HF 71

1st Engrossment - 91st Legislature, 2020 2nd Special Session (2020 - 2020) Posted on 07/20/2020 10:20am

A bill for an act
relating to notaries; authorizing use of video appearance for real estate document
notarization during public health emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1. new text begin REAL ESTATE DOCUMENT NOTARIZATION; APPEARANCE BY
VIDEO AUTHORIZED DURING PEACETIME PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.
new text end

new text begin (a) During and for 60 days after the expiration of a peacetime public health emergency,
with respect to documents recorded pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, sections 507.24 and
507.27, the requirement to appear personally under Minnesota Statutes, section 358.56, is
deemed met when the notarial officer and the individual making the statement or executing
the signature, whether acting on behalf of themselves or in a representative capacity, are
not in the same location but are physically located within the state of Minnesota and
communicate via video conference in real time. The notarial officer shall, either directly or
through an agent, create an audio and visual recording of the performance of the notarization
and retain such recording as a notarial record for a period not less than ten years.
new text end

new text begin (b) For purposes of this section, "peacetime public health emergency" means any
peacetime emergency declared by the governor in an executive order that relates to the
infectious disease known as COVID-19.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment and
expires January 6, 2021.
new text end