Minnesota Session Laws - 1993, Regular Session

  
    Laws of Minnesota 1993 

                        CHAPTER 354-H.F.No. 1063 
           An act relating to commerce; currency exchanges; 
          changing the date for submission of license renewal 
          applications; relating to notaries public; making 
          various technical changes; providing for the 
          appointment and powers of notaries; prescribing 
          penalties; amending Minnesota Statutes 1992, sections 
          53A.03; 359.01; 359.02; 359.03, subdivisions 1 and 3; 
          359.04; 359.05; 359.071; and 359.12. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 53A.03, is 
amended to read: 
     53A.03 [APPLICATION FOR LICENSE; FEES.] 
     (a) An application for a license must be in writing, under 
oath, and in the form prescribed and furnished by the 
commissioner and must contain the following: 
     (1) the full name and address (both of residence and place 
of business) of the applicant, and if the applicant is a 
partnership or association, of every member, and the name and 
business address if the applicant is a corporation; 
     (2) the county and municipality, with street and number, if 
any, of all currency exchange locations operated by the 
applicant; and 
     (3) the applicant's occupation or profession, for the ten 
years immediately preceding the application; present or previous 
connection with any other currency exchange in this or any other 
state; whether the applicant has ever been convicted of any 
crime; and the nature of the applicant's occupancy of the 
premises to be licensed; and if the applicant is a partnership 
or a corporation, the information specified in this paragraph 
must be supplied for each partner and each officer and director 
of the corporation.  If the applicant is a partnership or a 
nonpublicly held corporation, the information specified in this 
paragraph must be required of each partner and each officer, 
director, and stockholders owning in excess of ten percent of 
the corporate stock of the corporation.  
     (b) The application shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable 
fee of $250 for the review of the initial application.  Upon 
approval by the commissioner, an additional license fee of $50 
must be paid by the applicant as an annual license fee for the 
remainder of the calendar year.  An annual license fee of $50 is 
due for each subsequent calendar year of operation upon 
submission of a license renewal application on or before 
December September 1.  Fees must be deposited in the state 
treasury and credited to the general fund.  Upon payment of the 
required annual license fee, the commissioner shall issue a 
license for the year beginning January 1. 
    (c) The commissioner shall require the applicant to submit 
to a background investigation conducted by the bureau of 
criminal apprehension as a condition of licensure.  As part of 
the background investigation, the bureau of criminal 
apprehension shall conduct criminal history checks of Minnesota 
records and is authorized to exchange fingerprints with the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation for the purpose of a criminal 
background check of the national files.  The cost of the 
investigation must be paid by the applicant. 
    (d) For purposes of this section, "applicant" includes an 
employee who exercises management or policy control over the 
company, a director, an officer, a limited or general partner, a 
manager, or a shareholder holding more than ten percent of the 
outstanding stock of the corporation. 
     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 359.01, is 
amended to read: 
    359.01 [COMMISSION.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [RESIDENT NOTARIES.] The governor may 
appoint and commission as notaries public, by and with the 
advice and consent of the senate, as many citizens of this state 
or resident aliens, over the age of 18 years, resident in the 
county for which appointed, as the governor deems considers 
necessary. 
    Subd. 2.  [NONRESIDENT NOTARIES.] Notwithstanding the 
provisions of subdivision 1, the governor may appoint as notary 
public, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, a 
person who is not a resident of this state and who is not a 
resident of the county for which appointment is sought if:  
    (1) the person is a resident of Wisconsin, Iowa, North 
Dakota, or South Dakota, and of a county that shares a boundary 
with this state; 
    (2) the person designates the court administrator of the 
district court of a county of this state that shares a boundary 
with the county of residence commissioner as agent for the 
service of process for all purposes relating to notarial acts 
and for receipt of all correspondence relating to notarial acts. 
    Subd. 3.  [FEES.] The fee for each commission shall not 
exceed $40. (a) When making application for a commission the 
applicant must submit, along with the information required by 
the commissioner, a nonrefundable fee of $40. 
    (b) All fees shall be retained by the commissioner and are 
nonreturnable, except that an overpayment of a fee is the 
subject of a refund upon proper application. 
    Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 359.02, is 
amended to read: 
    359.02 [TERM, BOND, OATH, REAPPOINTMENT.] 
    A notary commissioned under section 359.01 holds office for 
six five years, unless sooner removed by the governor or the 
district court.  Before entering upon the duties of office, a 
newly commissioned notary shall file the notary's oath of office 
with the secretary of state.  Within 30 days before the 
expiration of the commission a notary may be reappointed for a 
new term to commence and to be designated in the new commission 
as beginning upon the day immediately following the date of the 
expiration.  The reappointment takes effect and is valid 
although the appointing governor may not be in the office of 
governor on the effective day. 
    (a) All notary commissions issued before January 31, 1995, 
will expire on January 31, 1995. 
    (b) All notary commissions issued after January 31, 1995, 
will expire at the end of the licensing period, which will end 
every fifth year following January 31, 1995. 
    (c) All notary commissions issued during a licensing period 
expire at the end of that period as set forth in this section. 
    Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 359.03, 
subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
    Subdivision 1.  Every notary shall get an official seal, 
with which to authenticate official acts, and upon which shall 
be engraved the arms of this state, the words "notarial seal,." 
and the name of the county for which appointed.  Such The seal, 
with the notary's official register, shall be is exempt from 
execution, and, on death or removal from office, such the 
register shall must be deposited with the court administrator of 
the district court of the notary's county. 
    Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 359.03, 
subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 3.  The seal of every notary public after January 1, 
1972, may be affixed by a stamp that will print a seal which 
legibly reproduces under photographic methods the seal of the 
state of Minnesota, the name of the notary, the words "Notary 
Public," the name of the county for which appointed, and the 
words "My commission expires ...............," with the 
expiration date shown thereon.  The seal shall be a rectangular 
form of not more than three-fourths of an inch vertically by 
2-1/2 inches horizontally, with a serrated or milled edge 
border, and shall contain the information required by this 
subdivision. 
    Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 359.04, is 
amended to read: 
    359.04 [POWERS.] 
    Every such notary public so appointed, commissioned, and 
qualified shall have power throughout the this state, to 
administer all oaths required or authorized by law, to be 
administered in this state; to take and certify all depositions, 
to be used in any of the courts of this state; to take and 
certify all acknowledgments of deeds, mortgages, liens, powers 
of attorney, and other instruments, in writing; and to receive, 
make out, and record notarial protests.  
    Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 359.05, is 
amended to read: 
    359.05 [DATE OF EXPIRATION OF COMMISSION AND NAME TO BE 
ENDORSED.] 
    Each notary public so appointed, commissioned, and 
qualified, shall have power throughout this state to administer 
all oaths required or authorized to be administered in this 
state; to take and certify all depositions to be used in any of 
the courts of this state; to take and certify all 
acknowledgments of deeds, mortgages, liens, powers of attorney, 
and other instruments in writing, and to receive, make out, and 
record notarial protests.  
    Every notary public, except in cases provided in section 
359.03, subdivision 3, taking an acknowledgment of an 
instrument, taking a deposition, administering an oath, or 
making a notarial protest, shall, immediately following the 
notary's signature to the jurat or certificate of 
acknowledgment, endorse the date of the expiration of the 
commission; such endorsement may be legibly written, stamped, or 
printed upon the instrument, but must be disconnected from the 
seal, and shall be substantially in the following form:  "My 
commission expires ............, 19....."  Except in cases 
provided in section 359.03, subdivision 3, every notary public, 
in addition to signing the jurat or certificate of 
acknowledgment, shall, immediately following the signature and 
immediately preceding the official description, endorse thereon 
the notary's name with a typewriter or print the same legibly 
with a stamp or with pen and ink; provided that the failure so 
to endorse or print the name shall not invalidate any jurat or 
certificate of acknowledgment.  
    Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 359.071, is 
amended to read: 
    359.071 [CHANGE OF RESIDENCE ADDRESS.] 
    A notary public who, during a term of office, establishes 
residency in a county of this state other than the county for 
which appointed, may file with the secretary of state an 
affidavit identifying the county of current residency, the 
county of appointment as notary public, and the date of change 
of residency.  If the affidavit is properly filed, the notary 
continues to have the same powers during the unexpired term of 
appointment as if there were no change of residence.  The notary 
public may use the official seal for the remainder of the term A 
notary shall notify the commissioner of any address change 
within 30 days of the change. 
    Sec. 9.  Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 359.12, is 
amended to read: 
    359.12 [REMOVAL FROM OFFICE ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS AND 
PENALTIES.] 
    Every notary who shall charge or receive a fee or reward 
for any act or service done or rendered under this chapter as a 
notary greater than the amount allowed by law, or who 
dishonestly or unfaithfully discharges duties as notary, shall, 
on complaint filed and substantiated as in other civil cases in 
the district court of the county of residence, be removed from 
office by such court.  The fact of such removal shall thereupon 
be certified by the court administrator to the governor, and the 
person so removed shall thereafter be ineligible to such office 
or who has plead guilty, with or without explicitly admitting 
guilt, plead nolo contendere, or been convicted of a felony, 
gross misdemeanor, or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, is 
subject to the penalties imposed pursuant to section 45.027, 
except that a notary may be removed from office only by the 
governor or the district court.  The commissioner has all the 
powers provided by section 45.027 and shall proceed in the 
manner provided by that section in actions against notaries. 
    Sec. 10.  [CREDIT FOR FEE.] 
    For notary commissions issued prior to January 1, 1994, the 
commissioner shall provide a pro rata credit of $8 per year for 
the unexpired portion of the notary commissions that would have 
expired more than one year following January 1, 1995.  The 
credit may only be applied toward the fees incurred for renewing 
a notary commission after December 31, 1994.  Notary commissions 
issued after the effective date of this act shall expire on 
January 31, 2000. 
    Presented to the governor May 20, 1993 
    Signed by the governor May 24, 1993, 6:27 p.m.