Bill Text: NY S06967 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
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) 2024-04-01 - PRINT NUMBER 6967A [S06967 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S06967-Introduced.html
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) 2024-04-01 - PRINT NUMBER 6967A [S06967 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S06967-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6967 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE May 16, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sen. CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Banks AN ACT to amend the banking law, the tax law, the executive law, the estates, powers and trusts law, the public health law and the real property 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-b to 20 read as follows: 21 § 137-b. Notary services provided utilizing communication technology. 22 1. For purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the 23 following meanings: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01184-02-3S. 6967 2 1 (a) "Communication technology" means an electronic device or process 2 that: (1) allows a notary public and a remotely located individual to 3 communicate with each other simultaneously by sight and sound; and (2) 4 when necessary and consistent with other applicable law, facilitates 5 communication with a remotely located individual who has a vision, hear- 6 ing, or speech impairment. 7 (b) "Identity proofing" means a process or service by which a third 8 person provides a notary public with a means to verify the identity of a 9 remotely located individual by a review of personal information from 10 public and private data sources. 11 (c) "Outside the United States" means a location outside the geograph- 12 ic boundaries of the United States, Puerto Rico, the United States 13 Virgin Islands, and any territory, insular possession, or other location 14 subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. 15 (d) "Remotely located individual" means an individual who is not in 16 the physical presence of the notary public who performs a notarial act. 17 2. A remotely located individual may use communication technology to 18 appear before a notary public. 19 3. A notary public located in this state may perform a notarial act 20 using communication technology for a remotely located individual if: 21 (a) the notary public: 22 (1) has personal knowledge of the identity of the remotely located 23 individual; or 24 (2) has obtained satisfactory evidence of the identity of a remotely 25 located individual using at least two different types of identity proof- 26 ing; 27 (b) the notary public is able to clearly and conspicuously confirm 28 that a record before the notary public is the same record in which the 29 remotely located individual made a statement or on which such individual 30 executed a signature; 31 (c) the notary public, or person acting on behalf of the notary 32 public, creates an audio-visual recording of the performance of the 33 notarial act, and such audio-visual recording shall be recorded and 34 electronically stored securely for seven years; 35 (d) for a remotely located individual located outside the United 36 States: 37 (1) the record: 38 (i) is to be filed with or relates to a matter before a public offi- 39 cial or court, governmental entity, or other entity subject to the 40 jurisdiction of the United States; or 41 (ii) involves property located in the territorial jurisdiction of the 42 United States or involves a transaction substantially connected with the 43 United States; and 44 (2) the act of making the statement or signing the record is not 45 prohibited by the foreign state in which the remotely located individual 46 is located; and 47 (e) the notarial certificate includes a statement substantially as 48 follows: "This notarial act involved the use of communication technolo- 49 gy." 50 4. The secretary of state may adopt rules under this section regarding 51 performance of a notarial act. The rules may: 52 (a) prescribe the means of performing a notarial act involving a 53 remotely located individual using communication technology; 54 (b) establish standards for communication technology and identity 55 proofing;S. 6967 3 1 (c) establish requirements or procedures to approve providers of 2 communication technology and the process of identity proofing; 3 (d) establish standards and a period for the retention of an audio-vi- 4 sual recording created pursuant to paragraph (c) of subdivision three of 5 this section; and 6 (e) prescribe the fees a notary public shall be entitled to for 7 performing a notarial act involving a remotely located individual using 8 communication technology. 9 5. Before adopting, amending, or repealing any rule governing perform- 10 ance of a notarial act with respect to a remotely located individual, 11 the secretary of state shall consider: 12 (a) the most recent standards regarding the performance of a notarial 13 act with respect to a remotely located individual promulgated by 14 national standard-setting organizations and the recommendations of the 15 National Association of Secretaries of State; 16 (b) standards, practices, and customs of other jurisdictions that have 17 laws substantially similar to this section; and 18 (c) the views of governmental officials and entities and other inter- 19 ested persons. 20 6.(a) A notary public or other individual authorized to perform a 21 notarial act may certify that a tangible copy of an electronic record is 22 an accurate copy of the electronic record. 23 (b) A county clerk or city registrar where applicable shall accept for 24 recording a tangible copy of an electronic record and that is otherwise 25 eligible to be recorded under the laws of this state if the record has 26 been certified by a notary public or other individual authorized to 27 perform a notarial act under paragraph (a) of this subdivision. 28 (c) A certification in substantially the following form is sufficient 29 for the purposes of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision: 30 CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY 31 State of New York ( 32 ) ss.: 33 County of ....... ) 34 On this ...... day of ...... in the year ..., I certify that the 35 attached document (entitled ......) (dated ......) containing ... pages 36 is a true and correct copy of an electronic document printed by me or 37 under my supervision. I further certify that, at the time of printing, 38 no security features present on the electronic document indicated any 39 changes or errors in an electronic signature or other information in the 40 electronic document after its creation or execution. 41 (Signature and title of notary public) 42 § 4. Section 3-2.1 of the estates, powers and trusts law is amended by 43 adding a new paragraph (c) to read as follows: 44 (c) (1) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, 45 the attestation of wills may be made utilizing audio-video technology if 46 the following conditions are met: 47 (A) The testator, if not personally known to the attesting witness, 48 shall present valid photo identification to the attesting witness during 49 the audio-video conference. 50 (B) The audio-video conference shall allow for direct interaction 51 between the testator and the attesting witness. 52 (C) The attesting witness shall receive a legible copy of the signa- 53 ture page, or pages, which shall be transmitted via fax or electronicS. 6967 4 1 means, within twenty-four hours of such pages being signed by the testa- 2 tor during the audio-video conference. 3 (D) The attesting witness shall sign the transmitted copy of the 4 signature page, or pages, and transmit the same back to the testator. 5 (2) An attesting witness may repeat the attestation of the original 6 signature page, or pages, as of the date of execution provided that the 7 attesting witness receives such original signature page, or pages, 8 together with the electronically attested copy, attested to pursuant to 9 the provisions of subparagraph one of this paragraph, within thirty days 10 after the date of execution. 11 § 5. Section 7-1.17 of the estates, powers and trusts law is amended 12 by adding a new paragraph (c) to read as follows: 13 (c) (1) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, 14 witnessing pursuant to this section may be made utilizing audio-video 15 technology if the following conditions are met: 16 (A) The person requesting that his or her signature be witnessed, if 17 not personally known to the witnesses, shall present valid photo iden- 18 tification to the witnesses during the audio-video conference. 19 (B) The audio-video conference shall allow for direct interaction 20 between the person requesting that his or her signature be witnessed and 21 the witnesses. 22 (C) The witnesses shall receive a legible copy of the signature page, 23 or pages, which shall be transmitted via fax or electronic means, within 24 twenty-four hours of such pages being signed by the person requesting 25 that his or her signature be witnessed during the audio-video confer- 26 ence. 27 (D) The witnesses shall sign the transmitted copy of the signature 28 page, or pages, and transmit the same back to the person requesting that 29 his or her signature be witnessed. 30 (2) A witness may repeat the witnessing of the original signature 31 page, or pages, as of the date of execution provided that the witness 32 receives such original signature page, or pages, together with the elec- 33 tronically witnessed copy, witnessed pursuant to the provisions of 34 subparagraph one of this paragraph, within thirty days after the date of 35 execution. 36 § 6. Section 4201 of the public health law is amended by adding a new 37 subdivision 3-a to read as follows: 38 3-a. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contra- 39 ry, witnessing pursuant to this section may be made utilizing audio-vi- 40 deo technology if the following conditions are met: 41 (i) The person requesting that his or her signature be witnessed, if 42 not personally known to the witnesses, shall present valid photo iden- 43 tification to the witnesses during the audio-video conference. 44 (ii) The audio-video conference shall allow for direct interaction 45 between the person requesting that his or her signature be witnessed and 46 the witnesses. 47 (iii) The witnesses shall receive a legible copy of the signature 48 page, or pages, which shall be transmitted via fax or electronic means, 49 within twenty-four hours of such pages being signed by the person 50 requesting that his or her signature be witnessed during the audio-video 51 conference. 52 (iv) The witnesses shall sign the transmitted copy of the signature 53 page, or pages, and transmit the same back to the person requesting that 54 his or her signature be witnessed. 55 (b) A witness may repeat the witnessing of the original signature 56 page, or pages, as of the date of execution provided that the witnessS. 6967 5 1 receives such original signature page, or pages, together with the elec- 2 tronically witnessed copy, witnessed pursuant to the provisions of para- 3 graph (a) of this subdivision, within thirty days after the date of 4 execution. 5 § 7. The real property law is amended by adding a new section 304-a to 6 read as follows: 7 § 304-a. Witnessing utilizing audio-video technology. 1. Notwith- 8 standing any provision of this article to the contrary, witnessing 9 pursuant to this section may be made utilizing audio-video technology if 10 the following conditions are met: 11 (a) The person requesting that his or her signature be witnessed, if 12 not personally known to the witness, shall present valid photo identifi- 13 cation to the witness during the audio-video conference. 14 (b) The audio-video conference shall allow for direct interaction 15 between the person requesting that his or her signature be witnessed and 16 the witness. 17 (c) The witnesses shall receive a legible copy of the signature page, 18 or pages, which shall be transmitted via fax or electronic means, within 19 twenty-four hours of such pages being signed by the person requesting 20 that his or her signature be witnessed during the audio-video confer- 21 ence. 22 (d) The witness shall sign the transmitted copy of the signature page, 23 or pages, and transmit the same back to the person requesting that his 24 or her signature be witnessed. 25 2. A witness may repeat the witnessing of the original signature page, 26 or pages, as of the date of execution provided that the witness receives 27 such original signature page, or pages, together with the electronically 28 witnessed copy, witnessed pursuant to the provisions of subdivision one 29 of this section, within thirty days after the date of execution. 30 § 8. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 31 have become a law.
