Substitute House Bill No. 6812 seeks to modernize the publication of municipal legal notices in Connecticut by introducing new definitions and a phased approach to publication methods. Key definitions include "chief elected official," "municipality," and "sufficient circulation," which is defined as a readership of at least 15% of households based on the latest decennial census. The bill permits municipalities to publish legal notices in weekly newspapers until June 30, 2026, after which they must publish in either a daily or weekly newspaper with sufficient circulation or on their official website if no such newspaper exists. By July 1, 2027, municipalities must publish legal notices on their websites, and if a newspaper with sufficient circulation is available, they must also publish in that newspaper.

The bill also mandates that chief elected officials assess local newspaper circulation every two years and select a publication for legal notices. It requires municipalities to maintain legal notices on their websites for at least 90 days and clarifies that errors in published notices not attributable to the municipality do not invalidate the notice. The bill deletes previous language that restricted legal notice publication to daily newspapers and replaces it with the new definition of "sufficient circulation." Overall, the bill aims to enhance transparency and accessibility in the legal notice publication process while ensuring compliance with updated standards. The effective date of the bill is set for October 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
PD Joint Favorable Substitute: 1-2
File No. 719: 1-2