A hearing for the Online Notaries Public bill currently in the California Assembly Judiciary Committee has been set for January 13, 2022 at 9am, state capitol, room 437. This bill would authorize a California notary public to apply for registration with the secretary of state to become a remote online notary public. The full bill text can be found here.
The California League of Independent Notaries is in strong support of this bill for the following reasons;
- the opportunity for California notaries to venture into the expanding virtual notarization space,
- the strong data privacy protections provided for both the public and notaries public,
- liability protections provided for online notaries public from platform providers,
- the creation of a new notarial act (copy certification of electronic records),
- and much, much more!
Notaries will have the option to testify by telephone during the hearing. The number to call to submit your oral testimony will be announced at the beginning of the hearing by the committee chair and will be posted on screen during the hearing live stream.
Those submitting testimony should state their name, company affiliation, and whether they are in support of, or opposed to, the bill being presented. Please note that any oral testimony is considered public comment and may be reprinted.
All are encouraged to watch the hearing on the Assembly’s website at https://ajud.assembly.ca.gov/hearings.