Esta ley enmienda la Ley Notarial de Puerto Rico para requerir que los notarios que son servidores públicos incluyan en su índice mensual de actividad notarial el nombre y la dirección de la agencia pública donde trabajan. Esto busca facilitar la detección de posibles incompatibilidades en la actividad notarial de los abogados-notarios empleados por entidades gubernamentales.
(Approved January 8, 2004)
To amend Section 12 of Act No. 75 of July 2, 1987, as amended, known as "Puerto Rico Notarial Act," for the purpose of establishing that when the notary is a public servant, the monthly index on notarial activity shall include the name and address of the public agency where he/she works.
The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico amended Rule 12 of the Puerto Rico Notarial Regulations for the purpose of clarifying that when a notary is a public servant, he/she must state in the monthly index of notarial activity, the name and address of the public body where he/she works.
To such effect our highest judicial forum established that "[t]o facilitate the mission of the Notarial Inspection Office in the process of timely detecting any incompatibility in notarial activities by the attorney-notary employed by a public body, it is necessary for the Registry of Prohibitions kept by the Office (Rule 6 of the Notarial Regulations of 1995) to include the name of the notaries, together with the name of the government body for which they work; it is also necessary to properly differentiate the documents authorized for the public body from those authorized for private practice, when the Agency has authorized the latter." See, In re: Amendment to Rule 12 of the Puerto Rico Notarial Regulations, 2003 T.S.P.R. 5.
This Legislature, in order to maintain uniformity among legislative statutes and regulations, harmonizes the provisions of the amendment to Rule 12 of the Notarial Regulations. In this manner, future confusion shall be prevented at the time of applying the act and the regulations.
Section 1.- Section 12 of Act No. 75 of July 2, 1987, as amended, is amended to read as follows: "Section 12.- Duties of the notary - Monthly indices The notaries shall send a monthly index of their notarial activities to the Office of the Director of Notarial Inspection of Puerto Rico no later than the tenth calendar day of the month following the month reported stating, with respect to the original deeds and affidavits authorized by them during the preceding month, the numerical order of the same, the name of the appearing parties, date, the subject of the instrument or testimony and the name of the witnesses, if any appeared.
In said report, the notary shall certify to having sent the returns to the Treasury Department as required pursuant to Section 11 of this Act.
If the notary has not had any notarial activity during a particular month, he/she shall send a negative report for said month to the Office of the Director of Notarial Inspection.
The monthly index of notarial activity must contain the notary's number, the physical address and telephone of the notarial office. When the notary is a public servant, it shall also contain the name and address of the public agency where he/she works."
Section 2.- This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 23 (H.B. 3688) of the $6^{ ext {th }}$ Session of the $14^{ ext {th }}$ Legislature of Puerto Rico:
AN ACT to amend Section 12 of Act No. 75 of July 2, 1987, as amended, known as "Puerto Rico Notarial Act," for the purpose of establishing that when the notary is a public servant, the monthly index on notarial activity shall include the name and address of the public agency where he/she works, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today $11^{ ext {th }}$ of April of 2005.
Luis E. Fusté-Lacourt Director