On May 8th, Secretary of State Chuck Gray sent a letter to Senators John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, and Representative Harriet Hageman, urging them to oppose H.R. 1059, the Securing and Enabling Commerce Using Remote Notarization Act of 2023, otherwise known as the SECURE Notarization Act.
The SECURE Notarization Act, which passed the United States House of Representatives in February and has been introduced in the United States Senate, imposes federal requirements on notaries performing electronic and remote notarizations when they “occur in or affect interstate commerce.”
The SECURE Notarization Act’s requirements conflict with Wyoming’s Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts passed by the Wyoming Legislature in 2021 in several respects.
Compelled by the disparate requirements posed by the SECURE Notarization Act on Wyoming’s notaries and the practical and logistical problems with the SECURE Notarization Act’s implementation and enforcement, Secretary Gray voiced his opposition to the bill.
“As head of the enforcement agency tasked with regulation of notaries public in the State of Wyoming, I am not only concerned by the SECURE Notarization Act’s one-size-fits-all approach, but I remain troubled by the negative implications on Wyoming notaries should the SECURE Notarization Act become law,” Secretary Gray wrote.
“Wyoming has and will continue to craft policy which is best tailored for its people. Our regulations governing notaries are no different. For these reasons, I respectfully request you oppose the SECURE Notarization Act, a misguided solution to a problem that does not exist.”
In his letter to Representative Hageman, Secretary Gray urged opposition should the SECURE Act come back to the House for concurrence. Secretary Gray’s correspondence to Wyoming’s Congressional Delegation can be found here.