Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
                                           Act 479 of the Regular Session
 State of Arkansas
 93rd General Assembly                        A Bill
 Regular Session, 2021                                                             SENATE BILL 437
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 By: Senator B. Ballinger
 By: Representative Gazaway
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                                   For An Act To Be Entitled
                AN ACT TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO TITLE 21 OF
                THE ARKANSAS CODE CONCERNING PUBLIC OFFICERS AND
                EMPLOYEES; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
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                                               Subtitle
                         TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO TITLE 21
                         OF THE ARKANSAS CODE CONCERNING PUBLIC
                         OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.
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 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
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        SECTION 1.       Arkansas Code  21-5-1409(b)(2), concerning salary
 adjustments, is amended to read as follows to make a grammatical correction:
        (2)    An employee whose adjusted annual salary falls below the entry pay
 level for the grade assigned to his or her classification shall be have his
 or her annual salary further adjusted to the entry pay level.
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        SECTION 2.       Arkansas Code  21-8-705 is repealed because the Code
 section expired December 31, 2016, under Acts 2015(1st Ex. Sess.), No. 4, 
 7.
        21-8-705. Filing of additional statement of financial interest in year
 in which party filing period is held.
        If the party filing period under  7-7-203 ends before January 1 of the
 year of the general election, a candidate for elective office shall file a
 statement of financial interest for the previous calendar year no later than
 January 31 of the year of the general election in addition to the statement
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 of financial interest required under  21-8-701.
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      SECTION 3.      Arkansas Code  21-14-101 and 21-14-102 are amended to
 read as follows to use consistent terminology throughout the sections:
      21-14-101.      Appointment and commission.
      (a)(1)     The Secretary of State may appoint and commission an individual
 person as a notary public in this state.
               (2)   Effective January 1, 2006, a A notary public may perform
 notarial acts in any part of the state for a term of ten (10) years,
 beginning on the date of commission or the date of renewal of a commission
 issued by the Secretary of State.
      (b)   Every applicant for appointment and commission as a notary public
 shall complete an application to be filed with the Secretary of State
 stating:
               (1)   That he or she is:
                     (A)   One (1) of the following:
                            (i)     A bona fide citizen of the United States;
                            (ii)     A permanent resident alien who shall file with
 his or her application a recorded Declaration of Domicile;
                            (iii)     A legal resident of Arkansas;
                            (iv)    A legal resident of an adjoining state and
 employed or operating a business in the State of Arkansas; or
                            (v)(a)     A nonresident spouse of a United States
 military service member employed or operating a business in Arkansas.
                                     (b)   One (1) copy of a United States Department
 of Defense DD Form 1173 or a United States Department of Defense DD Form
 1173-1, otherwise known as a Uniformed Services Identification and Privilege
 Card, shall be included with his or her application under this subsection;
                     (B)   Eighteen (18) years of age or older; and
                     (C)   Able to read and write English;
               (2)   The address of his or her place of employment, business, or
 residence in this state;
               (3)   That during the past ten (10) years, his or her commission
 as a notary public has not been revoked; and
               (4)   That he or she has not been convicted of a felony.
      (c)   The application shall be sent to the Secretary of State with a fee
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 of twenty dollars ($20.00) for the notary public commission.
      (d)   The Secretary of State may require the applicant to demonstrate
 that he or she has reviewed the law concerning notaries public and
 understands the duties of a notary public.
      (e)   Every notary public shall file in the office of the recorder of
 deeds for the county where the notary public resides or in the case of a
 legal resident of an adjoining state or nonresident spouse of a United States
 military service member, in the county in Arkansas of his or her place of
 employment or business, either:
               (1)   A surety bond executed by a surety insurer authorized to do
 business in Arkansas to the state for the faithful discharge of the notary
 public's duties in the sum of seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500),
 to be approved by the Secretary of State; or
               (2)   A surety contract guaranteeing the notary public's faithful
 discharge of his or her duties executed to the State of Arkansas for not more
 than an aggregate seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500), issued by a
 general business corporation validly organized and formed under the laws of
 this state pertaining to domestic corporations and which:
                     (A)   Has previously registered with the Insurance
 Commissioner on forms prescribed by the commissioner evidencing the
 corporation's purpose to issue only surety contracts for notaries public
 pursuant to the provisions of this section;
                     (B)   Has previously deposited and thereafter maintains with
 the commissioner securities in the sum of not less than ten thousand dollars
 ($10,000) executed to the State of Arkansas that are issued by a
 nonaffiliated corporate entity and are approved by the commissioner; and
                     (C)   Is not otherwise transacting any insurance business in
 this state that requires compliance with the provisions of the Arkansas
 Insurance Code.
      (f)(1)     The obligation of an issuer of a bond required by subsection
 (e) of this section:
                     (A)   Shall be solely to the State of Arkansas; and
                     (B)   Is solely for the benefit of the State of Arkansas.
               (2)   Under no circumstances shall the aggregate liability of the
 issuer exceed the amount of the bond.
               (3)   An employer shall not cancel a surety bond of a current or
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 former employee even if the employer paid for the surety bond on behalf of
 the employee.
      (g)(1)     Every notary public shall sign the following declaration in the
 presence of the circuit clerk for the county where the notary public resides
 or if a legal resident of another an adjoining state or a nonresident spouse
 of a United States military service member, the circuit clerk for the county
 in Arkansas of his or her place of employment or business:
 I, (name of notary), solemnly swear or affirm that I have carefully read the
 notary laws of this state, and I will uphold the Constitutions of the United
 States and the State of Arkansas and will faithfully perform to the best of
 my ability all notarial acts in accordance with the law. (Signature of
 notary)
 Subscribed and sworn to before me (name of circuit clerk), Circuit Clerk for
 the County of (name of county), State of Arkansas, on this ________ day of
 ______, (year).
               (Signature of circuit clerk).
               (2)   The notary public shall send an executed and signed original
 of the declaration to the Secretary of State.
      (h)   Effective January 1, 2006, the The Secretary of State shall issue
 a commission number to each new notary public and to each notary public who
 renews his or her commission.
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      21-14-102.      Change of residence.
      (a)(1)     Upon receiving notification of a change of residency, the
 Secretary of State shall transfer a notary public's appointment and
 commission to the new county of residence in instances in which a person
 appointed and commissioned a notary public under  21-14-101 changes
 residence to a county within this state other than the county where the
 notary public resided on the date of commission.
               (2)   Upon receiving notification of a change in place of
 employment, the Secretary of State shall transfer a notary public's
 appointment and commission to the new county of employment in the case of a
 legal resident of an adjoining state or a nonresident spouse of a United
 States military service member changing his or her place of employment to a
 county within this state other than the county where the notary public was
 employed on the date of commission.
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      (b)   The original bond or certified copy of the original bond from the
 original county of residence shall also be filed by the notary public in the
 new county of residence or if the notary public is a legal resident of an
 adjoining state or a nonresident spouse of a United States military service
 member, in the new county of employment in Arkansas.
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      SECTION 4.    DO NOT CODIFY.     CONSTRUCTION AND LEGISLATIVE INTENT.
      It is the intent of the General Assembly that:
            (1)    The enactment and adoption of this act shall not expressly
 or impliedly repeal an act passed during the regular session of the Ninety-
 Third General Assembly;
            (2)    To the extent that a conflict exists between an act of the
 regular session of the Ninety-Third General Assembly and this act:
                   (A)   The act of the regular session of the Ninety-Third
 General Assembly shall be treated as a subsequent act passed by the General
 Assembly for the purposes of:
                           (i)    Giving the act of the regular session of the
 Ninety-Third General Assembly its full force and effect; and
                           (ii)   Amending or repealing the appropriate parts of
 the Arkansas Code of 1987; and
                   (B)   Section 1-2-107 shall not apply; and
            (3)    This act shall make only technical, not substantive, changes
 to the Arkansas Code of 1987.
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                                   APPROVED: 3/25/21
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Statutes affected: 
SB 437: 21-5-1409(b)
Act 479: 21-5-1409(b)