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ND Senate Bill 2353

Legislation

State: North Dakota
Signed: March 30, 2005

Effective: August 30, 2005
Chapter: 380

Summary

Senate Bill 2353 raises the commissioning fee to $36, makes acting as a Notary without a valid commission an infraction and prohibits a Notary from notarizing if within 5 years of the issuance of a commission, the Notary is convicted of a criminal offense which the Secretary of State determines has a direct bearing on the Notary's ability to serve the public.

Affects

Amends Sections 44-06-02, 44-06-13, and 44-06-13.1 of the North Dakota Century Code.

Changes
  1. Raises the commissioning fee from $25 to $36.
  2. States that any person who acts as a Notary or performs notarial acts without a valid commission is guilty of an infraction and subject to penalty.
  3. Prohibits a Notary from notarizing, if within 5 years of issuance or renewal of a commission, the Notary has been convicted of a criminal offense the Secretary of State considers to have a direct impact on the Notary’s ability to duly serve the public. (Note: North Dakota Notaries are commissioned for 6 years). Violation of the new provision is also deemed an infraction for which the Secretary of State may revoke the commission or impose a lesser sanction.
Analysis

Senate Bill 2353 raises the commissioning fee to $36, makes acting as a Notary without a valid commission an infraction and prohibits a Notary from notarizing if within 5 years of the issuance of a commission, the Notary is convicted of a criminal offense which the Secretary of State determines has a direct bearing on the Notary's ability to serve the public. The introduced version of Senate Bill 2353 proposed doubling the commissioning fee ($50) but this was scaled back to a more sensible $36. The prohibition against notarizing if a Notary has been convicted of a criminal offense is to prevent the possible scenario in which a Notary could continue to hold a current commission after committing an offense which could have prevented the Notary from getting a commission in the first place.

Read Senate Bill 2353.

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