Legislature amends Notaries Act

Citing outdated, inconsistent, and unenforceable provisions in the law, the Legislature has approved a proposal amending the Notaries Public Act.

The Legislature, in House Bill 14-135, said that the Notaries Public Act was originally enacted during the Trust Territory period and has not been revised since.

“As a result, many of the provisions are out of date with the current needs of the Commonwealth,” it said.

For instance, the Act sets the fees notaries may charge for their services, but these fees have never been raised “and now are insufficient to cover the cost of performing notarial services and complying with the Act.”

Currently, a notary public charges an average of $3 per service.

H.B. 14-125 allows every notary public to charge $2 for each notice and certified copy of protest of mercantile paper, deposition, certification, and administration of oath; and $4 for noting protest other than of mercantile paper.

The bill also provides “greater protection to consumers” as there exists “inconsistency” between the responsibilities of the Attorney General’s Office and the Commonwealth Superior Court and insufficient mechanisms to enforce the Act.

It cited that the law requires notaries to file information regarding their activities with the court and not with the AGO, yet the AGO is charged with enforcing the Act. Under the bill, information must be filed with the AGO.

The bill further said that the AGO’s ability to enforce the Act without expending valuable resources from its criminal division has been limited and unclear.

The changes under the bill will now allow the AGO greater opportunity to implement the law through administrative hearings, which can only impose civil penalties instead of having to bring criminal charges.

Meantime, the bill revises the provision setting the qualifications to be a notary, which the U.S. District Court has ruled to be unconstitutional and unenforceable.

The bill requires that a person appointed as notary public must be of good character, at least 18 years old, a CNMI resident or U.S. citizen residing in the Commonwealth and is employed by the U.S. government or a U.S. citizen employed by a contractor engaged in work for the U.S. government in the CNMI.

The bill, authored by House Vice Speaker Timothy Villagomez, is now before the governor for his signature and approval.