CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for CS for SB 1566, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. (for drafter's use only)
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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5 ORIGINAL STAMP BELOW
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11 Representative(s) Alexander offered the following:
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13 Amendment to Amendment (553475) (with title amendment)
14 On page 87, line 7 thru page 91, line 23 of the bill
15 remove: all of said lines
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17 and insert in lieu thereof:
18 Section 35. Subsection (6) is added to section 15.16,
19 Florida Statutes, to read.
20 15.16 Reproduction of records; admissibility in
21 evidence; electronic receipt and transmission of records;
22 certification; acknowledgment.--
23 (6) The Secretary of State may issue apostilles
24 conforming to the requirements of the international treaty
25 known as the Hague Convention of 1961 and may charge a fee for
26 the issuance of apostilles not to exceed $10 per
27 apostille. The Secretary of State has the sole authority in
28 this state to establish, in accordance with the laws of the
29 United States, the requirements and procedures for the
30 issuance of apostilles. The Department of State may adopt
31 rules to implement this subsection.
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HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for CS for SB 1566, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. (for drafter's use only)
1 Section 36. Section 117.103, Florida Statutes, 1998
2 Supplement, is amended to read:
3 117.103 Certification of notary's authority by
4 Secretary of State.--A notary public is not required to record
5 his or her notary public commission in an office of a clerk of
6 the circuit court. If certification of the notary public's
7 commission is required, it must be obtained from the Secretary
8 of State. Upon the receipt of a written request, the notarized
9 document, and a fee of $10 payable to the Secretary of State,
10 the Secretary of State shall provide a issue a certificate of
11 notarial authority, in a form prescribed by the Secretary of
12 State, which shall include a statement explaining the legal
13 qualifications and authority of a notary public in this state
14 certificate of notarial authority. Documents destined for
15 countries participating in an International Treaty called the
16 Hague Convention require an Apostille, and that requirement
17 shall be determined by the Secretary of State.
18 Section 37. Subsections (1), (3), (5), and (6) of
19 section 118.10, Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, are amended
20 to read:
21 118.10 Civil-law notary.--
22 (1) As used in this section, the term:
23 (a) "Authentic act" means an instrument executed by a
24 civil-law notary referencing this section, which instrument
25 includes the particulars and capacities to act of any
26 transacting parties, a confirmation of the full text of any
27 necessary the instrument, the signatures of the parties or
28 their legal equivalent of any transacting parties thereof, and
29 the signature and seal of a civil-law notary, and such other
30 information as prescribed by the Florida Secretary of State.
31 (b) "Civil-law notary" means a person who is a member
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HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for CS for SB 1566, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. (for drafter's use only)
1 in good standing of The Florida Bar, who has practiced law for
2 at least 5 years, and who is appointed by the Secretary of
3 State as a civil-law notary.
4 (c) "Protocol" means a registry maintained by a
5 civil-law notary in which the acts of the civil-law notary are
6 archived.
7 (3) A civil-law notary is authorized to issue
8 authentic acts and thereby may authenticate or certify any
9 document, transaction, event, condition, or occurrence. The
10 contents of an authentic act and matters incorporated therein
11 shall be presumed correct. A civil-law notary may also
12 administer an oath and make a certificate thereof when it is
13 necessary for execution of any writing or document to be
14 attested, protested, or published under the seal of a notary
15 public. A civil-law notary may also take acknowledgements of
16 deeds and other instruments of writing for record, and
17 solemnize the rites of matrimony, as fully as other officers
18 of this state. A civil-law notary is not authorized to issue
19 authentic acts for use in a jurisdiction if the United States
20 Department of State has determined that the jurisdiction does
21 not have diplomatic relations with the United States or is a
22 terrorist country, or if trade with the jurisdiction is
23 prohibited under the Trading With the Enemy Act of 1917, as
24 amended, 50 U.S.C. ss. 1, et seq.
25 (5) The Secretary of State may adopt rules
26 prescribing:
27 (a) The form and content of authentic acts, oaths,
28 acknowledgements, solemnizations, and signatures and seals or
29 their legal equivalents for authentic acts;
30 (b) Procedures for the permanent archiving of
31 authentic acts, maintaining records of acknowledgments, oaths
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HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for CS for SB 1566, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. (for drafter's use only)
1 and solemnizations, and procedures for the administration of
2 oaths and taking of acknowledgments;
3 (c) The charging of reasonable fees to be retained by
4 the Secretary of State for the purpose of administering this
5 chapter section;
6 (d) Educational requirements and procedures for
7 testing applicants' knowledge of all matters relevant to the
8 appointment, authority, duties or legal or ethical
9 responsibilities of a civil-law notary the effects and
10 consequences associated with authentic acts;
11 (e) Procedures for the disciplining of civil-law
12 notaries, including, but not limited to, the suspension and
13 revocation of appointments for failure to comply with the
14 requirements of chapter 118 or the rules of the Department of
15 State, or for misrepresentation or fraud regarding the
16 civil-law notary's authority, the effect of the civil-law
17 notary's authentic acts, or the identities or acts of the
18 parties to a transaction; and
19 (f) Bonding or errors and omissions insurance
20 requirements, or both, for civil-law notaries; and
21 (g)(f) Other matters necessary for administering this
22 section.
23 (6) The Secretary of State shall not regulate,
24 discipline, or attempt to discipline, or establish any
25 educational requirements for any civil-law notary for, or with
26 regard to, any action or conduct that would constitute the
27 practice of law in this state, except by agreement with The
28 Florida Bar. The Secretary of State shall not establish as a
29 prerequisite to the appointment of a civil-law notary any test
30 containing any question that inquires of the applicant's
31 knowledge regarding the practice of law in the United States,
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HOUSE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for CS for SB 1566, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. (for drafter's use only)
1 unless such test is offered in conjunction with an educational
2 program approved by The Florida Bar for continuing legal
3 education credit except by agreement with The Florida Bar.
4 Section 38. Section 118.12, Florida Statutes, is
5 created to read:
6 118.12 Certification of civil-law notary's authority;
7 apostilles.--If certification of a civil-law notary's
8 authority is necessary for a particular document or
9 transaction, it must be obtained from the Secretary of
10 State. Upon the receipt of a written request from a civil-law
11 notary and the fee prescribed by the Secretary of State, the
12 Secretary of State shall issue a certification of the
13 civil-law notary's authority, in a form prescribed by the
14 Secretary of State, which shall include a statement explaining
15 the legal qualifications and authority of a civil-law notary
16 in this state. The fee prescribed for the issuance of the
17 certification under this section or an apostille under s.
18 15.16 may not exceed $10 per document. The Department of
19 State may adopt rules to implement this section.
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