On January 28, Associate Policy Director Sarah Sample testified before the Judiciary Committee in support of HB 10 – Legal Advertisement or Legal Notice – Publication in Newspaper or Newspaper in General Circulation – Digital Newspapers with amendments.
This bill authorizes a county to publish required public notices in a qualifying newspaper or digital publication to maintain compliance with state law. This creates both cost savings and more flexibility for local governments in meeting this requirement. Counties request adding a flexible alternative for digital publication so that the statute remains feasible and adaptable as digital media continues to evolve.
Currently, certain legal notices and advertisements often required of local governments must be published in a “newspaper of general circulation.” With fewer print outlets, local governments face challenges in publishing required notices. This bill provides counties with a practical and necessary solution to meet legal notice requirements as traditional newspapers transition to digital formats or cease operations altogether.
In looking to the future and how media may continue to evolve,
counties would offer one clarifying amendment. The bill identifies a very specific type of digital option for publishing notices. However, there is likely to be a time in the future when the options available for publication across all jurisdictions do not meet all the criteria in the bill. To ensure that the changes to this statute will address the challenges of both today and decades to come, counties request the addition of an alternative option for digital publication in the absence of one consistent with the bill’s standards.
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