December 2018 OCRA Update and News

Notary Public Modernization Act headed to Governor's desk

Ohio Senate Bill 263 passed out of the House on December 6, 2018 and is headed to Governor Kasich's desk for review and signature. If approved, the Bill will become law and effective six months from the date of signing.

After reviewing the lengthy Bill, the OCRA Board of Directors has determined that the Ohio Notary Public Modernization Act:

Eliminates the 88 separate county notary public applicant criteria. All notary public applications will be handled online by the Secretary of State.
Requires notary public applicants to 1) pass a statewide, uniform examination; 2) pass a national background check (with fingerprints) administered by the Ohio BCI; and 3) receive three hours of mandatory training. Current notary publics will be subject to new requirements at the time of their next renewal, if the renewal date is after the new law takes effect.
Increases the application fee payable to the Secretary of State.
Prohibits certain felons from holding a notary commission.
Permits reasonable travel fees.
Increases allowable fees to be charged for any notarial act.
Creates an online notary public commission, separate from the traditional notary public commission, with standards to apply in carrying out online/electronic notarial acts.
And much more ...

To view the complete history and specific language of Senate Bill 263, please click here to be directed to The Ohio Legislature's website.

OCRA will continue to follow the Bill's status and will be securing the services of a legal professional to inform our profession on the impact of the anticipated new law.

CALLING ALL TALENT!

The theme for our 2019 Annual Conference is "Top of the Charts" and relates to all things musical. On Saturday night of the conference, we'll have an open mic for the talented musicians among us to strut their stuff. If you PLAY AN INSTRUMENT or SING, we want you!

The event is being planned now so please contact President-Elect Kelly Linkowski at info@ocraonline.com if you've got talent to share with us all.

SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2019 is sure to be a ROCKING GREAT TIME!!

Renew your membership or join OCRA today!

The OCRA Board of Directors has set high goals and objectives to accomplish in 2019. But we need your expertise and assistance to make them happen!

Some of the objectives for 2019 include:

Developing best practice guides for all areas of the profession in Ohio
Creating professionalism and ethics training presentations for Ohio’s bar associations and paralegal associations
Identifying outdated language within Ohio’s Rules of Civil Procedure and seeking avenues to update the language
Promoting CART and broadcast captioning awareness to elected officials in Ohio
Forming partnerships among deaf and hard of hearing associations in Ohio

What does OCRA need to get started toward our 2019 objectives? YOU! We need: