HBA-BSM C.S.H.B. 3506 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 3506
By: Maxey
Judicial Affairs
4/26/2001
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, a notary public is authorized to charge a maximum fee of
$6 for notary services.  However, some notaries may be charging more than
this maximum fee by also charging a travel fee that can be several times
higher than the maximum fee.  There are no current state provisions that
address this issue. C.S.H.B. 3506 prohibits a notary public from charging
more than one travel fee for each location to which the notary travels to
provide a service. 

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. 

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3506 amends the Government Code to prohibit a notary public from
charging more than one travel fee for each location to which the notary
travels to provide a service. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2001. 

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 3506 differs from the original by prohibiting a notary public from
charging more than one travel fee for each location that the notary travels
to when providing an authorized service, rather than prohibiting the notary
public from adding any additional costs to the authorized fees for travel
expenses or any other incidental expenses associated with the services for
which the notary public is authorized to charge the permitted fee.