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EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 1588
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR BURGER.
6631S.02I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal sections 59.120, 486.735, 570.095, and 578.700, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof four
new sections relating to protections against document fraud, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 59.120, 486.735, 570.095, and 1
578.700, RSMo, are repealed and four new sections enacted in 2
lieu thereof, to be known as sections 59.120, 486.735, 570.095, 3
and 578.700, to read as follows:4
59.120. 1. The recorder shall keep [his] the 1
recorder's office at the seat of justice, and the county 2
commission shall provide the same with suitable books, in 3
which the recorder shall record all instruments of writing 4
authorized and required to be recorded. If there is no 5
courthouse or other suitable county building at the seat of 6
justice, the county commission shall provide an office for 7
the recorder at any other place in the county where there is 8
a courthouse and courts of record are held. 9
2. Each recorder shall display in the recorder's 10
office in a place visible to the public a printed sign with 11
the following text in all capital letters of at least one 12
inch in height: "WARNING: THE OFFENSE OF FILING FALSE 13
DOCUMENTS IS A FELONY UNDER MISSOURI LAW (RSMO 570.095) WITH 14
PENALTIES THAT MAY INCLUDE JAIL OR PRISON TIME AND FINANCIAL 15
RESTITUTION.". 16
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486.735. 1. A vendor or manufacturer shall register 1
with the secretary prior to selling or manufacturing notary 2
seals. The secretary shall maintain an internet site for 3
the purpose of allowing vendors and manufacturers to confirm 4
the current standing of any notary in the state. 5
2. A vendor or manufacturer shall not provide a notary 6
seal to a purchaser claiming to be a notary, unless the 7
purchaser presents a notary commission issued by the 8
secretary, and unless: 9
(1) In the case of a purchaser appearing in person, 10
the vendor or manufacturer identifies this individual as the 11
person named in the commission, through either personal 12
knowledge or satisfactory evidence of identity; or 13
(2) In the case of a purchaser ordering a seal by mail 14
or delivery service, the vendor or manufacturer confirms the 15
notary's standing as a commissioned notary through the 16
internet site. 17
3. For each commission, a vendor or manufacturer shall 18
make or sell only one seal and, if requested by the person 19
presenting the commission, only one embossing seal. 20
4. After manufacturing or providing a notary seal, the 21
vendor shall affix an image of all seals on a form as 22
prescribed by the secretary and, within seven business days, 23
send the completed form to the secretary, retaining a copy 24
of the form and the commission for a period of five years. 25
5. A notary obtaining a seal as a result of a name 26
change shall present a copy of the confirmation of notary's 27
name or address change from the secretary in accordance with 28
sections 486.780 and 486.785. 29
6. A vendor or manufacturer who fails to comply with 30
this section shall be subject to a fine of [one] ten 31
thousand dollars for each violation. For multiple 32
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violations, a vendor's permission to sell or manufacture 33
notary seals may be withdrawn by the secretary. Such 34
violation shall not preclude the civil liability of the 35
vendor to parties injured by the vendor's failure to comply 36
with this section. 37
570.095. 1. A person commits the offense of filing 1
false documents if: 2
(1) With the intent to defraud, deceive, harass, 3
alarm, or negatively impact financially, or in such a manner 4
reasonably calculated to deceive, defraud, harass, alarm, or 5
negatively impact financially, he or she files, causes to be 6
filed or recorded, or attempts to file or record, creates, 7
uses as genuine, transfers or has transferred, presents, or 8
prepares with knowledge or belief that it will be filed, 9
presented, recorded, or transferred to the secretary of 10
state or the secretary's designee, to the recorder of deeds 11
of any county or city not within a county or the recorder's 12
designee, to any municipal, county, district, or state 13
government entity, division, agency, or office, or to any 14
credit bureau or financial institution any of the following 15
types of documents: 16
(a) Common law lien; 17
(b) Uniform commercial code filing or record; 18
(c) Real property recording; 19
(d) Financing statement; 20
(e) Contract; 21
(f) Warranty, special, or quitclaim deed; 22
(g) Quiet title claim or action; 23
(h) Deed in lieu of foreclosure; 24
(i) Legal affidavit; 25
(j) Legal process; 26
(k) Legal summons; 27
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(l) Bills and due bills; 28
(m) Criminal charging documents or materially false 29
criminal charging documents; 30
(n) Any other document not stated in this subdivision 31
that is related to real property; or 32
(o) Any state, county, district, federal, municipal, 33
credit bureau, or financial institution form or document; and 34
(2) Such document listed under subdivision (1) of this 35
subsection contains materially false information; is 36
fraudulent; is a forgery, as [defined] described under 37
section 570.090; lacks the consent of all parties listed in 38
a document that requires mutual consent; or is invalid under 39
Missouri law. 40
2. Filing false documents under this section is a 41
class [D] C felony for the first offense except the 42
following circumstances shall be a class [C] B felony: 43
(1) The defendant has been previously found guilty or 44
pleaded guilty to a violation of this section; 45
(2) The victim or named party in the matter: 46
(a) Is an official elected to municipal, county, 47
district, federal, or statewide office; 48
(b) Is an official appointed to municipal, county, 49
district, federal, or statewide office; or 50
(c) Is an employee of an official elected or appointed 51
to municipal, county, district, federal, or statewide office; 52
(3) The victim or named party in the matter is a judge 53
or magistrate of: 54
(a) Any court or division of the court in this or any 55
other state or an employee thereof; or 56
(b) Any court system of the United States or is an 57
employee thereof; 58
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(4) The victim or named party in the matter is a full- 59
time, part-time, or reserve or auxiliary peace officer, as 60
defined under section 590.010, who is licensed in this state 61
or any other state; 62
(5) The victim or named party in the matter is a full- 63
time, part-time, or volunteer firefighter in this state or 64
any other state; 65
(6) The victim or named party in the matter is an 66
officer of federal job class 1811 who is empowered to 67
enforce United States laws; 68
(7) The victim or named party in the matter is a law 69
enforcement officer of the United States as defined under 5 70
U.S.C. Section 8401(17)(A) or (D); 71
(8) The victim or named party in the matter is an 72
employee of any law enforcement or legal prosecution agency 73
in this state, any other state, or the United States; 74
(9) The victim or named party in the matter is an 75
employee of a federal agency that has agents or officers of 76
job class 1811 who are empowered to enforce United States 77
laws or is an employee of a federal agency that has law 78
enforcement officers as defined under 5 U.S.C. Section 79
8401(17)(A) or (D); or 80
(10) The victim or named party in the matter is an 81
officer of the railroad police as [defined] authorized under 82
section 388.600. 83
3. For a penalty enhancement as described under 84
subsection 2 of this section to apply, the occupation of the 85
victim or named party shall be material to the subject 86
matter of the document or documents filed or the relief 87
sought by the document or documents filed, and the 88
occupation of the victim or named party shall be materially 89
connected to the apparent reason that the victim has been 90
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named, victimized, or involved. For purposes of subsection 91
2 of this section and this subsection, a person who has 92
retired or resigned from any agency, institution, or 93
occupation listed under subsection 2 of this section shall 94
be considered the same as a person who remains in employment 95
and shall also include the following family members of a 96
person listed under subdivisions (2) to (9) of subsection 2 97
of this section: 98
(1) Such person's spouse; 99
(2) Such person or such person's spouse's ancestor or 100
descendant by blood or adoption; or 101
(3) Such person's stepchild while the marriage 102
creating that relationship exists. 103
4. Any person who pleads guilty or is found guilty 104
under subsections 1 to 3 of this section shall be ordered by 105
the court to make full restitution to any person or entity 106
that has sustained actual losses or costs as a result of the 107
actions of the defendants. Such restitution shall not be 108
paid in lieu of jail or prison time but rather in addition 109
to any jail or prison time imposed by the court. 110
5. (1) Nothing in this section shall limit the power 111
of the state to investigate, charge, or punish any person 112
for any conduct that constitutes a crime by any other 113
statute of this state or the United States. 114
(2) No receiving entity shall be required under this 115
section to retain the filing or record for prosecution under 116
this section. A filing or record being rejected by the 117
receiving entity shall not be used as an affirmative defense. 118
6. (1) Any agency of the state, a county, or a city 119
not within a county that is responsible for or receives 120
document filings or records, including county recorders of 121
deeds and the secretary of state's office, shall, by January 122
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1, 2019, impose a system in which the documents that have 123
been submitted to the receiving agency, or those filings 124
rejected by the secretary of state under its legal 125
authority, are logged or noted in a ledger, spreadsheet, or 126
similar recording method if the filing or recording officer 127
or employee believes the filings or records appear to be 128
fraudulent or contain suspicious language. The receiving 129
agency shall make noted documents available for review by: 130
(a) The jurisdictional prosecuting or circuit attorney 131
or such attorney's designee; 132
(b) The county sheriff or the sheriff's designee; 133
(c) The police chief of a county or city not within a 134
county or such chief's designee; or 135
(d) A commissioned peace officer as defined under 136
section 590.010. 137
Review of such documents is permissible for the agent or 138
agencies under this subdivision without the need of a grand 139
jury subpoena or court order. No fees or monetary charges 140
shall be levied on the investigative agents or agencies for 141
review of documents noted in the ledger or spreadsheet. The 142
ledger or spreadsheet and its contents shall be retained by 143
the agency that controls entries into such ledger or 144
spreadsheet for a minimum of three years from the earliest 145
entry listed in the ledger or spreadsheet. 146
(2) The receiving entity shall, upon receipt of a 147
filing or record that has been noted as a suspicious filing 148
or record, notify the chief law enforcement officer or such 149
officer's designee of the county and the prosecutor or the 150
prosecutor's designee of the county of the filing's or 151
record's existence. Such notification shall be made within 152
two business days of the filing or record having been 153
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received. Notification may be accomplished via email or via 154
paper memorandum. 155
(3) No agency receiving the filing or record shall be 156
required under this section to notify the person conducting 157
the filing or record that the filing or record is entered as 158
a logged or noted filing or record. 159
(4) Reviews to ensure compliance with the provisions 160
of this section shall be the responsibility of any 161
commissioned peace officer. Findings of noncompliance shall 162
be reported to the jurisdictional prosecuting or circuit 163
attorney or such attorney's designee by any commissioned 164
peace officer who has probable cause to believe that the 165
noncompliance has taken place purposely, knowingly, 166
recklessly, or with criminal negligence, as described under 167
section 562.016. 168
7. To petition for a judicial review of a filing or 169
record that is believed to be fraudulent, false, misleading, 170
forged, or contains materially false information, a 171
petitioner may file a probable cause statement that 172
delineates the basis for the belief that the filing or 173
record is materially false, contains materially false 174
information, is a forgery, is fraudulent, or is misleading. 175
This probable cause statement shall be filed in the 176
associate or circuit court of the county in which the 177
original filing or record was transferred, received, or 178
recorded. 179
8. A filed petition under this section shall have an 180
initial hearing date within twenty business days of the date 181
the petition is filed with the court. A court ruling of 182
invalid shall be evidence that the original filing or record 183
was not accurate, true, or correct. A court ruling of 184
invalid shall be retained or recorded at the original 185
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receiving entity. The receiving entity shall waive all 186
filing or recording fees associated with the filing or 187
recording of the court ruling document in this subsection. 188
Such ruling may be forwarded to credit bureaus or other 189
institutions at the request of the petitioner via motion to 190
the applicable court at no additional cost to the petitioner. 191
9. If a filing or record is deemed invalid, court 192
costs and fees are the responsibility of the party who 193
originally initiated the filing or record. If the filing or 194
record is deemed valid, no court costs or fees, in addition 195
to standard filing fees, shall be assessed. 196
10. (1) An owner of an interest in real property that 197
has been subject to a filing or record that is believed to 198
be fraudulent, false, misleading, or forged or that contains 199
materially false information may petition for a judicial 200
review under subsections 7, 8, and 9 of this section. 201
(2) A county recorder of deeds may post information on 202
such petition process in the recorder's office and online. 203
578.700. 1. For purposes of this section, all 1
definitions from section 486.600 shall apply. 2
2. In performing a notarial act, a notary shall be 3
guilty of: 4
(1) A class E felony for executing a false notarial 5
certificate under subdivision (1) of section 486.660; or 6
(2) A misdemeanor, punishable upon conviction by a 7
fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or imprisonment for 8
not more than six months, or both, for knowingly: 9
[(1)] (a) Failing to require the presence of a 10
principal at the time of a notarial act; or 11
[(2)] (b) Failing to identify a principal through 12
personal knowledge or satisfactory evidence; [or 13
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(3) Executing a false notarial certificate under 14
subsection 1 of section 486.660]. 15
3. A notary who knowingly performs any other act 16
prohibited by chapter 486 or fails to perform any other act 17
required by chapter 486 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, 18
punishable upon conviction by a fine not exceeding five 19
hundred dollars or imprisonment for not more than six 20
months, or both. 21
4. Any person who is not a notary and who knowingly 22
acts as or otherwise impersonates a notary shall be guilty 23
of a [misdemeanor, punishable upon conviction by a fine not 24
exceeding five hundred dollars or imprisonment for not more 25
than six months, or both] class E felony. 26
5. Any person who knowingly obtains, conceals, 27
defaces, or destroys the seal, journal, or official records 28
of a notary shall be guilty of a [misdemeanor, punishable 29
upon conviction by a fine not exceeding five hundred 30
dollars] class E felony. 31
6. Any person who knowingly solicits, coerces, or in 32
any way influences a notary to commit official misconduct 33
shall be guilty of a [misdemeanor, punishable upon 34
conviction by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars] 35
class E felony. 36
7. Any person who knowingly obtains, conceals, 37
damages, or destroys the coding, disk, certificate, card, 38
token, program, software, or hardware that is intended 39
exclusively to enable an electronic notary public to produce 40
a registered electronic signature, notary seal, or single 41
element combining the required features of an electronic 42
signature and notary seal, shall be guilty of a 43
[misdemeanor, punishable upon conviction by a fine not 44
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exceeding five hundred dollars or imprisonment for not more 45
than six months, or both] class E felony. 46
8. Any person who is not a notary and knowingly 47
presents false information to obtain or attempt to obtain a 48
notary public's seal from a manufacturer under chapter 486 49
shall be guilty of a class E felony. 50
9. The penalties of this section shall not preclude 51
other sanctions and remedies provided by law. 52
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