USNA: Notary News

IRS Increases Mileage Rate Through Dec. 31, 2008
Posted: Jun 24 2008 | U.S. | Print Article |

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced that the optional standard mileage rate has increased to 58.5 cents a mile for all business miles driven from July 1, 2008, through Dec. 31, 2008. The IRS made this special increase of eight (8) cents from the 50.5 cent rate in effect for the first six months of 2008 in recognition of recent gasoline price hikes. The IRS normally updates the mileage rates once a year in the fall for the next calendar year.

The optional business standard mileage rate is used to compute the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business use in lieu of tracking actual costs. Taxpayers always have the option of calculating the actual costs of using their vehicle rather than using the standard mileage rate.

To read the full announcement on the IRS Web site, go to www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=184163,00.html.

Notary Whose Supreme Court Case Set Precedent Dies
Posted: Aug 15 2007 | U.S. | Print Article |

The Maryland man whose quest to become a notary public turned into a Supreme Court case died on June 9, 2007, 46 years after the court validated his refusal to take a state oath requiring him to declare a belief in God.

Roy Torcaso, an avowed atheist, worked for a Bethesda, Md. construction company as a bookkeeper in 1959. His boss asked him to become a notary public.

Torcaso's legal battles began when he refused to swear to a state oath before Montgomery County Circuit Court Clerk Clayton Watkins professing the existence of God.

The state disqualified him and barred his notary commission. At the time, Torcaso said the issue was not whether he believed in a Supreme Being but "whether the state has a right to inquire into my beliefs."

The Maryland courts upheld the state constitution on the basis that Torcaso had not been forced to become a notary public. The Maryland Court of Appeals said"“unless (the petitioner Torcaso) makes the declaration of belief he cannot hold public office in Maryland…"

Torcaso then asked the U.S. Supreme Court to find the state constitutional requirement in violation of Article VI of the U.S. Constitution,"no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."

On April 24, 1961, the case was argued before the Supreme Court justices who unanimously ruled in favor of Torcaso on June 19. Justice Hugo Black delivered the opinion saying the state's oath of office requirement violated the U.S. Constitution. State and federal governments cannot "constitutionally force a person to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion," Black wrote in the decision.

Two months after the Supreme Court decision, Torcaso became a notary public after swearing to uphold the laws of the state and the U.S. Constitution. There was no mention of religious belief.

After the Torcaso case, Maryland law changed. Legislators approved a constitutional amendment in 1964 designating notaries public as officers of the state. According to the "Handbook of Maryland Notaries Public," notaries are "held to the same high standards of public trust as other appointed and elected state officials," and unlike other state officers, may hold another public office.

Since then, notaries have administered oaths and affirmations, both of which are solemn statements of truth made under penalty of perjury. An oath is an appeal to God as evidence of the seriousness of the action and words, while an affirmation eliminates references to religion.

Torcaso, 96, died of complications of prostate cancer at a Silver Spring, Md. assisted-living facility.

More Countries Join Apostille Convention in 2007
Posted: Aug 15 2007 | International | Print Article |

Three more countries have ratified or acceded to Convention 12 of The Hague Conference in 2007. The Convention went into effect for the Republic of Moldova on March 16, for Georgia on May 14, and for the Republic of Korea on July 14.

Convention 12, Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, seeks to make the acceptance of legal documents universal among contracting countries with a simple apostille. Convention 12 is also known as the Apostille Convention.

Since it was created in 1965, Convention 12 has been acceded to or ratified by 92 countries. The United States acceded to Convention 12 in 1981.

For more information on The Hague Conference conventions, visit www.hcch.net.

New State Amendments
Posted: Aug 15 2007 | U.S. | Print Article |

Tennessee
Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 8-16-109 has been amended (House Bill 1385) and now requires notaries who either move or have a name change to notify the county clerk. The previous statute did not specify notification upon the change of name. The Legislature also increased the amount of a notary's surety bond from $10,000 to $25,000 (House Bill 1384) TCA, Section 8-15-104. Both amendments took effect on July 1, 2007.

Louisiana
Effective Aug. 15, 2007, Act No. 157, R.S. 35:191(S), expands the list of parishes with reciprocal notarial authority from Sabine and Vernon to also include the parishes of Natchitoches, Winn, Red River and Bienville. Validly appointed notaries in any of these parishes are authorized to perform notarial acts in any of these other parishes.

Arizona
The Arizona statute dealing with notary appointments was amended by the 48th Legislature with Senate Bill 1639 on April 23, 2007. The revision to Section 41-312, "All notaries in the state must be a citizen or legal permanent resident of the U.S.," was signed by the governor on May 1, 2007, and is effective on Sept. 18, 2007.

Rhode Island
Section 42-30-14 of Rhode Island's General Code (Public Officers Having Notarial Powers) now reads, "Every state senator, state representative, member of a city or town council, chief, deputy, and assistant clerk of any state court, clerks of the board of canvassers, and worker's compensation court, and municipal clerk and the board of canvassers registrar during the period for which he or she has been elected or appointed, shall, upon completion of the certificate of engagement" have the power to act as a notary public. Additionally, two police officers from each local police department, identified in writing by the police chief, also have the power to act as notaries after completing the certificate of engagement. None of the public officers listed has to pay the required commission fee.

South Korea joins Hague Conference
Posted: Jul 20 2007 | International | Print Article |

Officially known as The Republic of Korea, South Korea became a member state of the Hague Conference on July 14, 2007. South Korea is the 90th Contracting State of Convention 12, 5 October 1961, Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (the Apostille Convention), which seeks to make the acceptance of legal documents universal among member states with a simple apostille.

Cortés Named NASS President-Elect
Posted: Jul 20 2007 | U.S. | Print Article |

Pennsylvania Secretary of State Pedro Cortés has been named president-elect of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) at the association's summer conference in July. His term begins in 2008.

When Cortés takes the helm, he will become the first Pennsylvania Secretary to serve as NASS president in the Association's 104-year history.

Cortés has also served as NASS Treasurer since 2006 and has been active in the group since 2003. He also held the post of eastern region vice president of NASS in 2004 and 2005.

Cortés has been the Pennsylvania Secretary of State since 2003.

U.S. State Department Changes Passport Rules—Again!
Posted: Jun 12 2007 | U.S. | Print Article |

Now through Sept. 30, 2007, U.S. citizens who wish to travel by air to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean can do so without passports as long as they can prove they have applied for passports. All they have to do is print out online passport status reports from the U.S. Department of State Web site, http://travel.state.gov/passport.

According to a Department of State press release issued June 8, this relaxing of the rules is due to an overwhelming demand for passports in the wake of the implementation of new federal regulations, the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), went into effect Jan. 30, 2007, requiring a passport for re-entry into the country by airplane from Canada, Mexico, South and Central America, Bermuda and the Caribbean. People who can take advantage of the relaxed rules include the following:

Adults who have applied for but not yet received a passport should present government-issued photo identification and an official proof of application from the U.S. Department of State. Children under the age of 16 traveling with their parents or legal guardian will be permitted to travel with the child's proof of application. Travelers who have not applied for a passport should not expect to be accommodated.

In the next year—as early as January 2008—the WHTI restrictions will extend to those traveling by land or sea to these destinations.

For more information, click on one of the following links. (Warning: clicking on these links will direct you away from our Web site.)

Entire Press Release:
Joint Departments of State and Homeland Security Announcement: U.S. Citizens with Pending Passport Applications Allowed Temporary Travel Flexibility Within Western Hemisphere

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Regarding the WHTI and the Recently Announced Changes Provided by the State Department:
Frequently Asked Questions about the U.S. Citizens with Pending Passport Applications Allowed Temporary Travel Flexibility (FAQs)

WHTI Regulations and Related State Department Documents:

Related Information:

Committee May Recommend New Uniform Notarial Law
Posted: Apr 24 2007 | U.S. | Print Article |

A Study Committee appointed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Law (NCCUSL) met to discuss the possibility of revising NCCUSL's 1982 Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (ULONA). USNA president Marc L. Aronson attended the meeting in Washington DC April 17.

When it was drafted 25 years ago, the purpose of ULONA was to simplify and standardize all required forms of notarization or signature verification and to recognize out-of-state and foreign notarial acts. Since its approval by NCCUSL and the American Bar Association, the uniform law was adopted by only 11 states.

Last year, USNA asked NCCUSL to consider a revision that would take into account the far-reaching developments in law, commerce and technology that have affected notarial work in the last two and a half decades. The first step in the process was the appointment of the Study Committee headed by Patricia Fry of the University of Missouri Law School. The Study Committee's task is to recommend whether NCCUSL should appoint a Drafting Committee to rewrite the ULONA and advocate its adoption by the states.

NCCUSL is a state-supported organization that provides states with model legislation drafted specifically to bring uniformity to critical areas of the law. The organization is made up of lawyers, appointed by their states, who volunteer their time and expertise as a public service and who receive no salary or compensation for their work.

Representatives from business and government with an interest in a particular committee's work are invited to participate as observers and contribute additional expertise to the study and drafting process.