Bill Text: NY S05688 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Requires notaries public and commissioners of deeds to complete and retain certain documents relating to the transfer of residential real property; relates to forgery and offering a false document concerning residential real property.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-05-16 - ADVANCED TO THIRD READING [S05688 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S05688-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Requires notaries public and commissioners of deeds to complete and retain certain documents relating to the transfer of residential real property; relates to forgery and offering a false document concerning residential real property.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-05-16 - ADVANCED TO THIRD READING [S05688 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S05688-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5688 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 13, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to the requirements for notaries public and commissioners of deeds relating to certain instru- ments affecting real property; and to amend the penal law, in relation to forgery and the offering of false documents concerning residential real property The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 135-d 2 to read as follows: 3 § 135-d. Requirements of notaries public and commissioners of deeds 4 related to certain instruments affecting real property. 1. This section 5 shall apply to every notarial act in the state involving a document of 6 conveyance that transfers or purports to transfer title with respect to 7 residential real property located in the state. It shall also apply to 8 commissioners of deeds appointed pursuant to section one hundred forty 9 of this article. 10 2. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the follow- 11 ing meanings: 12 a. "document of conveyance" shall mean a written instrument that 13 transfers or purports to transfer title effecting a change in ownership 14 to residential real property, excluding: 15 (i) court ordered or court-authorized transfer of residential real 16 property including but not limited to a transfer between spouses or 17 former spouses as a result of a decree of divorce, dissolution of 18 marriage, annulment, or legal separation, or as a result of property 19 settlement, or agreement incidental to a decree of divorce, dissolution 20 of marriage, annulment, or legal separation; 21 (ii) a transfer order by a probate court during the administration of 22 a decedent's estate; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00998-03-3S. 5688 2 1 (iii) a judgment of a foreclosure and sale, or a levy pursuant to an 2 execution; 3 (iv) a court ordered voiding of an instrument affecting real property; 4 (v) a transfer of property to a trust in which the beneficiary is or 5 includes the grantor; and 6 (vi) a deed from a grantor to himself or herself that is intended to 7 change the nature or type of tenancy by which he or she owns residential 8 real property. 9 b. "financial institution" shall mean a bank, trust company, savings 10 institution, or credit union, chartered and supervised under state or 11 federal law. 12 c. "notarial record" shall mean the written document created in 13 conformity with the requirements of this section. 14 d. "residential real property" shall mean a building or buildings 15 consisting of one to three dwelling units where the square footage of 16 the residential portion exceeds the square footage of any commercial 17 portion. 18 e. "signatory" shall mean the person or persons whose signature is 19 being acknowledged by a notary public or commissioner of deeds. 20 3. A notary appointed and commissioned as a notary in this state and a 21 commissioner of deeds shall create a notarial record of each notarial 22 act performed in connection with a document of conveyance. The notarial 23 record shall contain: 24 a. the date of the notarial act; 25 b. the type, title or description of the document of conveyance being 26 notarized, the block and lot number used to identify the residential 27 real property for assessment or taxation purposes, and the common street 28 address for the residential real property that is the subject of the 29 document of conveyance; 30 c. the signature, printed name and residence street address of each 31 person whose signature is the subject of the notarial act, and a certif- 32 ication by the person that the property is residential real property as 33 defined in this section; 34 d. a description of the satisfactory evidence reviewed by the notary 35 or the commissioner of deeds to determine the identity of the person 36 whose signature is the subject of the notarial act. Satisfactory 37 evidence shall include presentation of any one of the following docu- 38 ments identifying the signatory or signatories: 39 (i) a valid driver's license or non-driver identification card issued 40 by the commissioner of motor vehicles, the federal government, any 41 United States territory, Commonwealth or possession, the District of 42 Columbia, or a state government within the United States; 43 (ii) a valid passport issued by the United States government; 44 (iii) a valid passport issued by a foreign government; or 45 (iv) a valid municipal identification card issued pursuant to section 46 3-115 of the administrative code of the city of New York; and 47 e. the date of notarization, the fee charged for the notarial act, the 48 notary's home or business phone number, the notary's business or resi- 49 dence street address, the notary's commission expiration date or the 50 commissioner of deeds appointment expiration date, the correct legal 51 name of the notary's employer or principal, and the business street 52 address of the notary's employer or principal. 53 4. The notarial record required under subdivision three of this 54 section shall be created and maintained for each person or represen- 55 tative whose signature is the subject of a notarial act regarding a 56 document of conveyance. It shall be in substantially the following form:S. 5688 3 1 NOTARIAL RECORD: 2 DEED TRANSFER 3 I, ________________________(GRANTOR) HEREBY AUTHORIZE THE TRANSFER OF 4 OWNERSHIP OF MY PROPERTY TO THE GRANTEE DESIGNATED BELOW. I UNDERSTAND I 5 MAY BE TRANSFERRING OWNERSHIP OF MY HOME. 6 Date Notarized: 7 Fee: $ 8 The undersigned grantor hereby certifies that the real property identi- 9 fied in this notarial record is residential real property as defined in 10 section 135-d of the executive law. 11 Grantor's (Signer's) Printed Name: 12 Grantor's (Signer's) Signature: 13 Grantor's (Signer's) Residential Street Address, City, State and Zip 14 Code: 15 Grantee's Relationship to Grantor: 16 Grantee's (Signer's) Printed Name: 17 Grantee's (Signer's) Signature: 18 Grantee's (Signer's) Residential Street Address, City, State and Zip 19 Code: 20 Type or Name of Document of Conveyance: 21 PIN No. of Residential Real Property: 22 Common Street Address of Residential Real Property: 23 Description of Means of Identification: 24 Additional Comments: 25 Name of Notary or Commissioner of Deeds Printed: 26 Notary Phone Number: 27 Commission or Appointment Expiration Date: 28 Street Address of Notary, City, State and Zip Code: 29 Name of Notary's Employer or Principal: 30 Business Street Address of Notary's Employer or Principal, City, State 31 and Zip Code: 32 5. Filing of the notarial record. The notary or commissioner of deeds 33 shall file the notarial record in accordance with the procedures set 34 forth in this subdivision. 35 a. Except as provided in paragraph b of this subdivision, the notarial 36 record shall be delivered no later than fourteen days after it is 37 created to the clerk or office of the register of the county or city 38 within which the residential property that is the subject of the convey- 39 ance is located. 40 b. If the notarial record was created by a notary public in the scope 41 of his or her work for a title insurance company, title insurance agent, 42 financial institution, law firm or attorney at law, the notary public 43 shall deliver the notarial record no later than fourteen days after it 44 is created to such title insurance company, financial institution, law 45 firm or attorney at law. Such title insurance company, financial insti- 46 tution, law firm or attorney at law, or any successor or assignee of 47 such title insurance company, financial institution, law firm or attor- 48 ney at law within the seven-year retention period, shall retain the 49 notarial record and may disclose such record only as permitted under 50 subdivision seven of this section. 51 6. The notarial record shall be retained for seven years in accordance 52 with the procedures described in subdivision five of this section and 53 with the confidentiality and disclosure provisions established in subdi- 54 vision seven of this section. No copies of the original notarial record 55 may be made or retained by the notary. The notary's employer or princi- 56 pal pursuant to paragraph b of subdivision five of this section, or aS. 5688 4 1 notary attorney acting within the scope of his or her employment may 2 retain copies of the notarial records as business records, subject to 3 applicable privacy and confidentiality standards outlined in subdivision 4 seven of this section. 5 7. The notarial record shall not be disclosed nor shall its contents 6 be made known except as provided in this subdivision. 7 a. A certified copy of a notarial record shall be provided to the 8 United States or any department thereof, the state or any department 9 thereof, and the city of New York or any department thereof, provided 10 that such notarial record is required for official business. 11 b. A certified copy of a notarial record shall be provided in accord- 12 ance with a judicial order. 13 c. Upon written request by the grantor or a legal representative of 14 the grantor who is named in the notarial record. 15 8. Any person or entity violating the provisions of this section 16 shall, in addition to all other penalties provided by law, be liable for 17 a civil penalty of up to two hundred fifty dollars for each such 18 violation. The secretary of state may assess such penalty following an 19 adjudicatory proceeding conducted in accordance with the state adminis- 20 trative procedure act. 21 9. The failure of a notary or a commissioner of deeds to comply with 22 the procedure set forth in this section shall not affect the validity of 23 the residential real property transaction in connection to which the 24 document of conveyance is executed, in the absence of fraud. 25 § 2. Section 136 of the executive law is amended by adding a new 26 subdivision 4 to read as follows: 27 4. For performing a notarial act related to a document of conveyance 28 for which a notarial record is required pursuant to section one hundred 29 thirty-five-d of this article, the notary or commissioner of deeds may 30 charge a fee of twenty-five dollars in addition to any fees required to 31 file the notarial record. 32 § 3. Section 170.10 of the penal law, subdivision 1 as amended by 33 chapter 949 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows: 34 § 170.10 Forgery in the second degree. 35 A person is guilty of forgery in the second degree when, with intent 36 to defraud, deceive or injure another, he or she falsely makes, 37 completes or alters a written instrument which is or purports to be, or 38 which is calculated to become or to represent if completed: 39 1. A [deed,] will, codicil, contract, assignment, commercial instru- 40 ment, credit card, as that term is defined in subdivision seven of 41 section 155.00 of this chapter, or other instrument which does or may 42 evidence, create, transfer, terminate or otherwise affect a legal right, 43 interest, obligation or status; or 44 2. A public record, or an instrument filed or required or authorized 45 by law to be filed in or with a public office or public servant; or 46 3. A written instrument officially issued or created by a public 47 office, public servant or governmental instrumentality; or 48 4. Part of an issue of tokens, public transportation transfers, 49 certificates or other articles manufactured and designed for use as 50 symbols of value usable in place of money for the purchase of property 51 or services; or 52 5. A prescription of a duly licensed physician or other person author- 53 ized to issue the same for any drug or any instrument or device used in 54 the taking or administering of drugs for which a prescription is 55 required by law. 56 Forgery in the second degree is a class D felony.S. 5688 5 1 § 4. Section 170.15 of the penal law is amended to read as follows: 2 § 170.15 Forgery in the first degree. 3 A person is guilty of forgery in the first degree when, with intent to 4 defraud, deceive or injure another, he or she falsely makes, completes 5 or alters a written instrument which is or purports to be, or which is 6 calculated to become or to represent if completed: 7 1. Part of an issue of money, stamps, securities or other valuable 8 instruments issued by a government or governmental instrumentality; [or] 9 2. Part of an issue of stock, bonds or other instruments representing 10 interests in or claims against a corporate or other organization or its 11 property; or 12 3. Part of a deed or a part of any type of a deed or other instrument 13 that transfers or otherwise affects residential real property, including 14 a mortgage, an assignment of mortgage, a satisfaction of mortgage, a 15 contract of sale, and any document that is required for recording a deed 16 with a governmental agency. 17 Forgery in the first degree is a class C felony. 18 § 5. The penal law is amended by adding two new sections 175.31 and 19 175.36 to read as follows: 20 § 175.31 Offering a false instrument for filing in the second degree; 21 real property. 22 A person is guilty of offering a false instrument for filing in the 23 second degree; real property when, knowing that a written instrument 24 contains a false statement or false information concerning a deed or 25 a part of any type of a deed or other instrument that transfers or 26 otherwise affects residential real property, including a mortgage, an 27 assignment of mortgage, a satisfaction of mortgage, a contract of sale, 28 and any document that is required for recording a deed with a govern- 29 mental agency, he or she offers or presents it to a public office or 30 public servant with the knowledge or belief that it will be filed 31 with, registered or recorded in or otherwise become a part of the 32 records of such public office or public servant. 33 Offering a false instrument for filing in the second degree; real 34 property is a class E felony. 35 § 175.36 Offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree; 36 real property. 37 A person is guilty of offering a false instrument for filing in the 38 first degree; real property when: 39 1. knowing that a written instrument contains a false statement or 40 false information concerning a deed or a part of any type of a deed or 41 other instrument that transfers or otherwise affects residential real 42 property, including a mortgage, an assignment of mortgage, a satisfac- 43 tion of mortgage, a contract of sale, and any document that is required 44 for recording a deed with a governmental agency, and with intent to 45 defraud the state or any political subdivision, public authority or 46 public benefit corporation of the state, he or she offers or presents 47 it to a public office, public servant, public authority or 48 public benefit corporation with the knowledge or belief that it will 49 be filed with, registered or recorded in or otherwise become a 50 part of the records of such public office, public servant, public 51 authority or public benefit corporation. 52 Offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree; real prop- 53 erty is a class D felony. 54 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
