2007 WISCONSIN ACT 110 Relating to: notaries public who are not attorneys and providing penalties.

Date of enactment: March 18, 2008
2007 Assembly Bill 468 Date of publication*: April 1, 2008

* Section 991.11, Wisconsin Statutes 2005-06 : Effective date of acts. "Every act and every portion of an act enacted by the legislature over the governor's partial veto which does not expressly prescribe the time when it takes effect shall take effect on the day after its date of publication as designated" by the secretary of state [the date of publication may not be more than 10 working days after the date of enactment].

2007 WISCONSIN ACT 110

An Act to create 137.01 (1) (i), (j) and (k) of the statutes; relating to: notaries public who are not attorneys and providing penalties.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1 . 137.01 (1) (i), (j) and (k) of the statutes are created to read:

137.01 (1) (i) A notary public appointed under this subsection may not do any of the following:

1. State or imply that he or she is an attorney licensed to practice law in this state.

2. Solicit or accept compensation to prepare documents for or otherwise represent the interests of another person in a judicial or administrative proceeding, including a proceeding relating to immigration to the United States or U.S. citizenship.

3. Solicit or accept compensation to obtain relief of any kind on behalf of another person from any officer, agent, or employee of this state, a political subdivision of this state, or the United States.

4. Use the phrase "notario," "notarizaciones," "notarizamos," or "notario publico," or otherwise advertise in a language other than English on signs, pamphlets, stationery, or other written communication, by radio or television, or on the Internet his or her services as a notary public if the advertisement fails to include, in English and the language of the advertisement, all of the following:

a. The statement, if in a written advertisement, in all capital letters and the same type size: "I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY LICENSED TO PRACTICE LAW IN WISCONSIN AND MAY NOT GIVE LEGAL ADVICE OR ACCEPT FEES FOR LEGAL ADVICE." If the advertisement is given orally, the statement may be modified but must include substantially the same message and be understandable.

b. The fees that a notary public may charge under sub. (9).

(j) The prohibitions under par. (i) 2. and 3. do not apply to a notary public who is an accredited representative, as defined in 8 CFR 292.1 (a) (4).

(k) A person who violates par. (i) may be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than 9 months or both. A person who commits a 2nd or subsequent violation of par. (i) may be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than 6 years or both.