HB 2645 Summary

• Increases civil penalty for notary public's failure to report loss, theft, or compromise of official journal or stamping device from unspecified amount to $1,000, while maintaining $25 penalty for failure to report address changes.

• Allows attorney general or county attorney to refer unpaid notary penalties to the attorney general for collection.

• Creates presumption of valid identity for signatories to notarized instruments when notary's official journal is lost, stolen, or compromised but the notary complied with notification requirements; eliminates presumption if journal never existed or notary failed to comply.

• Requires courts to notify the secretary of state and county attorney when determining that a notary public violated notification requirements in actions involving validity of notarized documents.

• Elevates criminal penalty for knowingly causing unauthorized UCC filings with material misstatements or false claims from Class 1 misdemeanor to Class 3 felony.