1-1     By:  Chavez, Garcia (Senate Sponsor - West)           H.B. No. 3134
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 23, 2001;
 1-3     April 24, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Jurisprudence; May 8, 2001, reported favorably by the following
 1-5     vote:  Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 8, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to certain conduct of notaries public; providing a
 1-9     penalty.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1.  Section 406.017, Government Code, is amended to
1-12     read as follows:
1-13           Sec. 406.017.  REPRESENTATION AS ATTORNEY.  (a)  A person
1-14     commits an offense if the person is a notary public and the person:
1-15                 (1)  states or implies that the person is an attorney
1-16     licensed to practice law in this state;
1-17                 (2)  solicits or accepts compensation to prepare
1-18     documents for or otherwise represent the interest of another in a
1-19     judicial or administrative proceeding, including a proceeding
1-20     relating to immigration to the United States, United States
1-21     citizenship, or related matters;
1-22                 (3)  solicits or accepts compensation to obtain relief
1-23     of any kind on behalf of another from any officer, agency, or
1-24     employee of this state or the United States;
1-25                 (4)  uses the phrase "notario" or "notario publico" to
1-26     advertise the services of a notary public, whether by signs,
1-27     pamphlets, stationery, or other written communication or by radio
1-28     or television; or
1-29                 (5)  [who is not an attorney and who] advertises the
1-30     services of a notary public in a language other than English,
1-31     whether by signs, pamphlets, stationery, or other written
1-32     communication or by radio or television, if the person does not
1-33     [shall] post or otherwise include with the advertisement a notice
1-34     that complies with Subsection (b) [the notary public is not an
1-35     attorney].
1-36           (b)  The notice required by Subsection (a)(5) must state that
1-37     the notary public is not an attorney and must be in English and in
1-38     the language of the advertisement and in letters of a conspicuous
1-39     size.  If the advertisement is by radio or television, the
1-40     statement may be modified, but must include substantially the same
1-41     message.  The notice must include the fees that a notary public may
1-42     charge and the following statement:
1-43           "I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY LICENSED TO PRACTICE LAW IN TEXAS AND
1-44     MAY NOT GIVE LEGAL ADVICE OR ACCEPT FEES FOR LEGAL ADVICE."
1-45           (c)  It is an exception to prosecution under this section
1-46     that, at the time of the conduct charged, the person is licensed to
1-47     practice law in this state and in good standing with the State Bar
1-48     of Texas.
1-49           (d)  Except as provided by Subsection (e) of this section, an
1-50     offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
1-51           (e)  An offense under this section is a felony of the third
1-52     degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the
1-53     defendant has previously been convicted under this section [Literal
1-54     translation of the phrase "Notary Public" into Spanish is
1-55     prohibited.  In this subsection, "literal translation" means the
1-56     translation of a word or phrase without regard to the true meaning
1-57     of the word or phrase in the language that is being translated].
1-58           (f) [(d)]  Failure to comply with this section is, in
1-59     addition to a violation of any other applicable law of this state,
1-60     a deceptive trade practice actionable under Chapter 17, Business &
1-61     Commerce Code.
1-62           SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies
1-63     only to the punishment for an offense committed on or after the
1-64     effective date of this Act.  For purposes of this section, an
 2-1     offense is committed before the effective date of this Act if any
 2-2     element of the offense occurs before the effective date.
 2-3           (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this
 2-4     Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
 2-5     and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
 2-6           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
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