The Legislature passed a bill on Monday that could make it easier for California state government to use digital signature technology.
California's government code has muddled the issue dating back more than two decades. In 1995 the state of California added Code Section 16.5 so that "the use of a digital signature shall have the same force and effect as the use of a manual signature" — what people often call a "wet" signature. Meanwhile, four years later in 1999, California enacted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), which most states adopted to make records laws the same from state to state. UETA speaks of e-signatures, not digital signatures.
The bill passed Monday (AB 2296), backed by Secretary of State Alex Padilla and brought forward by Assemblymember Evan Low, D-Campbell, aims to clarify the situation by deeming that "a 'digital signature' authorized by Section 16.5 of the Government Code and subject to regulations adopted by the Secretary of State is one type of 'electronic signature' that a public agency may choose to adopt under the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act."
"AB 2296 clarifies existing law that a digital signature is one of the signatures that may be accepted under the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act," Low said on the Assembly floor on Monday.
Senate amendments were concurred into the bill by a 76-to-0 vote on Monday. The bill now heads to the governor for his consideration.
Read more about AB 2296 on Techwire.
