NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

Pursuant to Hawaii Revised Statutes (“HRS”) section 456-8 and Chapter 91, notice is hereby given that the Department of the Attorney General (“ATG”) will hold a public hearing on Monday, December 29, 2014, between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., in the 1st Floor Conference Room of the Department of the Attorney General, 425 Queen Street, Honolulu, Hawaii, to hear all persons interested in the proposed amendments to Hawaii Administrative Rules (“HAR”) Chapter 5-11 pertaining to Notaries Public.
The purposes of the proposed amendments are to:
(1) Add a provision in HAR §5-11-9(f) that would cause a notary public’s commission to be suspended after proper notice, for failure to deposit the notary public’s record book with the attorney general within 90 days from the end date of the notary public’s commission.
(2) Add a provision in HAR §5-11-10 that would impose a $25 administrative fine to a notary who fails to provide written, timely notification to the attorney general of any change of address, and a $50 administrative fine if that failure to provide written notification results in renewal forms being mailed to an incorrect address.
(3) Add a provision in HAR §5-11-17(c) stating that failure to comply with HAR §5-11-17(a) shall preclude the reissuance of a notary public’s commission; and complete compliance of HAR §5-11-17(a) shall be a condition for the reissuance of a notary public’s commission.
(4) Add a provision in HAR §5-11-18 stating that failure to comply with this section shall result in a $25 administrative fee.
(5) Add a provision in HAR §5-11-32(b) stating that an applicant who fails to notify the attorney general in advance of their inability to take a scheduled examination shall require that the applicant submit a new application with supporting letters and pay a $25 no-show examination fee. HAR §5-11-32(b) would also add a $15 fee for applicants rescheduling an examination if the applicant requests to be rescheduled more than 48 hours before the examination, and a $20 fee if the applicant requests to rescheduled less than 48 hours before the examination. It also eliminates the option for an examinee to reschedule the exam three times.
(6) Add a provision in HAR §5-11-46 which allows the attorney general to collect administrative fines, and to make changes to or add the following fees:
(a) Increase the application fee for notary public commission from $10 to $20;
(b) Increase the application fee for renewal of notary public commission from $10 to $20;
(c) Increase the fee for restoration of forfeited commission from $60 to $80;
(d) Increase the fee for issuance of a notary public commission from $40 to $100;
(e) Add a $10 administrative fee to process and catalogue notary record books;
(f) Add a $25 per occurrence fee for failure to timely notify the attorney general of change in name, employer, residential or business address, telephone number, or judicial circuit;
(g) Add a $50 fine for failure to timely notify the attorney general of change of address that results in mailing of renewal forms to incorrect address;
(h) Add a $40 fee for failure to timely notify the attorney general of loss, misplacement, or theft of a notary public’s official seal or record book;
(i) Increase the fee to mail the notary public manual from $3.85 to $5.00;
(j) Add a $10 fee for replacement of a notary public commission certificate; and
(k) Add a $40 fee for failure to pick-up a commission certificate from the attorney general within 60 days of notification of the availability of the certificate.
All interested persons shall be afforded the opportunity to submit data, views, or arguments, orally or in writing, at the time of hearing. All persons wishing to submit written testimony are requested to submit 10 copies of their written testimony by Monday, December 22, 2014, to the Department of the Attorney General, Notary Public Office, 425 Queen Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813.
A copy of the proposed rules will be mailed to any person who requests a copy upon receipt of $5.45 for the copy and postage. Please submit your request to the Notary Public Office at the aforementioned address or telephone (808) 586-1216. Copies may be picked up at the same address between 7:45 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. The cost of a copy is $4.75, due and payable at the time of pick up. No personal checks.
Further, the proposed rules may be reviewed in person free of charge at the Notary Public Office at the address and hours of operation as above stated. In addition, the full text of the proposed rules is available and can be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Department of the Attorney General, Notary Public Office: http://ag.hawaii.gov/notaries-public.
Individuals who require special needs accommodations are invited to call Deborah Gonzales at (808) 586-1216 at least four (4) working days prior to the hearing.

David M. Louie
Attorney General
State of Hawaii
(SA690261 11/22/14)~