The proposed legislation, General Assembly Raised Bill No. 7146, aims to modify the requirements for municipalities regarding the publication of legal notices. The bill introduces new definitions, 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 most recent decennial census. It allows municipalities to publish legal notices in weekly newspapers until June 30, 2026, and mandates that from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027, legal notices must be published in either a daily or weekly newspaper with sufficient circulation or, if none exists, on the municipality's website. Starting July 1, 2027, the same requirements will apply, but the publication must be in a newspaper with sufficient circulation if available.

Additionally, the bill outlines the responsibilities of the chief elected official in determining which newspapers have sufficient circulation and selecting one for legal notice publication. It also establishes requirements for municipalities to publish legal notices on their websites, including posting a link for public access and maintaining the notices for at least 90 days. The bill clarifies that errors in published legal notices not attributable to the municipality will not affect the validity of the notice and emphasizes that the time required for legal notice remains unchanged. The effective date for these changes is set for October 1, 2025.

Statutes affected:
Raised Bill: 1-2