Bill Text: MI HB5899 | 2023-2024 | 102nd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Occupations: notaries public; education and licensing requirements for notaries public; provide for. Creates new act. TIE BAR WITH: HB 5898'24
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-07-31 - Bill Electronically Reproduced 07/30/2024 [HB5899 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2023-HB5899-Introduced.html
HOUSE BILL NO. 5899
A bill to license and regulate the operation of a notary school; to impose a license fee for the licensure of a notary school; to provide for the powers and duties of certain state and local governmental officers and entities; to prohibit certain actions and prescribe civil sanctions; and to require the promulgation of rules.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 1. This act may be cited as the "notary public education licensure act".
(a) "Department" means the department of state.
(b) "License" means the document issued to a person under this act that enables the person to operate a notary school in this state.
(c) "Michigan law on notarial acts" means the Michigan law on notarial acts, 2003 PA 238, MCL 55.261 to 55.315.
(d) "Notarial act" means that term as defined in section 5 of the Michigan law on notarial acts, MCL 55.265.
(e) "Notary public" means an individual appointed by the secretary of state to perform notarial acts under the Michigan law on notarial acts.
(f) "Notary school" means a person that has been issued and holds a license under section 3 and that provides a course of study to train individuals on the requirements and responsibilities of a notary public.
(g) "Person" means an individual or a partnership, corporation, limited liability company, association, governmental entity, or other legal entity.
Sec. 3. (1) A person shall not operate as or attempt to operate as a notary school without a license issued under this act.
(2) The secretary of state shall issue a license to a person to operate a notary school if the person meets all of the following requirements:
(a) Submits an application on a form and in a manner as provided by the department and pays the applicable license fee prescribed in section 7.
(b) If the person is an individual, the person is a resident of this state, or, if the person is not an individual, the person is located in this state.
(c) Has professional liability errors and omissions insurance or other equivalent insurance with a limit of not less than $100,000.00 per occurrence.
(3) A notary school must meet all of the following requirements:
(a) Provide a course of instruction that meets both of the following for an individual who is seeking the individual's first notary commission under the Michigan law on notarial acts:
(i) The curriculum requirements under section 4.
(ii) Is not less than 4 hours, with 10 minute breaks every 90 minutes of instruction.
(b) Provide a course of instruction that meets both of the following for an individual who is renewing a notary public commission under the Michigan law on notarial acts:
(i) A review of the curriculum required under section 4.
(ii) Is not less than 3 hours, with 10 minute breaks every 60 minutes of instruction.
(c) Employ at least 1 instructor who holds a certificate of appointment as a notary public under the Michigan law on notarial acts.
Sec. 4. A notary school's curriculum must include, but not be limited to, all of the following topics:
(a) What a notary public is, what a notary public does, and where a notary public can perform notarial acts.
(b) How to properly perform a notarial act from start to finish under the Michigan law on notarial acts, including, but not limited to, preparation of documents, the elements of a notarial act, verifying the identity of a signer, acceptable forms of identification, the use of a notary stamp and embosser, the proper placement of a notary stamp, being present at the time of notarization, witnessing and notarizing the same documents, and the types of witnesses to a notarial act.
(c) How to take an acknowledgment, administer an oath, and witness or attest to a signature.
(d) How to perform a notarial act for a specific person, including, but not limited to, the notary public's employer, a minor, a relative of the notary public, or an individual who is mentally incapacitated.
(e) Requirements for the performance of a notarial act on a remote electronic notarization platform, including, but not limited to, fees and journal entries under the Michigan law on notarial acts. As used in this subdivision, "remote electronic notarization platform" means that term as defined in section 5 of the Michigan law on notarial acts, MCL 55.265.
(f) How to fill out notarial blocks on documents, including, but not limited to, filling out different types of notarial blocks, entering a signer's name into a notarial block, and what to do if there is not a notarial block on the document.
(g) How to correct incorrect information and misstamps on a document.
(h) Signature requirements under the Michigan law on notarial acts, including, but not limited to, how to notarize a signature, a signature performed under section 33 of the Michigan law on notarial acts, MCL 55.293, documents that are signed before a notary reviews the documents, and signature matching requirements.
(i) How to perform notarial acts for certain documents, including, but not limited to, foreign language documents or true copy statements.
(j) Notary fees and travel charges.
(k) What a jurat is and how and when to issue an oath.
(l) Various issues, including, but not limited to, performance of a notarial act under the influence or if the signer is under the influence, if a signer refuses to sign or is being coerced to sign, refusal to notarize a document, and the unauthorized practice of law.
(m) Surety bond and error and omission insurance requirements.
(n) How to read and use the Michigan law on notarial acts.
(o) The fact that a notary public should not be concerned with the contents of the document that the notary public is performing a notarial act on.
Sec. 5. (1) The department shall develop 100 questions related to the topics listed under section 4 that must be used as part of an examination under subsection (2).
(2) A third-party vendor approved by the department shall proctor a notary public examination to test an individual's knowledge on the requirements and responsibilities of a notary public. For each individual that takes an examination under this subsection, the examination must consist of 75 questions that the third-party vendor selects at random from the 100 questions developed under subsection (1).
(3) An individual must take an examination under subsection (2) not more than 90 days after the individual completes the curriculum under section 4.
(4) A third-party vendor that proctors an examination under subsection (2) shall submit the examination to the department for scoring. An individual must receive a score of not less than 80% to receive a passing grade.
(5) The department shall provide a list of approved third-party vendors on the department's website that is accessible by the public.
Sec. 6. (1) A license issued under section 3 expires 2 years after the date the license is issued.
(2) The department shall renew the license of a person operating a notary school if the person does all of the following:
(a) Meets the requirements of section 3(2).
(b) Provides the department with proof satisfactory to the department that 90% of the notary school's students annually pass the notary school's course of instruction and the examination under section 5.
(c) Provides the department with proof satisfactory to the department that the notary school's curriculum complies with the laws on notarial acts.
Sec. 7. (1) The license fee for a person seeking initial licensure under section 3 is $2,000.00.
(2) The license fee for a licensee to renew a license is $500.00.
(3) The license fees collected under this section must be deposited into the general fund.
Sec. 8. (1) The department may investigate a person that violated, allegedly violated, or is about to violate this act or a rule promulgated under this act.
(2) A person may file a complaint against a notary school with the department. A complaint must be made in a form and manner prescribed by the department and contain all of the following:
(a) A written description of the alleged violation of this act, including all parties involved.
(b) A description of any harm caused to the complainant.
(c) Any documentation that supports the complaint.
Sec. 9. A person that violates a provision of this act or a rule promulgated under this act, after notice and an opportunity for an evidentiary hearing under the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328, is subject to both of the following:
(a) A civil fine of not more than $1,000.00 for each violation. A fine collected must be deposited into the general fund.
(b) An amount for restitution to the person injured by the violation. Restitution for an individual injured by a notary school's violation must be not less than the individual's course fees plus an additional 20% of the course fee total.
Sec. 10. The department shall promulgate rules to implement this act under the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328.
Enacting section 1. This act does not take effect unless Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No. 5898 (request no. 05936'24) of the 102nd Legislature is enacted into law.
