Section 32-3-118 - Audiovisual recordings; journal; security(a) If a notarial act is performed using an electronic notarization system or other form of communication technology, the notarial officer shall make an audiovisual recording of the entire communication.(b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, a notarial officer shall keep sole possession of an audiovisual recording.(c) An audiovisual recording may be examined and copied by a law enforcement officer in the course of an official investigation, subpoenaed by court order or surrendered at the direction of the secretary of state.(d) A notary public shall maintain one (1) or more journals in which the notary public chronicles all notarial acts that the notary public performs.(e) A journal may be created on a tangible medium or in an electronic format to chronicle all notarial acts, whether those notarial acts are performed regarding tangible or electronic records.(f) A notary public is responsible for the security of the notary public's journal. A notary public shall keep the journal and all other notarial records in a secure area under the sole control of the officer and surrender or destroy them only as authorized by statute, rule, court order or at the direction of the secretary of state.(g) A notary public shall not allow the notary public's journal to be used by any other notarial officer and shall not surrender the journal to an employer upon termination of employment without the approval of the secretary of state. An employer may retain a copy of the journal of an employee who is a notary public after the officer's employment ceases if the journal contains records of notarial acts performed within the scope of the officer's employment.(h) A journal may be examined and copied by a law enforcement officer in the course of an official investigation, if subpoenaed by court order or at the direction of the secretary of state.(j) A notary public shall promptly notify the secretary of state, in a manner required by the secretary of state, upon discovering that the notary public's journal is lost or stolen.(k) On the death or adjudication of incompetency of a current or former notary public, the notary public's personal representative or guardian or any other person knowingly in possession of the notary public's journal or audiovisual recordings may transmit all journals and recordings to the secretary of state.Added by Laws 2021 , ch. 27, § 1, eff. 7/1/2021.