Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman JOANN DOWNEY
District 11 (Monmouth)
Assemblyman ERIC HOUGHTALING
District 11 (Monmouth)
Assemblywoman LISA SWAIN
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
Senator LINDA R. GREENSTEIN
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Senator VIN GOPAL
District 11 (Monmouth)
Senator TROY SINGLETON
District 7 (Burlington)
Senator DECLAN J. O'SCANLON, JR.
District 13 (Monmouth)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen Benson, Zwicker, Senators A.M.Bucco, Addiego, Bateman, Cardinale, Doherty, Pennacchio, Singer, Testa, Ruiz, Assemblywomen Pinkin, McKnight and Assemblyman Tully
SYNOPSIS
Allows remote notarial acts during Public Health Emergency and State of Emergency declared by Governor in Executive Order 103 of 2020.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As amended by the Senate on April 13, 2020.
An Act concerning remote notarial acts 1, and other acts for executing and verifying certain documents, by notaries public and certain other authorized officials using communication technology1 for the duration of the 1[Public Health Emergency] public health emergency1 and 1[State] state1 of 1[Emergency] emergency1 declared by the Governor in Executive Order 103 of 2020.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section:
Communication technology means an electronic device or process that:
(1) allows a notary public 1or an officer authorized to take oaths, affirmations, and affidavits, or to take acknowledgements,1 and a remotely located individual to communicate with each other simultaneously by sight and sound; and
(2) when necessary and consistent with other applicable law, facilitates communication with a remotely located individual who has a vision, hearing, or speech impairment.
Foreign state means a jurisdiction other than the United States, a state, or a federally recognized Indian tribe.
Identity proofing means a process or service by which a third person provides a notary public 1or an officer authorized to take oaths, affirmations, and affidavits, or to take acknowledgements1 with a means to verify the identity of a remotely located individual by a review of personal information from public or private data sources.
Notarial act means any official act performed by a notary public 1[under the laws of this State, which] appointed pursuant to the provisions of the "Notaries Public Act of 1979, P.L.1979, c.460 (C.52:7-10 et seq.), or otherwise qualified and commissioned as a notary public in this State, or performed by an officer authorized to take oaths, affirmations and affidavits under R.S.41:2-1 or to take acknowledgments under R.S.46:14-6.1. Notarial act 1 shall include the following 1[acts]1: taking acknowledgments; administering oaths and affirmations; executing jurats or other verification; taking proofs of deed; and executing protests for non-payment.
Outside the United States means a location outside the geographic boundaries of the United States, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and any territory, insular possession, or other location subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
Remotely located individual means an individual who is not in the physical presence of a notary public 1, or an officer authorized to take oaths, affirmations, and affidavits, or to take acknowledgements,1 performing a notarial act under subsection c. of this section.
Satisfactory evidence means a passport, driver s license, or government issued nondriver identification card, which is current or expired not more than three years before performance of the notarial act; another form of government identification issued to an individual, which is current or expired not more than three years before performance of the notarial act, contains the signature or a photograph of the individual, and is satisfactory to the notary public 1or officer authorized to take oaths, affirmations, and affidavits, or authorized to take acknowledgements1; or a verification on oath or affirmation of a credible witness personally appearing before the notary public 1or officer1 and known to the notary public 1or officer1 or whom the notary public 1or officer1 can identify on the basis of a passport, driver s license, or government issued nondriver identification card, which is current or expired not more than three years before performance of the notarial act.
b. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law or regulation to the contrary, during the 1[Public Health Emergency] public health emergency1 and 1[State] state1 of 1[Emergency] emergency1 declared by the Governor in Executive Order 103 of 2020, a notary public appointed pursuant to the provisions of the "Notaries Public Act of 1979, P.L.1979, c. 460 (C.52:7-10 et seq.), or otherwise qualified and commissioned as a notary public in this State 1or an officer authorized to take oaths, affirmations and affidavits under R.S.41:2-1 or to take acknowledgements under R.S.46:14-6.11 may perform notarial acts using communication technology for a remotely located individual if:
(1) the notary public 1or officer1:
(a) has personal knowledge of the identity of the individual appearing before the notary public 1or officer1, which is based upon dealings with the individual sufficient to provide reasonable certainty that the individual has the identity claimed;
(b) has satisfactory evidence of the identity of the remotely located individual by oath or affirmation from a credible witness appearing before the notary public 1or officer1 ; or
(c) has obtained satisfactory evidence of the identity of the remotely