Relating to notaries public; creating a criminal offense.

SB 2359 creates a new criminal offense for notaries public who perform notarizations when the person for whom the notarization is performed did not personally appear before them. The bill amends Texas law to make this a Class A misdemeanor, escalating to a state jail felony if the document involves real property transfer. It defines "personally appears" as physically being present during in-person notarizations or using approved video technology for online notarizations. A defense is provided if the notary reasonably relied on a valid ID presented by the person appearing. The law directly affects Texas notaries public by establishing specific criminal penalties for violating appearance requirements.