Governor Hochul Protects Against Fraud – Vetoes Notary Exemption Bill

Governor Hochul has vetoed legislation that would have exempted non-electronic notarizations from being recorded or maintained in a notarial record.  The Commercial Law and Uniform State Laws Committee opposed this legislation, which would have rescinded 19 NYCRR 182.9, a critical notarial rule designed to protect New Yorkers against deed fraud and other forgeries. The Committee warned that abolishing the notary journaling requirement for ink notarizations (as distinct from electronic notarizations, for which notaries are also required to keep a journal or record) could risk home theft and other documentary fraud, as ink notarizations account for virtually all cases of home theft, forgery and documentary fraud in New York. There are numerous sound reasons for requiring journals, including that the journal is the notary’s official record of her performance of duties as a public official; it provides admissible evidence of a properly performed notarial act in case the notary’s certificate of the act is lost or destroyed; it may provide evidence that helps a victim obtain redress for forgery or other documentary fraud; and it also provides evidence that protects notaries from false accusations and unwarranted liability by evidencing their compliance with notarial requirements.  The City Bar applauds Governor Hochul for vetoing this bill.