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May 18, 2000 OPINION 00-184 Mr. Steve Hawkland Office of the Secretary of State P. O. Box 94125 Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9125 Dear Mr. Hawkland: In your correspondence to this office of recent date you ask whether or not R.S. 35:399 authorizes private and public colleges and universities to appoint ex-officio notaries for their campus police departments. R.S. 35:399 provides: § 399. Ex officio notaries for police departments A. Notwithstanding any provisions of the law relative to qualifications of notaries public, each chief of police may designate officers in his office and appoint them as ex officio notaries public. B. Each officer so appointed may exercise, in the municipality that the police department serves, the functions of a notary pubic only to administer oaths and execute affidavits, acknowledgements, and other documents, all limited to matters within the official functions of the police department for the enforcement of the provisions of any statute which provides for criminal penalties and of the municipal ordinances which the police department is charged with enforcing. C. Each ex officio notary public shall fulfill the same bond requirements as provided by law for notaries in the parish in which the municipality is located. The municipality shall pay as an expense of the office of the chief of police the costs of the notarial seal, the notarial bond, and any fees required for filing the bond. D. All acts performed by each ex officio notary public authorized by this Section shall be performed without charge or other compensation. E. The chief of police may suspend or terminate an appointment made pursuant to this Section at any time, and separation from the employ of the police department shall automatically terminate the powers of the ex officio notary public. (Emphasis added). It is the opinion of this office that R.S. 35:399 is applicable only to municipal police departments and not to campus police departments. 71 MUNICIPALITIES 72 NOTARIES – Appointments & Qualifications LSA-R.S. 35:399 LSA-R.S. 35:399 does not provide authority for colleges or universities to appoint ex officio notaries public for their campus police departments. Mr. Steve Hawkland OPINION #00-184 Page 2 In accord is Attorney General Opinion 93-271, in which the author concluded that R.S. 35:399 does not provide authority for either town clerks or mayors to appoint ex officio notaries for their respective offices, and as applicable here, specifically determined that R.S. 35:399 “is applicable only to police departments and only for the purposes stated”. Very truly yours, RICHARD P. IEYOUB ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: ________________________________ KERRY L. KILPATRICK ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL KLK:ams Mr. Steve Hawkland OPINION #00-184 Page 3 Opinion 00-184 73 MUNICIPALITIES 74 NOTARIES – Appointments & Qualifications LSA-R.S. 35:399 LSA-R.S. 35:399 does not provide authority for colleges or universities to appoint ex officio notaries public for their campus police departments. Mr. Steve Hawkland Office of the Secretary of State P. O. Box 94125 Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9125 Date Received: Date Released: May 18, 2000 KERRY L. KILPATRICK ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL