Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

General Assembly                      Raised Bill No. 5491
       February Session, 2020               LCO No. 2791
     Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
     Introduced by:
       (JUD)
 AN ACT CONCERNING REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO NOTARY
 PUBLICS, THE ISSUANCE OF TRADE NAME CERTIFICATES AND
 IMPROVED PUBLIC ACCESS TO BUSINESS RECORDS FILED WITH
 THE SECRETARY OF THE STATE.
 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
 Assembly convened:
       Section 1. Section 3-94b of the general statutes is repealed and the
    following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2020):
       (a) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, the Secretary
    of the State may appoint as a notary public any qualified person who
    submits an application in accordance with this section.
      (b) In order to qualify for appointment as a notary public, a person
    shall:
       (1) Be eighteen years of age or older at the time of application;
     (2) (A) Be a resident of the state of Connecticut at the time of
   application and appointment, or (B) have one's principal place of
   business in the state at the time of application and appointment;
 LCO No. 2791                                                                 1 of 9
                                                          Raised Bill No.   5491
   (3) Pass [a written] an examination approved or administered by the
 Secretary;
    (4) Submit an application, on a form prescribed and provided by the
 Secretary, which the applicant shall complete, in part, in the applicant's
 handwriting without misstatement or omission of fact. The application
 shall be accompanied by (A) a nonrefundable application fee of one
 hundred twenty dollars, and (B) the recommendation of an individual
 who has personally known the applicant for at least one year and is not
 legally related to the applicant.
   (c) The Secretary may deny an application based on:
    (1) The applicant's conviction of a felony or a crime involving
 dishonesty or moral turpitude;
    (2) Revocation, suspension or restriction of a notary public
 appointment or professional license issued to the applicant by this state
 or any other state; or
    (3) The applicant's official misconduct, whether or not any
 disciplinary action has resulted.
    (d) Upon approval of an application for appointment as a notary
 public, the Secretary shall cause a certificate of appointment bearing a
 facsimile of the Secretary's signature and countersigned by the
 Secretary's executive assistant or an employee designated by the
 Secretary to be issued to such appointee.
    [(e) A notary public may obtain a replacement certificate of
 appointment by filing a written request with the Secretary,
 accompanied by a nonrefundable fee of five dollars.]
    Sec. 2. Section 3-94n of the general statutes is repealed and the
 following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2020):
   Within thirty days after a change of [residence] residential address, a
 notary public who is a resident of the state shall [file with the Secretary
     LCO No. 2791                                                             2 of 9
                                                           Raised Bill No.   5491
 a signed, written notice which shall include both the old and new
 addresses] update the notary's residential address on the online system
 provided by the Secretary of the State. Within thirty days after a change
 of address of one's principal place of business, a notary public who is
 not a resident of the state shall [file with the Secretary a signed, written
 notice which shall include both the old and new addresses. Such notice
 shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable fee of fifteen dollars] update
 the address of one's principal place of business on the online system
 provided by the Secretary of the State. If the change of address is to a
 different municipality, the notary shall, [within thirty days after
 issuance of a replacement certificate of appointment by the Secretary,
 record such] not later than thirty days after the date of the change of
 residence, record the notary's certificate with the town clerk of the
 municipality in which the new address is located. The failure of a notary
 to so record such replacement certificate shall not invalidate any notarial
 act performed by the notary.
    Sec. 3. Section 3-94o of the general statutes is repealed and the
 following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2020):
    (a) [Within thirty] Not later than thirty days after the date of a change
 in the name of a notary public, the notary shall [file a notice of the
 change with the Secretary, on a form prescribed and provided by the
 Secretary] update the notary's name on the online system provided by
 the Secretary of the State. The notice shall state the notary's old and new
 names and the effective date of the new name, include such proof of the
 change of name as the Secretary shall require. [, be signed by the notary
 and be accompanied by a nonrefundable fee of fifteen dollars.] The
 notary shall, [within thirty days after the] not later than thirty days after
 the date of issuance of a replacement certificate of appointment by the
 Secretary, record such certificate with the town clerk of the municipality
 wherein the notary recorded the notary's original certificate of
 appointment and oath of office. The failure of a notary to so record such
 replacement certificate shall not invalidate any notarial act performed
 by the notary. Any town clerk who is required by statute to make a
 record of the certificate of appointment and oath of office of a notary
     LCO No. 2791                                                              3 of 9
                                                           Raised Bill No.   5491
 shall record the replacement certificate of appointment containing the
 change of name of the notary upon payment of a fee of fifteen dollars by
 such notary to the town clerk.
    (b) Beginning on the date of issuance of such replacement certificate
 of appointment by the Secretary, the notary public shall (1) sign the
 notary's new name on all notarial certificates, and (2) if the notary uses
 a notarial seal, use only a notarial seal that contains the notary's new
 name.
    Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2020) (a) No person shall transact
 business in this state under any assumed name, or under any
 designation, name or style, corporate or otherwise, other than the real
 name or names of the person or persons transacting such business,
 unless a trade name certificate has been issued in accordance with this
 section and section 5 of this act.
    (b) An application for a trade name certificate shall be filed on a form
 prescribed by the Secretary of the State in the office of the town clerk in
 the town in which such business is, or will be, principally transacted.
    (1) An application filed by a natural person shall provide: (A) The
 name under which such business is, or will be, principally transacted,
 (B) the physical address of the business located in the town of filing, (C)
 the address of the business, and (D) the full name, physical address and
 electronic mail address of each person transacting such business.
    (2) An application filed by a corporation or limited liability company
 shall provide: (A) The name under which such business is, or will be,
 principally transacted, (B) the business identification number for the
 corporation or limited liability company provided by the Secretary of
 the State, (C) the name of the corporation or limited liability company
 on file with the Secretary of the State, (D) the principal business address
 of the corporation or limited liability company on file with the Secretary
 of the State, and (E) the electronic mail address of the corporation or
 limited liability company.
      LCO No. 2791                                                             4 of 9
                                                           Raised Bill No.   5491
    (c) An application for a trade name certificate shall be executed by
 each natural person filing such application or, in the case of a
 corporation or limited liability company, by an authorized officer of
 such corporation or limited liability company, and acknowledged
 before an authority qualified to administer oaths. The filing fee for a
 trade name application shall be in accordance with section 7-34a of the
 general statutes, as amended by this act.
    (d) A town clerk shall issue a trade name certificate upon acceptance
 of a trade name application filed in accordance with this section and
 section 5 of this act. Such certificate shall be valid for a period of five
 years from the date of issuance.
    (e) Any trade name certificate issued prior to October 1, 2020, shall be
 valid until September 30, 2025, unless renewed in accordance with
 section 5 of this act.
    Sec. 5. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2020) (a) A trade name certificate
 may be renewed not earlier than six months prior to the expiration date
 of such certificate and not later than the expiration date of such
 certificate. An application for renewal shall be on a form prescribed by
 the Secretary and shall provide the information required by subsection
 (b) of section 4 of this act. Upon acceptance of an application for renewal,
 the town clerk shall issue a new trade name certificate, which shall be
 valid for five years from the expiration date of the previous certificate.
 The filing fee for a tradename renewal shall be in accordance with
 section 7-34a of the general statutes, as amended by this act.
    (b) Any information contained on an original application for a trade
 name certificate or a renewal application may be amended by the filer
 at any time prior to the expiration of the trade name certificate and the
 fee for such amendment shall be in accordance with section 7-34a of the
 general statutes, as amended by this act.
    (c) A trade name certificate may be cancelled by the filer prior to the
 expiration date of the trade name certificate upon filing a cancellation of
 trade name certificate with the town clerk of the town where the original
      LCO No. 2791                                                             5 of 9
                                                          Raised Bill No.   5491
 application was filed and the fee for such cancellation shall be in
 accordance with section 7-34a of the general statutes, as amended by this
 act.
    Sec. 6. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2020) (a) Each town clerk shall keep
 an alphabetical index of the trade name certificates issued by such town
 clerk and the natural persons, corporations or limited liability
 companies filing such trade name applications.
    (b) The Secretary of the State may create an electronic system for town
 clerks to process applications for trade name certificates. Such system
 shall provide for state-wide public searching of tradename certificate
 information. Any town clerk utilizing such system shall be deemed to
 have complied with the indexing requirements in subsection (a) of this
 section.
    Sec. 7. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2020) (a) A copy of any trade name
 certificate, certified by the town clerk from whose office the same has
 been issued, shall be presumptive evidence, in all courts in this state, of
 the facts contained in such certificate. The provisions of sections 4 to 8,
 inclusive, of this act shall not prevent the lawful use of a partnership
 name or designation if such partnership name or designation includes
 the true surname of at least one of the persons composing such
 partnership.
     (b) A trade name certificate shall not be required for any domestic or
 foreign limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited
 liability company, corporation or statutory trust registered with the
 Secretary of the State, provided such entity transacts business under the
 name stated in its formation or registration document, as applicable,
 filed with the Secretary of the State.
   (c) Nothing in sections 4 to 8, inclusive, of this act shall require any
 town clerk to determine that the trade name that is subject to certificate
 issue is not already in use in the town of filing or in any other town in
 the state.
      LCO No. 2791                                                            6 of 9
                                                           Raised Bill No.   5491
    (d) Any person transacting business in violation of the provisions of
 sections 4 to 8, inclusive, of this act shall be fined not more than five
 hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than one year. Failure to
 comply with the provisions of sections 4 to 8, inclusive, of this act shall
 be deemed to be an unfair or deceptive trade practice under subsection
 (a) of section 42-110b of the general statutes.
    Sec. 8. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2020) (a) No person shall use, in any
 printed advertisement, an assumed or fictitious name for the conduct of
 such person's business that includes the name of any municipality in
 this state in such a manner as to suggest that such person's business is
 located in such municipality unless: (1) Such person's business is, in fact,
 located in such municipality; or (2) such person includes in any such
 printed advertisement the complete street address of the location from
 which such person's business is actually conducted, including the city
 or town and, if located outside of Connecticut, the state in which such
 person's business is located. A violation of the provisions of this
 subsection by a person conducting business under an assumed or
 fictitious name that includes the name of a municipality in this state
 shall be deemed an unfair or deceptive trade practice under subsection
 (a) of section 42-110b of the general statutes.
    (b) The provisions of this section shall not apply to the use of (1) any
 trademark or service mark registered under the laws of this state or
 under federal law, (2) any name that, when applied to the goods or
 services of such person's business, is merely descriptive of them, or (3)
 any name that is merely a surname.
    (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to impose any liability
 on any publisher that relies on the written assurances of a person
 placing such printed advertisement that such person has authority to
 use any such assumed or fictitious name.
    Sec. 9. Subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 7-34a of the general
 statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof
 (Effective October 1, 2020):
      LCO No. 2791                                                             7 of 9
                                                           Raised Bill No.   5491
    (a) (1) Town clerks shall receive, for recording any document, ten
 dollars for the first page and five dollars for each subsequent page or
 fractional part thereof, a page being not more than eight and one-half by
 fourteen inches. Town clerks shall receive, for recording the information
 contained in a certificate of registration for the practice of any of the
 healing arts, five dollars. Town clerks shall receive, for recording
 documents conforming to, or substantially similar to, section 47-36c,
 which are clearly entitled "statutory form" in the heading of such
 documents, as follows: For the first page of a warranty deed, a quitclaim
 deed, a mortgage deed, or an assignment of mortgage, ten dollars; for
 each additional page of such documents, five dollars; and for each
 assignment of mortgage, subsequent to the first two assignments, two
 dollars. Town clerks shall receive, for recording any document with
 respect to which certain data must be submitted by each town clerk to
 the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management in accordance with
 section 10-261b, two dollars in addition to the regular recording fee. Any
 person who offers any written document for recording in the office of
 any town clerk, which document fails to have legibly typed, printed or
 stamped directly beneath the signatures the names of the persons who
 executed such document, the names of any witnesses thereto and the
 name of the officer before whom the same was acknowledged, shall pay
 one dollar in addition to the regular recording fee. Town clerks shall
 receive, for recording any deed, except a mortgage deed, conveying title
 to real estate, which deed does not contain the current mailing address
 of the grantee, five dollars in addition to the regular recording fee. Town
 clerks shall receive, for filing any document, ten dollars; for receiving
 and keeping a survey or map, legally filed in the town clerk's office, ten
 dollars; and for indexing such survey or map, in accordance with section
 7-32, ten dollars, except with respect to indexing any such survey or map
 pertaining to a subdivision of land as defined in section 8-18, in which
 event town clerks shall receive twenty dollars for each such indexing.
 Town clerks shall receive, for a copy, in any format, of any document
 either recorded or filed in their offices, one dollar for each page or
 fractional part thereof, as the case may be; for certifyi