House Panel to Hold Hearing on Remote Notarization Bill

The House bill has 47 Republican co-sponsors and 44 Democratic co-sponsors.

Dean is a member of the House Financial Services Committee, but the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Judiciary Committee have jurisdiction over H.R. 3962.

The consumer protection subcommittee is the first House panel to hold a hearing on the bill, according to Congress.gov.

Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., has introduced a companion bill, S. 1625, in the Senate.

S. 1625 has three Democratic co-sponsors and four Republican co-sponsors.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has jurisdiction over S. 1625. That committee has not yet held a hearing on the bill.

Many financial services groups wrote in support of H.R. 3962 when Dean and Rep. Kelly Armstrong introduced the bill in June 2021.

The list of supporting organizations includes the American Council of Life Insurers, the American Financial Services Association, the Financial Services Institute, the Insured Retirement Institute, the National Association for Fixed Annuities, the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, CUNA Mutual and TIAA.

The Hearing

The Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee, is preparing to consider H.R. 3962 along with eight other unrelated bills that could affect businesses.

One, for example, is H.R. 5313, a bill that would require consumer devices that use button cell batteries or coin batteries to have child-resistant closures. Another, H.R. 4081, would require manufacturers of consumer devices to warn consumers if the devices contain cameras or microphones.

Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa. (Photo: Dean)