Notary Public Law Changes Result of Hawaiian Man's Murder
  Posted: May 06 2008 | Hawaii | Print Article |

John Elwin, a Kauai resident, was murdered in the Philippines in 2006 so his long-time business associate could steal Elwin's Kauai property. The transaction was made possible by substituting legitimately notarized documents for a transfer of an automobile for documents related to the property transfer.

Residents of Kauai and relatives and friends of the deceased pushed the attorney general's office to implement changes to notarial procedures that would prevent such fraud and identity theft from occurring again.

Hawaiian notary statutes have been amended by adding four new sections as follows:

§456-A. Definitions. This section was added to define new words and concepts used in other sections.

§456-B. Powers and duties of the attorney general. The attorney general may suspend or revoke any commission for any cause prescribed in the new law or for any violation of the rules adopted to administer the new law. The attorney general may also impose administrative fines for same.

§456-C. Failure to verify identity and signature. A notary must verify identity and signature of the customer with personal knowledge or by satisfactory proof of the customers's identity, and recognition of the customer's signature by personal familiarity or by satisfactory proof of the customer's signature. A violation of this section is a misdemeanor and will result in the automatic revocation of the notary's commission.

§456-D. Failure to authenticate with a certification statement. Every notary certification must include the date of notarization and signature of the notary; the printed name and stamp or seal of the notary; the jurisdiction in which the notarial act is performed; identification or description of the document being notarized, placed near the notarial act; and a statement of the number of pages and the date of the document. Violation of this section is a misdemeanor and will result in the automatic revocation of the notary's commission.

In addition, the Hawaiian crimes code has been amended to include as Class C felonies the offense of misrepresenting a notarized document if an individual submits a document that he or she knows has been altered after notarization; and the offense of misrepresenting a notarized document if, with intent to mislead another, the individual submits a document that he or she knows has been altered after notarized.

Finally, other changes to the notary law have been made to reduce the occurrence of fraud using notarized documents, including an additional notation in the notary record books and fines imposed for the notary's failure to observe the new law. To read House Bill 2920 in its entirety, go to http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2008/bills/HB2920_CD1_htm.

The new law becomes effective on Jan. 1, 2009.