[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6327115,"mediaKeyId","2323045-664b75721dd1a74e8094ef0b2ab62e4e","parentId",2323045,"title","Assembly hears AB72 to tighten notary and document-preparer rules, including mandatory bonds and in‑state e-notary requirement","audioSeconds",5324,"startMs",714000,"endMs",6038000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2323045-664b75721dd1a74e8094ef0b2ab62e4e&start=714&end=6038","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2323045-664b75721dd1a74e8094ef0b2ab62e4e/thumbnail_714000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6327115/Nevada/Assembly-hears-AB72-to-tighten-notary-and-document-preparer-rules-including-mandatory-bonds-and-instate-e-notary-requirement","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6327115-28747a8eb6b161635d26cdc09885f3dc/orig.mp4?Expires=1770448026&Signature=K6Gs2NZWqrbVDjQbmK80Qma-pvpdSMxszGSwyvya4ltB6YGjBTDUsYTmgucmsdgmj3vG9mPlNxd2SLJyfjOTSnT-KBXgB4pH6Os1uQeWkDEVHq~-08zFkAO67Hzr7E-RwO2gP3~sfmymkh~cwq~O9iHTeITfwXasMD6eeSByKQnlEzfyTuhnpLeqpRMiLwA1Og37o1GN28N--bBZogJM9oIRjJ7ozMQPTTaaT-JdOxju0ULE783YS3AcB2uUCempVwVAKooZpX3lDBe6wHD~-Sia44IxKTrzLwqRWVn2x7eb6DFIV9nLZin6QwKkvprwUdI6CGU3tKQBAkRk1fYsZg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Nevada Legislature","date","2025-02-17T00:00:00Z","article","The Assembly Committee on Government Affairs opened a public hearing on Assembly Bill 72, sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of State, which proposes changes to Nevada's notary and document-preparer laws to modernize regulation and strengthen consumer protections.

Deputy Secretary of State Ruben Rodriguez presented the bill's principal amendments. Rodriguez said AB72 would require a separate bond for each distinct business entity or sole proprietorship that offers document-preparation services, change permissive bond language to a mandatory requirement (replace \"may\" with \"shall\"), establish a code of professional responsibility for notaries, prescribe an affidavit form, and clarify electronic-notary provisions so that an e‑notary must be physically present in Nevada when conducting an electronic notarial act by audiovisual communication. \"By replacing 'may' with 'shall' the amendment transforms the bond filing requirement from optional to mandatory,\" Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez told the committee the Secretary of State enforces notary and document-preparer rules under Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 240 and related provisions for document-preparation registration (referred to in testimony as NRS 240A). He said the office has seen growth in registrants (2,084 active document-preparation registrants in FY 2024) and a marked rise in active notaries (36,732 in FY 2024), and said gaps in bonds and multiple licenses issued under related names can create consumer-protection risks.

Supporters who testified said the bill will strengthen consumer protections and access. Chelsea Capurro of Proof, which provides online-notarization platforms, said AB72 \"takes an important step toward making the notaries of Nevada even more reliable and professional.\" The Nevada Disability Action Coalition voiced support, calling e-notary access helpful for rural and disabled residents. Shauna Brennan, the advocacy attorney for the rights of older persons at the Aging and Disability Services Division, said the bill's ethics and competency measures are important to protect seniors and people with disabilities and recommended the SOS consider incorporating the state's competency-certificate processes into the code.

The Nevada Land Title Association offered neutral testimony and indicated it will continue to work with the Secretary of State on bill language. The committee recorded no callers or witnesses in opposition during the hearing.

Committee members asked whether the in‑state e-notary requirement could burden traveling notaries or military members. Deputies said the office is open to drafting amendments and is working with vendors to verify geographic compliance (for example, by IP address) but cited enforcement limits over actions taken outside Nevada. Secretary Aguilar said the office has engaged with stakeholders and will propose amendments as needed.

The hearing record shows the secretary and staff are continuing conversations with business groups and compliance teams to refine language. The committee closed the hearing on AB72 with no vote; members did not take a formal floor motion on the bill during this session. The SOS indicated it will submit proposed amendments for further committee consideration.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","2/17/2025 - Assembly Committee on Government Affairs","oneSentenceSummary","The Assembly Committee on Government Affairs heard AB72, a Secretary of State-sponsored bill that would require separate bonds for each document-preparer business, create a notary code of responsibility and require e-notaries to be physically present in Nevada for electronic notarizations.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature NV, Nevada","taxId",78440,"location","Nevada","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6327119,"Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar outlines modernization push: business portal overhaul, voter system implementation and blockchain pilots",563,2141000,2704000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2323045-664b75721dd1a74e8094ef0b2ab62e4e&start=2141&end=2704","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2323045-664b75721dd1a74e8094ef0b2ab62e4e/thumbnail_2141000.jpg","/articles/6327119/Nevada/Secretary-of-State-Cisco-Aguilar-outlines-modernization-push-business-portal-overhaul-voter-system-implementation-and-blockchain-pilots","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6327119-25991c9c828eead73444391d82d7e614/orig.mp4?Expires=1770448026&Signature=ii6iiouY60avg9SQdMsTNjtO843TiYPNuE3Si0~fXf9TLjsa1PbZpO4P~lKZvWe8cMImd5EpuWeCcKyGXAnj1vOU33smJux0hB14qQlgKUxVLWxHyHUXRtT8dO~NRWUi19ZcB4h5xhB4eexRCQbKZInp-QxobVYSXqVeCsR4BNQYyCLDZotzSXp2QIwzVKtSRjGdMTTI4Hqta4T8zVkfSRVhSq423gMJ647AI~0IX4gncfDmmo2xM2pH23mpbno-vQ65kVm5prAYMtN8o2vkAXHzBcb-7Rqm9GuZBLM8np3-wYFHi3iYyn8a-7oBsVeO2ScMFaRDmGKpaUbFg8DWfA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Nevada Secretary of State Francisco \"Cisco\" Aguilar presented a 15-minute overview of his office's priorities to the Assembly Committee on Government Affairs, saying the office is focused on \"innovation, modernization, and transparency.\" He described technology and customer-service projects intended to streamline business filings, elections and records services.

Aguilar outlined Project Orion, an effort launched after the 2023 legislative session to replace and stabilize the state's business licensing portal (SilverFlume). He said nearly 560,000 businesses file with Nevada's business licensing system and that in 2024 those services generated more than $200,000,000 for the state general fund. \"Project Orion was launched ... to stabilize business services and improve the user experience,\" he said.

On elections, Aguilar said the office implemented a statewide voter registration and election management system (referred to as VRAM during the presentation) in advance of the 2024 presidential election. He said the office oversees what he described as \"2.1 active registered voters\" (as stated in testimony) and works daily with county clerks and city clerks on training, election law implementation and outreach. The secretary highlighted outreach work to increase youth turnout and said language access and county compliance with statute-driven language requirements are priorities.

Aguilar described a small IT and operations staff that supported the office's modernization projects and said the office has implemented blockchain to secure domestic-partnership records and to provide a secondary, tamper-evident submission to the National Archives for presidential-elect certification. \"We were the first state in the nation to utilize blockchain in the certification of the 2024 presidential election,\" he said.

Deputy Secretary Ruben Rodriguez and Chief Deputy Gabriel De Cara detailed enforcement and compliance work. Rodriguez described a reorganized compliance team with dedicated investigators for elections, notaries/document preparers and commercial recordings. The office reported growth in document-preparer registrants (2,084 active registrants in FY 2024) and a sharp increase in active notaries (36,732 in FY 2024), and said compliance activity and outreach have increased accordingly.

During Q&A, committee members asked about document preparers and notarios, campaign-finance enforcement, signature cards and voter-roll maintenance, language access for non‑English speakers, use of blockchain and the Nevada Lockbox program for storing advance directives. Aguilar and his deputies said they are working on system replacements, additional compliance staffing, and improved outreach to rural and non‑English-speaking communities; they also said the office will present a budget to the legislature next week.

The presentation was informational; AB 72 (notary and document-preparer changes) was discussed later in the hearing and is covered in a separate article on the bill.","Nevada Secretary of State Francisco \"Cisco\" Aguilar told the Assembly Committee on Government Affairs his office is pursuing Project Orion to replace the SilverFlume business portal, implemented a statewide voter registration management system and has piloted blockchain for domestic partnerships and election certification.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6327123,"Attorney General Aaron Ford outlines office priorities, highlights consumer recoveries and notario enforcement",1398,630000,2028000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2323045-664b75721dd1a74e8094ef0b2ab62e4e&start=630&end=2028","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2323045-664b75721dd1a74e8094ef0b2ab62e4e/thumbnail_630000.jpg","/articles/6327123/Nevada/Attorney-General-Aaron-Ford-outlines-office-priorities-highlights-consumer-recoveries-and-notario-enforcement","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6327123-18e4ab49f780aac9bf766ea8a33802bf/orig.mp4?Expires=1770448026&Signature=Bsy4OUnmLEsoA~k1vB3Gtb~VLaGJnBBfxZ5HZInathQAguVVCMkXUevLQF9dRTGvTfSfisoQEy6Nblyc0L94CqUQJWjuVrmGfou-EVDZoIF~7syKR4CdXvrTuDH4D1cWELb082xJburadZ5HbdK38vo5E6-D32cb4vnClaoGI2a7elTCea1lRRw2BNNrChXXM7~2F-cMOO2qYm~bt2OyUtohkHpQphUrGEhtL5eDzsYFPBcWxxoJwj-ta7ZkNtzS~vNprgBBtCXuQIxI35D1t9KGjDv0tCys2avWjYYAlfDztr8WYrrd1mSL8io1~diO3qlCmTPm0gf528KrwKiZMw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford told the Assembly Committee on Government Affairs that his office will focus its work through five policy priorities — client services, consumer protection, constitutional and civil rights, criminal justice reform, and community engagement.

Ford, appearing with senior staff, said the Office of the Attorney General includes roughly 155 attorneys, 62 investigators and about 200 support staff across 23 divisions and emphasized the overarching mission: \"our job is justice,\" he said.

The attorney general summarized recent enforcement results and programs. He told the committee the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit obtained judgments totaling more than $13,000,000 and secured 38 criminal convictions plus 17 civil settlements between 2022 and 2024; his office has recovered more than $1,200,000,000 in opioid-related settlements anticipated to arrive over future years, and non-opioid recoveries in the last biennium exceeded $28,000,000. Ford said the opioid funds will be tracked on a public data dashboard his office produced with the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services.

Ford described litigation in which Nevada joined other states to block a federal executive action on birthright citizenship and to prevent a federal freeze on assistance that would have delayed grants for domestic-violence and sexual-assault service providers. \"We prevailed\" in preliminary injunctive relief, he said, and his office has enforced the resulting orders as needed.

On immigrant-targeted scams, Ford said his office conducts sting operations and community outreach against notario fraud and similar schemes. \"We have active, very active operations,\" he told Assemblymember Sidra Da Silva, and he said the office has run Spanish-language public service announcements in partnership with the Mexican consulate to warn communities and publicize available resources. Ford also said his office will follow up with the committee to provide specific counts when available.

Ford told the committee his office counsels public agencies on the state Open Meeting Law, receives complaints about alleged violations, and files a compilation bill each year to address clarifications and improvements. He said other priorities include prosecution of financial fraud, cybercrime and human-trafficking investigations and management of constituent services, which the AG said received more than 16,000 requests in the past biennium.

During an assembly Q&A, Ford clarified that the federal executive order he and other states challenged would have applied prospectively and stressed he was not asserting that current citizens would lose status. \"Every person present in this country has constitutional rights,\" he said, noting the Fourteenth Amendment as the legal basis for birthright citizenship.

The committee heard Ford answer questions on his office's victim-services staffing, open-meeting enforcement and outreach work. The presentation was informational; no formal committee action or vote occurred on matters presented by the attorney general.","Attorney General Aaron D. Ford told the Assembly Committee on Government Affairs his office is organized around five policy priorities and highlighted recent consumer recoveries, Medicaid fraud judgments and active enforcement against notario fraud and other scams.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Assembly hears AB72 to tighten notary and document-preparer rules, including mandatory bonds and in‑state e-notary requirement

Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar outlines modernization push: business portal overhaul, voter system implementation and blockchain pilots

Attorney General Aaron Ford outlines office priorities, highlights consumer recoveries and notario enforcement