HBA-DMD H.J.R. 19 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.J.R. 19 By: West, George Public Safety 3/2/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, only the secretary of state has the authority to appoint notaries public. Currently, law enforcement and correctional agencies (agencies) must obtain notary commissions for their employees for the purposes of signing affidavits, complaints, and probable causes. These agencies must purchase notary bonds and must monitor their personnel to ensure that there are adequate numbers of notaries public available. Officers have been delayed in the discharge of their duties by waiting for a notary to be found. As proposed, H.J.R. 19 requires the submission to the voters of a constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to permit peace officers to serve as notaries public when engaged in the performance of their duties. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 26, Article IV, Texas Constitution, by adding Subsection (c), to authorize the Legislature to provide that peace officers may serve as notaries public when engaged in the performance of their duties for matters arising in relation to those duties, notwithstanding Subsections (a) and (b) of this section (which require the secretary of state to appoint a convenient number of notaries public for the state, with terms between two and four years, who are required to perform duties as prescribed by law and whose qualifications are prescribed by law). SECTION 2. Requires this proposed constitutional amendment to be submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 2, 1999. Sets forth the required language for the ballot.