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BILL NUMBER:S1399

TITLE  OF  BILL:    An  act to amend the executive law, in relation to increasing the fees certain notaries public shall be entitled to

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:   The  purpose  of  the  bill  is  to increase  the  fee  that  can  be  charged  by a notary public for the performance of a service.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:  Subdivisions 1 and 2 of  section  136 of the executive law as amended by Chapter 143 of tile laws of 1991.

JUSTIFICATION:    Public  notaries  are licensed professionals who are registered with the Department  of  State  (DOS).  Notaries  not  only provide   an   important   service  by  affirming,  acknowledging  and certifying legal documents, they can also  be  subpoenaed  to  provide evidence  in  court  proceedings  validating  the  signatory  of those documents in question regardless of the  number  of  Years  prior  the notarization took place.

In  1991,  tile  state  gave authorization to allow notaries to charge $2.00 for a notarization. That same year, DOS charged $20.00 to  renew a license plus an additional $10.00 to the county where the notary was qualified.  Today,  DOS charges $60.00 to renew a license and, in some counties, the additional county fee  could  be  has  high  as  $30.00. However,  notaries  have  not  been  given  that same authorization to increase their fee during that same period.

Over the past year,  notaries  have  been  experiencing  an  increased demand  for  their services and court appearances; however, the number of licensed notaries has decreased. This is because while the personal and professional cost of being a notary has increased, their  fee  has not.

This  bill increases a notary's fee to five dollars in a city having a population in excess of one million people.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2007-08: A.9080/S.4773 2009-10: A.6925/S.3378 2011-12: A.1583-A/S.1600-A - Died in Committee

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None to the state.

EFFECTIVE DATE:  This act shall take effect immediately.

Text

STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________

1399

2013-2014 Regular Sessions

IN SENATE

(PREFILED)

January 9, 2013
___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  MONTGOMERY  -- read twice and ordered printed, and
  when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance

AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to  increasing  the  fees
  certain notaries public shall be entitled to

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 136 of the  executive  law,
as  amended  by  chapter 143 of the laws of 1991, are amended to read as
follows:
  1. For administering an oath or affirmation, and certifying  the  same
when  required,  except  where another fee is specifically prescribed by
statute, two dollars; PROVIDED THAT, IN A CITY HAVING  A  POPULATION  IN
EXCESS  OF  ONE  MILLION  PEOPLE,  THE  FEE FOR ADMINISTERING AN OATH OR
AFFIRMATION, AND CERTIFYING THE SAME WHEN REQUIRED, EXCEPT WHERE ANOTHER
FEE IS SPECIFICALLY PRESCRIBED BY STATUTE, FIVE DOLLARS.
  2. For taking and certifying the acknowledgment or proof of  execution
of  a  written instrument, by one person, two dollars, and by each addi-
tional person, two dollars,  for  swearing  each  witness  thereto,  two
dollars;  PROVIDED  THAT, IN A CITY HAVING A POPULATION IN EXCESS OF ONE
MILLION PEOPLE, THE FEE FOR TAKING AND CERTIFYING THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT  OR
PROOF OF EXECUTION OF A WRITTEN INSTRUMENT, BY ONE PERSON, FIVE DOLLARS,
AND  BY  EACH ADDITIONAL PERSON, FIVE DOLLARS, FOR SWEARING EACH WITNESS
THERETO, FIVE DOLLARS.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD02033-01-3