Moran’s bill would streamline electronic signatures process

U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) recently joined fellow members on the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee to propose legislation that would enhance electronic signatures for consumers.

“This legislation is a timely update to expand consumer access to online and mobile financial services in line with modern practices,” Sen. Moran said.

The E-SIGN Modernization Act, S. 4159, which Sen. Moran cosponsored on July 2 with U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) and bill sponsor U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-SD), would amend the Electronic Signatures in Global and National (E-SIGN) Commerce Act to accommodate emerging technologies, according to the congressional record summary. The act became law in 2000 and provides a framework for how transactions involved in interstate or foreign commerce may be completed using electronic signatures and electronic documents.

“Given the major advancements in technology and consumer accessibility that have occurred in the past two decades since the E-SIGN Act was first enacted, it’s time to modernize this law,” said Sen. Moran.

If enacted, S. 4159 would remove a requirement under the current law that consumers reasonably demonstrate that they can access documents electronically before they can receive an electronic version. Under the bill, once consumers are provided with disclosure information and consent to receiving documents electronically, they may obtain them through those means, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Moran’s office.

“During this challenging time, Americans are increasingly faced with outdated barriers to accessing critical documents and bank statements electronically,” Sen. Young said. “The E-SIGN Modernization Act will streamline this decades-old system and allow more people to access their bank information from a computer or other electronic device.”