2022 -- S 2802
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LC005321
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022
____________
AN ACT
RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- JUSTICES OF THE PEACE--
STANDARDS OF CONDUCT FOR NOTARIES PUBLIC
Introduced By: Senator John P. Burke
Date Introduced: March 24, 2022
Referred To: Senate Judiciary
(Secretary of State)
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Section 42-30-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-30 entitled "Justices of
2 the Peace" is hereby amended to read as follows:
3 42-30-5. Application for appointment.
4 (a) Application. Any individual desiring to be appointed a justice of the peace shall make
5 written application to the governor over his or her own signature.
6 (b) Qualifications of applicants:
7 (1) The person qualified for a justice of the peace commission shall be at least eighteen
8 (18) years of age and reside legally or conduct business on a regular basis within Rhode Island; and
9 (2) The applicant for appointment to the office of justice of the peace can speak, read, and
10 write the English language and has sufficient knowledge of the powers and duties pertaining to that
11 office.
12 (c) Attorneys and accountants. A member of the Rhode Island bar, and certified public
13 accountants under § 5-3.1-5, shall, regardless of residence, be appointed a justice of the peace upon
14 application and presentment of a certified copy of his or her certificate of admission to the bar or
15 certificate of public accountancy.
16 (d) Any person making written application to be appointed a justice of the peace shall, at
17 the time of application, pay to the secretary of state the sum of eighty dollars ($80.00).
18 SECTION 2. Sections 42-30.1-2, 42-30.1-3, 42-30.1-4, 42-30.1-5, 42-30.1-6 and 42-30.1-
 1 12 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-30.1 entitled "Uniform Law on Notarial Acts" are hereby
2 amended to read as follows:
3 42-30.1-2. Definitions.
4 For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
5 (1) "Acknowledgment" means a declaration by an individual before a notarial officer that
6 the individual has signed a record for the purpose stated in the record and, if the record is signed in
7 a representative capacity, that the individual signed the record with proper authority and signed it
8 as the act of the individual or entity identified in the record.
9 (2) "Commissioning agency" means the Rhode Island office of the secretary of state.
10 (3) "Commissioning officer" means the governor of the state of Rhode Island.
11 (4) "Communication technology" means an electronic device of process that:
12 (i) Allows simultaneous communication by sight and sound between a notary public and a
13 remotely located individual; and
14 (ii) When necessary and consistent with other applicable law, facilitates communication
15 with a remotely located individual who has a vision, hearing, or speech impairment by providing
16 reasonable accommodations.
17 (4)(5) "Electronic" means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic,
18 wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities.
19 (5)(6) "Electronic signature" means an electronic symbol, sound, or process attached to, or
20 logically associated with, a record and executed or adopted by an individual with the intent to sign
21 the record.
22 (7) "Foreign state" means a jurisdiction other than the United States, a state, territory, or a
23 federally recognized Indian tribe.
24 (8) "Identity proofing" means a process or service by which a third person provides a notary
25 public with a means to verify the identity of a remotely located individual by a review of personal
26 information from public or private data sources.
27 (6)(9) "In a representative capacity" means acting as:
28 (i) An authorized officer, agent, partner, trustee, or other representative for a person other
29 than an individual;
30 (ii) A public officer, personal representative, guardian, or other representative, in the
31 capacity stated in a record;
32 (iii) An agent or attorney-in-fact for a principal; or
33 (iv) An authorized representative of another in any other capacity.
34 (7)(10) "Notarial act" means an act, whether performed with respect to a tangible or
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 1 electronic record, that a notarial officer may perform under the law of this state. The term includes
2 taking an acknowledgment, administering an oath or affirmation, taking a verification on oath or
3 affirmation, witnessing or attesting a signature, certifying or attesting a copy, noting a protest of a
4 negotiable instrument and transact, do and finish all matters and things relating to protests and
5 protesting bills of exchange and promissory notes, and all other matters within their office required
6 by law, take depositions as prescribed by law, and acknowledgments of deeds and other
7 instruments.
8 (8)(11) "Notarial officer" means a notary public or other individual authorized to perform
9 a notarial act.
10 (9)(12) "Notary public" means an individual commissioned to perform a notarial act by the
11 commissioning officer.
12 (10)(13) "Official stamp" means a physical image affixed to a tangible record or an
13 electronic image attached to, or logically associated with, an electronic record.
14 (14) "Outside the United States" means a location outside the geographic boundaries of the
15 United States, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, and any territory, insular possession,
16 or other location subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
17 (11)(15) "Person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, statutory trust, estate,
18 trust, partnership, limited-liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation,
19 government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or
20 commercial entity.
21 (12)(16) "Record" means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is
22 stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.
23 (17) "Remotely located individual" means an individual who is not in the physical presence
24 of the notary public who performs a notarial act pursuant to § 42-30.1-10.
25 (13)(18) "Sign" means, with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record:
26 (i) To execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or
27 (ii) To attach to, or logically associate with, the record an electronic symbol, sound, or
28 process.
29 (14)(19) "Signature" means a tangible symbol or an electronic signature that evidences the
30 signing of a record.
31 (15)(20) "Stamping device" means:
32 (i) A physical device capable of affixing an official stamp upon a tangible record; or
33 (ii) An electronic device or process capable of attaching to, or logically associating an
34 official stamp with, an electronic record.
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 1 (16)(21) "State" means a state of the United States of America, the District of Columbia,
2 Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the
3 jurisdiction of the United States.
4 (17)(22) "Verification on oath or affirmation" means a declaration that a statement in a
5 record is true, made by an individual under oath or by affirmation before a notarial officer.
6 42-30.1-3. Authority to perform notarial act.
7 (a) A notarial officer may perform a notarial act authorized by this chapter or by law of this
8 state other than this chapter.
9 (b) A notarial officer may not perform a notarial act with respect to a record to which the
10 officer or the officer's spouse, domestic partner, parent, guardian, child or sibling of the principal,
11 including in-law, step, or half relatives, is a party or in which either of them has a direct beneficial
12 interest, except where such person's witness a will or other legal document prepared by a notarial
13 officer who is an attorney licensed by the State of Rhode Island. A notarial act performed in
14 violation of this subsection is voidable.
15 (c) A notarial officer may certify that a tangible copy of an electronic record is an accurate
16 copy of the electronic record.
17 42-30.1-4. Requirements for certain notarial acts.
18 (a) A notarial officer who takes an acknowledgment of a record shall determine, from
19 personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence of the identity of the individual, that the individual
20 appearing before the officer and making the acknowledgment has the identity claimed and that the
21 signature on the record is the signature of the individual.
22 (b) A notarial officer who takes a verification of a statement on oath or affirmation shall
23 determine, from personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence of the identity of the individual, that
24 the individual appearing before the notarial officer and making the verification has the identity
25 claimed and that the signature on the statement verified is the signature of the individual.
26 (c) A notarial officer who witnesses or attests to a signature shall determine, from personal
27 knowledge or satisfactory evidence of the identity of the individual, that the individual appearing
28 before the notarial officer and signing the record has the identity claimed.
29 (d) A notarial officer who certifies or attests a copy of a record or an item that was copied
30 shall determine that the copy is a full, true, and accurate transcription or reproduction of the record
31 or item.
32 (e) A notarial officer who makes or notes a protest of a negotiable instrument shall do so
33 in accordance with the requirements set forth in § 6A-3-505(b).
34 42-30.1-5. Personal appearance required.
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 1 If a notarial act relates to a statement made in, or a signature executed upon, a record, the
2 individual making the statement or executing the signature shall appear personally before the
3 notarial officer. For purposes of this section, personal appearance means that the principal and the
4 notary public communicate by communication technology process at the time of the notarization;
5 or that the principal and notary public are physically close enough to communicate with each other
6 at the time of notarization.
7 42-30.1-6. Identification of individual.
8 (a) A notarial officer has personal knowledge of the identity of an individual appearing
9 before the notarial officer if the individual is personally known to the notarial officer through
10 dealings sufficient to provide reasonable certainty regarding that the legal individual has the
11 identity of the individual claimed.
12 (b) A notarial officer has satisfactory evidence of the identity of an individual appearing
13 before the notarial officer if the notarial officer can identify the individual:
14 (1) By means of:
15 (i) A passport, driver's license, or government-issued, non-driver identification card, that
16 is current or expired not more than three (3) years before performance of the notarial act; or
17 (ii) Another form of government identification issued to an individual that is current or
18 expired not more than three (3) years before performance of the notarial act, contains the signature
19 or a photograph of the individual, and is satisfactory to the notarial officer; or
20 (2) By a verification on oath or affirmation of a credible witness personally appearing
21 before the notarial officer and known to the officer or whom the officer can identify on the basis of
22 a passport, driver's license, or government issued nondriver identification card, which is current or
23 expired not more than three (3) years before performance of the notarial act.
24 (c) A notarial officer may require an individual to provide additional information or
25 identification credentials necessary to assure the notarial officer of the identity of the individual.
26 42-30.1-12. Foreign notarial act.
27 (a) In this section, "foreign state" means a government other than the United States of
28 America or, a state, or federally recognized Indian tribe not including the state of Rhode Island.
29 (b) If a notarial act is performed under authority and in the jurisdiction of a foreign state or
30 constituent unit of the foreign state, or is performed under the authority of a multinational or
31 international governmental organization, the act has the same effect under the law of this state as
32 if performed by a notarial officer of this state.
33 (c) If the title of office and indication of authority to perform notarial acts in a foreign state
34 appears in a digest of foreign law or in a list customarily used as a source for that information, the
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 1 authority of an officer with that title to perform notarial acts is conclusively established.
2 (d) The signature and official stamp of an individual holding an office described in
3 subsection (c) of this section are prima facie evidence that the signature is genuine and the
4 individual holds the designated title.
5 (e) An apostille in the form prescribed by the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961, and
6 issued by a foreign state party to the convention conclusively establishes that the signature of the
7 notarial officer is genuine and that the officer holds the indicated office.
8 (e)(f) A consular authentication issued by an individual designated by the United States
9 Department of State as a notarizing officer for performing notarial acts overseas and attached to
10 the record with respect to which the notarial act is performed conclusively establishes that the
11 signature of the notarial officer is genuine and that the officer holds the indicated office.
12 SECTION 3. Chapter 42-30.1 of the General Laws entitled "Uniform Law on Notarial
13 Acts" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following sections:
14 42-30.1-11.1. Notarial act under authority of federally recognized Indian tribe.
15 (a) A notarial act performed under the authority and in the jurisdiction of a federally
16 recognized Indian tribe has the same effect as if performed by a notarial officer of this state, if the
17 act performed in the jurisdiction of the tribe is performed by:
18 (1) A notary public of the tribe;
19 (2) A judge, clerk, or deputy clerk of a court of the tribe; or
20 (3) Any other individual authorized by the law of the tribe to perform the notarial act.
21 (b) The signature and title of an individual performing a notarial act under the authority of
22 and in the jurisdiction of a federally recognized Indian tribe are prima facie evidence that the
23 signature is genuine and that the individual holds the designated title.
24 (c) The signature and title of a notarial officer described in subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2) of
25 this section conclusively establishes the authority of the officer to perform the notarial act.
26 42-30.1-12.1. Notarial act performed for remotely located individual.
27 (a) A remotely located individual may comply with § 42-30.1-5 by using communication
28 technology to appear before a notary public.
29 (b) A notary public located in this state may perform a notarial act using communication
30 technology for a remotely located individual if:
31 (1) The notary public:
32 (i) Has personal knowledge under § 42-30.1-6(a) of the identity of the individual;
33 (ii) Has satisfactory evidence of the identity of the remotely located individual by oath or
34 affirmation from a credible witness appearing before the notary public under § 42-30.1-6(b); or
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 1 (iii) Has obtained satisfactory evidence of the identity of the remotely located individual
2 by using at least two (2) different types of identity proofing;
3 (2) The notary public is reasonably able to confirm that a record before the notary public
4 is the same record in which the remotely located individual made a statement or on which the
5 individual executed a signature;
6 (3) The notary public, or a person acting on behalf of the notary public, creates an audio-
7 visual recording of the performance of the notarial act; and
8 (4) For a remotely located individual located outside the United States:
9 (i) The record:
10 (A) Shall be filed with or relates to a matter before a public official or court, governmental
11 entity, or other entity subject to the jurisdiction of the United States; or
12 (B) Involves property located in the territorial jurisdiction of the United States or involves
13 a transaction substantially connected with the United States; and
14 (ii) The act of making the statement or signing the record is not prohibited by the foreign
15 state in which the remotely located individual is located.
16 (c) If a notarial act is performed under this section, the certificate of notarial act