Substitute House Bill No. 6812 seeks to amend the regulations surrounding the publication of municipal legal notices in Connecticut. The bill introduces new definitions for key terms, including "chief elected official," "municipality," and "sufficient circulation," which is defined as a readership of at least 15% of households in a municipality based on the latest decennial census. It allows 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. Starting July 1, 2027, municipalities are required to maintain legal notices on their websites for at least 90 days, ensuring greater accessibility to the public.

The bill modifies existing laws by replacing the requirement for a newspaper with "a substantial circulation" with the new standard of "sufficient circulation." It also includes provisions that protect municipalities from invalidating legal notices due to errors not attributable to them, provided they have adhered to the bill's requirements. Furthermore, the bill expands the authority for publishing required notices in free weekly papers to include local ordinances or regulations, although this provision will expire at the beginning of the transition period. The bill is set to take effect on October 1, 2025, and may impose costs on municipalities as they adapt to the new publication requirements.

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