Notary bill clears Senate panel, a much different story on this side of the rotunda…

The Senate State Affairs Committee made relatively short work of passing an update to the state’s notary public laws this morning, approving HB 209 after a series of questions from senators to an official from the Idaho Secretary of State’s office, focusing on the fees and mechanisms outlined in the measure. Unlike in the House – where a handful of lawmakers objected to the bill on grounds of international concerns, references to the United Nations, and concerns about uniform laws, a full reading of the bill lasted more than an hour and it finally passed 63-7 – the bill quickly cleared the Senate panel this morning and headed to the full Senate. It still needs passage there and the governor’s signature to become law.