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Minutes for SB143 - Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance
Short Title
Establishing a notary public education course as a requirement for appointment.
Minutes Content for Tue, Feb 14, 2017
Chairperson Longbine began the meeting by wishing the committee and guests a Happy Valentine's day. He opened the hearing on SB143 and called upon Eileen Ma for an overview of the bill. After her brief explanation, Ms. Ma responded to questions from Senators Suellentrop, Givens, and Pyle.
Senator Dan Kerschen presented testimony supporting SB143. He noted that Arthur Gentry, one of his constituents, brought to his attention the need for educating Kansas Notaries Public in order to maintain accurate and reliable notary services. Senator Kerschen answered questions from Senators Olson and Wilborn. (Attachment 1)
Kathy Sachs appeared in support of the bill. She liked the idea of a required education course for an applicant prior to his or her appointment, and that the training could be done online. Ms. Sachs answered questions from Senators Givens and Pyle. She stated that the Secretary of State's (SOS) office supports the concept of the bill, but asked for two amendments:
- Per current Kansas statutes, the SOS is given the authority to revoke the appointment of any notary public for a variety of reasons or infractions, which would allow them to require education in lieu of a revocation of notary appointment. Therefore, no additional mandate is necessary.
- Move the effective date to July 1, 2018 to give the SOS office time to build the online training application. (Attachment 2)
Arthur Gentry presented proponent testimony. He stated that he became aware of the need for more education in the notarial field when working with a Register of Deeds where a notary from Oklahoma was witnessing signatures in Kansas, then carrying the documents back to Oklahoma and stamping them there, which is a violation of Kansas Notary Law. Mr. Gentry answered questions from Senators Pyle, Rogers, Olson, Longbine and Wilborn. He urged passage of SB143. (Attachment 3)
Chairperson Longbine pointed the committee's attention to the proponent written-only testimony of Tonya Buckingham, Sedgwick County, Kansas Register of Deeds. (Attachment 4)
There being no further discussion or questions and no other conferees or written-only testimony submitted, Chair Longbine closed the hearing on SB143.
The meeting adjourned at 10:05 am. The next scheduled meeting is for Wednesday, February 15, 2017.
