Bill Text: NY S00558 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Provides for the remote conduct of certain practices and procedures including meetings and notarizations utilizing electronic and/or audio-visual technologies.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-02-05 - PRINT NUMBER 558A [S00558 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S00558-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 558--A 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 6, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sen. BENJAMIN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Banks -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the banking law, the tax law, the executive law, the estates, powers and trusts law, the public health law, the real prop- erty law and the general obligations law, in relation to providing for the remote conduct of certain practices and procedures The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 11 of the banking law is amended by adding a new 2 subdivision 5 to read as follows: 3 5. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any instru- 4 ment which is signed and delivered to the superintendent pursuant to any 5 provision of this chapter, and is required to be verified or acknowl- 6 edged pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, may be verified or 7 acknowledged by including the standard verification or acknowledgment 8 language in such instrument and transmitting a legible copy of the 9 signed instrument by fax or electronic means. The superintendent shall 10 promulgate all rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of 11 the provisions of this subdivision. 12 § 2. Section 171 of the tax law is amended by adding a new subdivision 13 twenty-ninth to read as follows: 14 Twenty-ninth. Have the authority to accept electronic signatures in 15 lieu of handwritten signatures on documents related to the determination 16 or collection of tax liability. The commissioner may promulgate rules 17 and regulations regarding which documents shall be accepted with elec- 18 tronic signatures and the requirements for such electronic signatures. 19 § 3. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 137-a to 20 read as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD04966-05-1S. 558--A 2 1 § 137-a. Notary services provided utilizing communication technology. 2 1. For purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the 3 following meanings: 4 (a) "Communication technology" means an electronic device or process 5 that: (1) allows a notary public and a remotely located individual to 6 communicate with each other simultaneously by sight and sound; and (2) 7 when necessary and consistent with other applicable law, facilitates 8 communication with a remotely located individual who has a vision, hear- 9 ing, or speech impairment. 10 (b) "Identity proofing" means a process or service by which a third 11 person provides a notary public with a means to verify the identity of a 12 remotely located individual by a review of personal information from 13 public and private data sources. 14 (c) "Outside the United States" means a location outside the geograph- 15 ic boundaries of the United States, Puerto Rico, the United States 16 Virgin Islands, and any territory, insular possession, or other location 17 subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. 18 (d) "Remotely located individual" means an individual who is not in 19 the physical presence of the notary public who performs a notarial act. 20 2. A remotely located individual may use communication technology to 21 appear before a notary public. 22 3. A notary public located in this state may perform a notarial act 23 using communication technology for a remotely located individual if: 24 (a) the notary public: 25 (1) has personal knowledge of the identity of the remotely located 26 individual; or 27 (2) has obtained satisfactory evidence of the identity of a remotely 28 located individual using at least two different types of identity proof- 29 ing; 30 (b) the notary public is able to clearly and conspicuously confirm 31 that a record before the notary public is the same record in which the 32 remotely located individual made a statement or on which such individual 33 executed a signature; 34 (c) the notary public, or person acting on behalf of the notary 35 public, creates an audio-visual recording of the performance of the 36 notarial act, and such audio-visual recording shall be recorded and 37 electronically stored securely for seven years; 38 (d) for a remotely located individual located outside the United 39 States: 40 (1) the record: 41 (i) is to be filed with or relates to a matter before a public offi- 42 cial or court, governmental entity, or other entity subject to the 43 jurisdiction of the United States; or 44 (ii) involves property located in the territorial jurisdiction of the 45 United States or involves a transaction substantially connected with the 46 United States; and 47 (2) the act of making the statement or signing the record is not 48 prohibited by the foreign state in which the remotely located individual 49 is located; and 50 (e) the notarial certificate includes a statement substantially as 51 follows: "This notarial act involved the use of communication technolo- 52 gy." 53 4. The secretary of state may adopt rules under this section regarding 54 performance of a notarial act. The rules may: 55 (a) prescribe the means of performing a notarial act involving a 56 remotely located individual using communication technology;S. 558--A 3 1 (b) establish standards for communication technology and identity 2 proofing; 3 (c) establish requirements or procedures to approve providers of 4 communication technology and the process of identity proofing; 5 (d) establish standards and a period for the retention of an audio-vi- 6 sual recording created pursuant to paragraph (c) of subdivision three of 7 this section; and 8 (e) prescribe the fees a notary public shall be entitled to for 9 performing a notarial act involving a remotely located individual using 10 communication technology. 11 5. Before adopting, amending, or repealing any rule governing perform- 12 ance of a notarial act with respect to a remotely located individual, 13 the secretary of state shall consider: 14 (a) the most recent standards regarding the performance of a notarial 15 act with respect to a remotely located individual promulgated by 16 national standard-setting organizations and the recommendations of the 17 National Association of Secretaries of State; 18 (b) standards, practices, and customs of other jurisdictions that have 19 laws substantially similar to this section; and 20 (c) the views of governmental officials and entities and other inter- 21 ested persons. 22 6.(a) A notary public or other individual authorized to perform a 23 notarial act may certify that a tangible copy of an electronic record is 24 an accurate copy of the electronic record. 25 (b) A county clerk or city registrar where applicable shall accept for 26 recording a tangible copy of an electronic record and that is otherwise 27 eligible to be recorded under the laws of this state if the record has 28 been certified by a notary public or other individual authorized to 29 perform a notarial act under paragraph (a) of this subdivision. 30 (c) A certification in substantially the following form is sufficient 31 for the purposes of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision: 32 CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY 33 State of New York ( 34 ) ss.: 35 County of ....... ) 36 On this ...... day of ...... in the year ..., I certify that the 37 attached document (entitled ......) (dated ......) containing ... pages 38 is a true and correct copy of an electronic document printed by me or 39 under my supervision. I further certify that, at the time of printing, 40 no security features present on the electronic document indicated any 41 changes or errors in an electronic signature or other information in the 42 electronic document after its creation or execution. 43 (Signature and title of notary public) 44 § 4. Section 3-2.1 of the estates, powers and trusts law is amended by 45 adding a new paragraph (c) to read as follows: 46 (c) (1) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, 47 the attestation of wills may be made utilizing audio-video technology if 48 the following conditions are met: 49 (A) The testator, if not personally known to the attesting witness, 50 shall present valid photo identification to the attesting witness during 51 the audio-video conference. 52 (B) The audio-video conference shall allow for direct interaction 53 between the testator and the attesting witness.S. 558--A 4 1 (C) The attesting witness shall receive a legible copy of the signa- 2 ture page, or pages, which shall be transmitted via fax or electronic 3 means, within twenty-four hours of such pages being signed by the testa- 4 tor during the audio-video conference. 5 (D) The attesting witness shall sign the transmitted copy of the 6 signature page, or pages, and transmit the same back to the testator. 7 (2) An attesting witness may repeat the attestation of the original 8 signature page, or pages, as of the date of execution provided that the 9 attesting witness receives such original signature page, or pages, 10 together with the electronically attested copy, attested to pursuant to 11 the provisions of subparagraph one of this paragraph, within thirty days 12 after the date of execution. 13 § 5. Section 7-1.17 of the estates, powers and trusts law is amended 14 by adding a new paragraph (c) to read as follows: 15 (c) (1) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, 16 witnessing pursuant to this section may be made utilizing audio-video 17 technology if the following conditions are met: 18 (A) The person requesting that his or her signature be witnessed, if 19 not personally known to the witnesses, shall present valid photo iden- 20 tification to the witnesses during the audio-video conference. 21 (B) The audio-video conference shall allow for direct interaction 22 between the person requesting that his or her signature be witnessed and 23 the witnesses. 24 (C) The witnesses shall receive a legible copy of the signature page, 25 or pages, which shall be transmitted via fax or electronic means, within 26 twenty-four hours of such pages being signed by the person requesting 27 that his or her signature be witnessed during the audio-video confer- 28 ence. 29 (D) The witnesses shall sign the transmitted copy of the signature 30 page, or pages, and transmit the same back to the person requesting that 31 his or her signature be witnessed. 32 (2) A witness may repeat the witnessing of the original signature 33 page, or pages, as of the date of execution provided that the witness 34 receives such original signature page, or pages, together with the elec- 35 tronically witnessed copy, witnessed pursuant to the provisions of 36 subparagraph one of this paragraph, within thirty days after the date of 37 execution. 38 § 6. Section 4201 of the public health law is amended by adding a new 39 subdivision 3-a to read as follows: 40 3-a. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contra- 41 ry, witnessing pursuant to this section may be made utilizing audio-vi- 42 deo technology if the following conditions are met: 43 (i) The person requesting that his or her signature be witnessed, if 44 not personally known to the witnesses, shall present valid photo iden- 45 tification to the witnesses during the audio-video conference. 46 (ii) The audio-video conference shall allow for direct interaction 47 between the person requesting that his or her signature be witnessed and 48 the witnesses. 49 (iii) The witnesses shall receive a legible copy of the signature 50 page, or pages, which shall be transmitted via fax or electronic means, 51 within twenty-four hours of such pages being signed by the person 52 requesting that his or her signature be witnessed during the audio-video 53 conference. 54 (iv) The witnesses shall sign the transmitted copy of the signature 55 page, or pages, and transmit the same back to the person requesting that 56 his or her signature be witnessed.S. 558--A 5 1 (b) A witness may repeat the witnessing of the original signature 2 page, or pages, as of the date of execution provided that the witness 3 receives such original signature page, or pages, together with the elec- 4 tronically witnessed copy, witnessed pursuant to the provisions of para- 5 graph (a) of this subdivision, within thirty days after the date of 6 execution. 7 § 7. The real property law is amended by adding a new section 304-a to 8 read as follows: 9 § 304-a. Witnessing utilizing audio-video technology. 1. Notwith- 10 standing any provision of this article to the contrary, witnessing 11 pursuant to this section may be made utilizing audio-video technology if 12 the following conditions are met: 13 (a) The person requesting that his or her signature be witnessed, if 14 not personally known to the witness, shall present valid photo identifi- 15 cation to the witness during the audio-video conference. 16 (b) The audio-video conference shall allow for direct interaction 17 between the person requesting that his or her signature be witnessed and 18 the witness. 19 (c) The witnesses shall receive a legible copy of the signature page, 20 or pages, which shall be transmitted via fax or electronic means, within 21 twenty-four hours of such pages being signed by the person requesting 22 that his or her signature be witnessed during the audio-video confer- 23 ence. 24 (d) The witness shall sign the transmitted copy of the signature page, 25 or pages, and transmit the same back to the person requesting that his 26 or her signature be witnessed. 27 2. A witness may repeat the witnessing of the original signature page, 28 or pages, as of the date of execution provided that the witness receives 29 such original signature page, or pages, together with the electronically 30 witnessed copy, witnessed pursuant to the provisions of subdivision one 31 of this section, within thirty days after the date of execution. 32 § 8. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 9 of section 5-1514 of the general 33 obligations law, as amended by chapter 340 of the laws of 2010, is 34 amended to read as follows: 35 (b) Be signed and dated by a principal with capacity, with the signa- 36 ture of the principal duly acknowledged in the manner prescribed for the 37 acknowledgment of a conveyance of real property, and witnessed by two 38 persons who are not named in the instrument as permissible recipients of 39 gifts, in the manner described in subparagraph two of paragraph (a) or 40 paragraph (c) of section 3-2.1 of the estates, powers and trusts law. 41 The person who takes the acknowledgment, under this paragraph, may also 42 serve as one of the witnesses. 43 § 9. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 44 have become a law; provided that the amendments to section 5-1514 of the 45 general obligations law made by section eight of this act shall not 46 affect the repeal of such section and shall be deemed repealed there- 47 with.
