SB 694

            
2020 SESSION

20102471D

SENATE BILL NO. 694


Offered January 8, 2020


Prefiled January 7, 2020

A BILL to amend and reenact �� 47.1-4 and 47.1-23 of the Code 
 of Virginia, relating to notaries; qualifications.
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Patron-- Obenshain

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Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology

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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
 
 
1. That �� 47.1-4 and 47.1-23 of the Code of Virginia are 
 amended and reenacted as follows:
 
 
� 47.1-4. Qualification for appointment.
 
 
To be qualified to be commissioned as a notary in the 
 Commonwealth, each such person (i) shall be at least 18 years of age,; (ii) shall be a legal resident of the United States,; (iii) shall be able to read and write the English 
 language,; (iv) shall never have been convicted of a felony under 
 the laws of the United States, the Commonwealth, or any other state, unless 
 such person has been pardoned for such felony, has had his conviction vacated 
 by the granting of a writ of actual innocence, or has had his rights restored, except that a person convicted of a felony offense 
 of (a) fraud or misrepresentation or (b) robbery, extortion, burglary, larceny, 
 embezzlement, fraudulent conversion, perjury, bribery, treason, or racketeering 
 shall not be qualified to be 
 a notary, regardless of whether his civil rights have been restored; 
 and (v) shall otherwise be in compliance with the provisions of this title. A 
 nonresident of Virginia may register and be commissioned as a notary only if he 
 is regularly employed in the Commonwealth and meets all of the requirements of 
 this section. A member of the armed services of the United States shall be 
 eligible to register and be commissioned as a notary notwithstanding the 
 provisions of � 2.2-2800.
 
 
� 47.1-23. Grounds for removal from office.
 
 
The Secretary may revoke the commission of any notary who:
 
 
1. Submits or has submitted an application for commission and 
 appointment as a notary public which that contains a substantial 
 and material misstatement of fact;
 
 
2. Is convicted or has been convicted of any felony under the 
 laws of the United States or this Commonwealth, or the laws of any other state, 
 unless the notary has been pardoned for such offense, has had his conviction 
 vacated by a granting of a writ of actual innocence, or has had his rights 
 restored, except that the Secretary shall revoke the commission of 
 any notary who is convicted or has been convicted of a felony offense 
 of (i) fraud or 
 misrepresentation or (ii) 
 robbery, extortion, burglary, larceny, embezzlement, fraudulent conversion, 
 perjury, bribery, treason, or racketeering, 
 regardless of whether his civil rights have been restored;
 
 
3. Is found to have committed official misconduct by a 
 proceeding as provided in Chapter 5 (� 47.1-24 et seq.);
 
 
4. Fails to exercise the powers or perform the duties of a 
 notary public in accordance with this title, provided that if a notary is 
 adjudged liable in any court of the Commonwealth in any action grounded in 
 fraud, misrepresentation, impersonation, or violation of the notary laws of the 
 Commonwealth, such notary shall be presumed removable under this section;
 
 
5. Performs a prohibited act pursuant to � 47.1-15 or 
 47.1-15.1;
 
 
6. Is convicted of the unauthorized practice of law pursuant 
 to � 54.1-3904, or is a licensed attorney at law whose license is suspended or 
 revoked;
 
 
7. Ceases to be a legal resident of the United States;
 
 
8. Becomes incapable of reading or writing the English 
 language;
 
 
9. Is adjudicated mentally incompetent; or
 
 
10. Fails to keep the official physical seal, journal, or 
 device, coding, disk, certificate, card, software, or passwords used to affix 
 the notarys official electronic signature or seal under the exclusive control 
 of the notary when not in use.