statement to that effect;
(5) If identity of the individual is based on satisfactory
evidence, a brief description of the method of identification and
the identification credential presented, if any, including the date
of issuance and expiration of any identification credential; and
(d) If a notary public’s journal is lost or stolen, the notary
public promptly shall notify the Secretary of State on discovering
(e) On resignation from, or the revocation or suspension of,
a notary public’s commission, the notary public shall retain the
notary public’s journal in accordance with subsection (a) and
inform the Secretary of State where the journal is located.
(f) Instead of retaining a journal as provided in subsections
(a) and (e), a current or former notary public may transmit the
journal to the Secretary of State or a repository approved by the
(g) On the death or adjudication of incompetency of a current
or former notary public, the notary public’s personal
representative or guardian or any other person knowingly in
possession of the journal shall transmit it to the Secretary of
State or a repository approved by the Secretary of State.
§39-4-20. Notification regarding performance of notarial act on
electronic record, selection of technology.
technology pursuant to section twenty-seven of this article, the
§39-4-21. Commission as notary public; qualifications; no immunity
(5) Not be disqualified to receive a commission under section
twenty-three of this article; and
(6) Have passed the examination required under section
twenty-two of this article.
an assurance in the form of a surety bond or its functional
equivalent in the amount of $10,000. The assurance must be issued
issuing entity is liable under the assurance. The surety or
issuing entity shall give thirty days’ notice to the Secretary of
State before canceling the assurance. The surety or issuing entity
shall notify the Secretary of State not later than thirty days
after making a payment to a claimant under the assurance. A notary
public may perform notarial acts in this state only during the
period that a valid assurance is on file with the Secretary of
(a) An applicant for a commission as a notary public must pass
an examination administered by the Secretary of State or an entity
approved by the Secretary of State. The examination must be based
on the course of study described in subsection (b).
(b) The Secretary of State or an entity approved by the
Secretary of State shall offer regularly a course of study to
applicants for commissions as notaries public or government
notaries public in this state. The course must cover the laws,
rules, procedures, and ethics relevant to notarial acts.
§39-4-23. Grounds to deny, refuse to renew, revoke, suspend, or
provided in subsection (d), section twenty-one of this article;
(10) Charging more than the maximum fees specified in section
thirty-two of this article;
name change pursuant to subsection (b), section twenty-four of this
twenty-one of this article;
(7) Provide for the administration of the examination under
subsection (a), section twenty-two of this article, and the course
of study under subsection (b), section twenty-two of this article;
(8) Establish fees, with legislative approval in accordance
§39-4-28. Notary public commission and commissioner appointment in
§39-4-31. Relation to Electronic Signatures in Global and National
with the application for appointment as a notary public. Applicants for commission as a notary public under this section are
exempt from fulfilling the surety requirements of subsection (d),
section twenty-three of this article; or
one, chapter twenty-nine-c section twenty-one, article four,
chapter thirty-nine of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to adopt the Revised
Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (Uniform Law Commission, 2010) to
replace both the current Uniform Notary Act (1984) and the Uniform
Recognition of Acknowledgments Act (1971). The bill was recommended
for introduction and passage during the Regular Session of the
Legislature by the Commission on Interstate Cooperation.
All remaining provisions of §29-4 are repealed. The
provisions of §29C-1-1, et seq. and §39-1A-1, et seq., are
Article 4 of chapter 39 is new; therefore, it has been
completely underscored.