Source: https://www.freedomandethics.net/tag/office-of-professional-regulation/
Timestamp: 2019-01-23 09:08:07
Document Index: 648469164

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 5370', '§ 5342', '§ 5342', '§ 129', '§ 129', '§ 129', '§ 129']

Yesterday I received a notice from the Vermont Secretary of State’s Office, Office of Professional Regulation (OPR), informing me (and presumably every other person who is registered as a public notary in Vermont) that there is a new sheriff in town involved in the oversight and regulation of notaries public. Here’s a copy of the notice. All notary registrations are now going to go through OPR and treated just like all the other professions regulated by OPR. That includes registering though the OPR online portal (that will not be live until mid-December). According to the OPR website, the notary registration process is going to be far, far more complex then what it used to be. The entire notary registration process used to consist of a single page form, submitted to the local county clerk, found at the county courthouse.
This new process comes as the result of a massive legislative change, presumably to provide greater oversight to how notaries are “licensed” and monitored. On its face, modernizing the notary process is a good thing. Attorneys have been hearing reports for years about the impact of poor notary practices on their clients. What is less clear is whether notaries need to be monitored as closely and as aggressively as what we think of as traditional professions, such as dentists, psychologists and nurses. This is the guidance from the OPR Website:
That’s far, far more information what was previously requested as part of the single page form referenced above. Even more perplexing, is that notaries will now be subject to disciplinary action, based on both the unique facets of notary practice, as well as, general disciplinary proceedings that apply to all professions. For example, notaries are now required to obtain and utilize a physical stamping device (whereas previously a signature was adequate). 26 V.S.A. § 5370(b) provides that “[i]f a notary public’s stamping device is lost or stolen, the notary public or the notary public’s personal representative or guardian shall notify promptly the Office [OPR] on discovering the device is lost or stolen.” Failure to promptly report constitutes “unprofessional conduct” and may subject the notary to prosecution pursuant to 26 V.S.A. § 5342(a)(5).
However, that’s not the only thing considered “unprofessional conduct.” The new law at 26 V.S.A. § 5342(a)(9) also incorporates 3 V.S.A. § 129a(a) that lists unprofessional conduct applicable to all professions. This means that notaries who do not inform OPR of a new address in 30 days (3 V.S.A. § 129a(a)(14)) have committed unprofessional conduct and are subject to prosecution. It also means that if a notary is convicted of any criminal offense (this includes things such as DUIs and certain Fish and Game violations), they must report this conviction to OPR within 30 days (3 V.S.A. § 129a(a)(11)) or they have engaged in unprofessional conduct. Note that this reporting requirement is different from actually being convicted of a crime related to being a notary (such as a fraud) or being convicted of a felony, both of which constitute a separate prosecutable offense (3 V.S.A. § 129a(a)(10)).
The new licensure for notaries will also include exam and continuing education requirements for most notaries, with some exceptions (notably attorneys). The list of exemptions and exceptions for exams, continuing education and fees can be found at the OPR website here.
Needless to say, I am not sure that the legislature fully contemplated the impact of this legislation given the current state of affairs. There will also be a set of rules promulgated by OPR, but those are not available as of yet. And there will be “advisors” appointed by the Secretary of State to oversee and advise OPR on the notary regulatory process, but those advisors have apparently not been appointed yet.
All of this is by way of saying that there are a tremendous amount of changes coming for notaries, who have likely been practicing the same way for decades, if not centuries. The best offense, is a strong defense. When signing up to be a notary, it is important to know what you are getting into. Notaries beware!