Minnesota Session Laws - 2010, Regular Session

CHAPTER 220--H.F.No. 3187

An act

relating to civil commitments; providing for oaths or affirmations without notarization and the acceptability of electronic signatures and documents;

amending Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 253B.23, by adding a subdivision.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 253B.23, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:

Subd. 3a.

Signatures on documents and statements under oath.

(a) Notwithstanding sections 358.07 to 358.09, written statements or documents made within this state in connection with proceedings under this chapter are deemed to be made under oath or affirmation without notarization if the person signing the document attests, at the end of the document, in substantially the following form:

"I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the state of Minnesota that the foregoing is true and correct.

Executed on ............................(date) in the county of ............................(county name) in the state of Minnesota.

. (signature)

. (signer's address and telephone number)."

A document that is sworn to or affirmed under this paragraph without notarization must include a telephone number and address where the signer can be contacted.

(b) If a document is required to be signed in order to be effective, an electronic document qualifies as a signed document:

(1) without the person's physical signature, if an entity has an electronic signature system that meets a minimum security standard of two-factor authentication, such as name and password, or biometric identification that is uniquely reconcilable to a single actor and that results in a nonmodifiable document after the electronic signature is affixed, and the document indicates an electronic signature in some manner, such as "s/........................................(name of signer)"; or

(2) with the person's physical signature, if the document is optically scanned into the entity's records.

(c) Notwithstanding paragraph (b), the committing court may determine that an entity's electronic signature system does not provide sufficient assurance of authenticity of signed documents or that an electronic signature system different from that described in paragraph (b) provides sufficient assurance of authenticity.

(d) An electronically transmitted facsimile of a document, including a document described in paragraph (a) or (b), may be filed with the committing court and received into evidence in the same manner and with the same effect as the original document.

(e) Nothing in this subdivision alters any statute, rule, standard, or practice for accepting documents for filing or admitting documents as evidence, except with respect to:

(1) the manner of making written statements under oath or affirmation;

(2) the acceptability of electronically transmitted facsimile copies; and

(3) the acceptability of electronic signatures.

Paragraph (b) addresses only the acceptability of documents obtained from an entity's electronic records system and does not determine whether the committing court is required or permitted to accept electronic filing of documents.

Presented to the governor April 6, 2010

Signed by the governor April 6, 2010, 4:21 p.m.