SENATE DOCKET, NO. 186        FILED ON: 1/12/2017

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 811

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Cynthia Stone Creem

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act making technical changes to the laws regulating a certain notarial act.

_______________

PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 186        FILED ON: 1/12/2017

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 811

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court
(2017-2018)

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An Act making technical changes to the laws regulating a certain notarial act.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Chapter 183 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking section 42 and inserting in place thereof the following section: 

Section 42.  The forms set forth in the appendix to this chapter and in section 15 of chapter 222 for taking acknowledgments to deeds and other instruments and for certifying the authority of officers taking proofs or acknowledgments may be used but the existence of those forms shall not preclude the use of any other forms lawfully used as required or authorized by any general or special law or any regulation or executive order regulating notaries public, including forms that acknowledge the act of an individual executing a document in a representative capacity but fail to acknowledge the deed or instrument as the act of the principal or grantor.

SECTION 2. Section 1 of chapter 222 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out the definition of “Acknowledgment” and inserting in place thereof the following:  “Acknowledgment”, a notarial act in which an individual, at a single time and place appears, in person, before a notary public, is identified by the notary public through satisfactory evidence of identity and presents a document to the notary public and indicates that the individual has executed the document for the purposes stated therein, and, if applicable, that the individual was authorized to sign in a particular representative capacity and did so as the act of the person or entity stated therein.

SECTION 3. Section 15 of said chapter 222 is hereby amended by striking out subsection (b) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:

(b) A notary public shall take the acknowledgment of the signature or mark of persons acknowledging for themselves or in any representative capacity by using substantially the following form:

“On this ____ day of ___________, 20__, before me, the undersigned notary public, ________________________ (name of document signer) personally appeared, proved to me through satisfactory evidence of identification, which were _______________________, to be the person whose name is signed on the preceding or attached document, and acknowledged to me that (he) (she) signed it for its stated purpose.

(as partner for ____________, a partnership)

(as ____________ for ______________, a corporation or other entity)

(as attorney in fact for ________________, the principal)

(as ___________ for _______________, (a) (the) _________________)

as the act of the (partnership)(corporation or other entity)(principal)(                   ).

_________________ (official signature and seal of notary public)”.

SECTION 4. Section 20 of said chapter 222 is hereby amended in clause (iii) of subsection (b) by striking out the words “voluntary or free.”

SECTION 5. Form 13, as set forth in the appendix to chapter 183 of the General Laws, is hereby amended by removing the word “free.”

SECTION 6. Form 14, as set forth in the appendix to chapter 183 of the General Laws, is hereby amended by removing the word “free.”

SECTION 7. Form 15, as set forth in the appendix to chapter 183 of the General Laws, is hereby amended by removing the word “free.”