TITLE: CONCERNING THE AUTHENTIFICATION OF SIGNATURES, AND, IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, CONTINUING THE FUNCTIONS OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE RELATED TO THE COMMISSIONING OF NOTARIES PUBLIC.

The bill would continue the appointment of notaries by the Secretary of State (SOS) until July 1, 2009. The Notary Administration Cash Fund would be created for the administration of the "Notary Public Act". The Secretary of State would be able to conduct notary training programs and charge a fee for such programs or contract for this service. A person seeking a notary commission or renewal would have to pass a multiple choice, open book examination. The Secretary of State would investigate conduct violating the notary laws, hold disciplinary proceedings, and investigate conduct violating the laws upon a written complaint. The Secretary of State would develop rules for the requirements for digital signatures. The requirement that notaries correspond with the SOS via certified mail would be removed. This bill would become effective July 1, 1998.

STATE FISCAL IMPACT SUMMARY	FY 1998/99	FY 1999/2000
State Revenues General Fund Secretary of State Cash Fund Notary Administration Cash Fund	($266,907) $266,907	($280,252) $280,252
State Expenditures General Fund Notary Administration Cash Fund	*	*
FTE Position Change	None	None
Local Government Impact — None

The bill would shift the current revenues generated from the notary public registration process to the Notary Administration Cash Fund within the Secretary of State’s Office. The Secretary of State Cash Fund would be reduced by the amount of the revenues generated from registering notaries. The revenues that would be moved have been estimated to be $266,907 in FY 1998-99 and $280,252 in FY 1999-00.

The bill allows the SOS to provide training to notaries or to contract for this service. For purposes of this fiscal note it is assumed that the SOS will contract this service to a private vendor. It is also assumed that the terms of the contract will allow the vendor to collect the fee directly from the notary applicants. The SOS would monitor and audit the vendor to ensure that the terms of the contract are enforced.

The bill requires the SOS to develop a multiple choice open book examination which applicants must pass to receive the notary commission. The development of this type of exam would not require a significant amount of resources. It is assumed that the exam would be delivered to the applicant with the application. For purposes of this fiscal note it is assumed that the contract will include provisions for administering and grading the test.

Should the SOS not require training, the SOS would be responsible for administering the test. It is estimated that grading the test would take less than one minute per test. The increased workload would be less than 0.2 FTE. The SOS would be able to do the testing within existing resources and would not require additional resources. Therefore, the testing provisions in this bill would not require an appropriation.

This fiscal note implies that no additional spending authority would be required.

1. That the SOS charges notaries $10 per application, $15 for certification, $1 for other certifications, and $2 for address changes.

2. That the SOS office receives approximately 22,000 applications, 8,661 certifications, 1,339 other certifications, and 4,750 address changes annually.