On May 15, Gov. Mitt Romney signed a revised Executive Order No. (03-13) regarding standards of conduct for notaries public. The Executive Order was effective on May 15.
At its March 25 meeting, the MBA House of Delegates voted to support a resolution proposed by the Property Law Section opposing the order as originally drafted. Most of the problems identified by the MBA were addressed in the redrafted order.
Under the new order, attorneys who also act as notaries public are no longer required to keep notary journals, however keeping a journal is recommended. The revised order also eliminates the section that allows for public inspection of journals.
Also under the new order, attorneys may now have family members act as a witness when notarizing documents. Under the previous order signed in February, an attorney was not permitted to use a family member as a witness, which would have been troublesome for small family firms.