STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3257

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2275

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2020

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 2275, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO NOTARIAL ACTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to update the existing laws regarding notaries public to conform to the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (2018), Hawaii Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, other state notary laws, and current notary practices.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of the Attorney General, State of Hawai‘i Commission to Promote Uniform Legislation, Uniform Law Commission, First American Title, Mortgage Bankers Association of Hawaii, and Hawaii Land Title Association. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual.

Your Committee finds that twenty-two other states have adopted model legislation to support remote online notarization. Hawaii residents currently use remote online notarization based in other states instead of using the services provided by Hawaii notaries. This measure would safeguard consumers by extending protections under existing state law to remote online notarization.

Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2275, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2275, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

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KARL RHOADS, Chair