Section 39-4-33 - Criminal penalties(a) A notary public who knowingly and willfully commits any official misconduct is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $5,000 or confined in jail not more than one year, or both fined and confined.(b) A notary public who recklessly or negligently commits any official misconduct is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $1,000.(c) Any person who acts as, or otherwise willfully impersonates, a notary public while not lawfully appointed and commissioned to perform notarial acts is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $5,000 or confined in jail not more than one year, or both fined and confined.(d) Any person who unlawfully possesses a notary's official seal or any papers or copies relating to notarial acts, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $1,000.(e) For the purposes of this section, the term "official misconduct" means any act or conduct that:(1) May result in the denial, refusal to renew, revocation, suspension or condition commission of a notary public pursuant to section twenty-one of this article; or(2) Is prohibited by section twenty-three of this article.Added by 2014 Acts, ch. 133 (HB 4012), eff. 7/1/2014.