§456-18  Notaries in government service. 
Except as otherwise provided for by law, the head of every department (which
term as used in this chapter includes any department, board, commission,
bureau, or establishment of the United States, or of the State, or any
political subdivision thereof) may designate one or more of the head of every
department's subordinates to be a notary public who, upon duly qualifying and
receiving a commission as a notary public in government service, shall perform,
without charge, the services of a notary public in all matters of business
pertaining to the State, any political subdivision thereof, or the United
States.



Any provision of this chapter to the contrary
notwithstanding, a subordinate so designated and thus qualified and
commissioned as a notary public in government service shall:



(1)  Be authorized to perform the duties of a notary
public in one or more of the judicial circuits of the State as the attorney
general shall designate;



(2)  Not be required to:



(A)  Pay any fee to the clerk of any circuit
court for filing a copy of the notary's commission;



(B)  Pay any fee to the attorney general for
the issuance of the notary's commission or the renewal thereof; or



(C)  Furnish and file an official bond unless
that bond is required by the head of the department in which the notary is a
subordinate, in which event, the expense of furnishing any such bond shall be
borne by the department concerned; and



(3)  Not demand or receive any fee for the notary's
service as a notary public; provided that where the occasion, in the judgment
of the head of the department, is deemed one of urgent necessity and
convenience, the notary may, but shall not be compelled to, administer oaths or
take acknowledgments in nongovernmental matters, for which services the
prescribed fees shall be demanded and received as governmental realizations and
covered into the notaries public revolving fund established by section 456-9.5,
except that if that fund is terminated, the fees shall thereafter be deposited
into the general fund of the State; provided further that with the prior
written approval of the attorney general, the notary public, upon paying the
fees prescribed by law and upon executing, depositing, and filing at the
notary's own expense, the required official bond, may demand or receive the
fees prescribed by law for services rendered by the notary in matters not
pertaining to such public business. [L 1931, c 136, §1; RL 1935, §5210; am L
1941, c 322, §6; am L 1943, c 173, pt of §1; RL 1945, §7677; RL 1955, §168-17;
HRS §456-18; gen ch 1985; am L 1998, c 290, §7]