Hello title readers —
The fight for nationwide RON acceptance lives on. Last week, Senators Mark Warner and Kevin Cramer reintroduced the SECURE Notarization Act, hoping to capitalize on RON's popularity after a year when it was used extensively due to COVID-related short-term emergency measures. (There's also a House version).
Although 34 states have passed permanent RON legislation and other states have bills or executive actions pending, a federal bill would allow nationwide use of RON by every notary in the U.S., something supported by ALTA and the MBA.
The biggest and loudest hold-out on RON continues to be the state of California.
After the original SECURE Act was proposed in March 2020, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra wrote to Congress voicing his opposition, citing an increased potential for fraud, "bare bones" minimum federal standards, the time and expense of compliance with those standards, and privacy concerns.
"I urge Congress to abandon any attempts to impose remote online notarization on the states and to allow policing notarization of documents to continue as an individual state concern," Becerra wrote.
The state's opposition continues in 2021. In April, the National Law Review reported that California Secretary of State Shirley Weber held a Zoom meeting to discuss whether RON should be permitted in California. 500 people attended the call, which featured testimony from supporters (The California Land Title Association) and those opposed to the idea (The California League of Independent Notaries). Weber stated that she currently has no position on RON, but California still only allows mobile notarization.
California's objections don't seem unreasonable, except that 34 other states have somehow figured out how to do RON safely and effectively. Florida, Virginia and Texas have used RON extensively, without a huge uptick in fraud. Deepfake video has been specifically mentioned as a potential security risk, but the new SECURE Act would require tamper-evident technology, multifactor authentication for identity proofing and audiovisual recording of the notarial act.
In addition, since it was introduced last year, companies have been quick to recognize the value of the RON Compliance Certification through MISMO, with Black Knight and Stavvy just the latest to complete that certification. This certification requires tech providers to meet a universal set of standards including credential analysis, borrower identification, capturing and maintaining a recording of the notary process electronically, audio and video requirements, record storage and audit trails. Has California delineated what part of those standards need improvement?
We'll continue to follow the federal bills as they make their way through Congress and keep you updated on any progress.
Until next week —
Sarah Wheeler
HousingWire Editor in Chief
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