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H0332......................................................by STATE AFFAIRS NEWSPAPERS - Amends existing law to revise provisions relating to qualifications of newspapers to print legal notices; to provide legislative findings; and to provide for a task force. 03/14 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing 03/15 Rpt prt - to St Aff 03/18 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg 03/21 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg 03/22 3rd rdg - FAILED - 33-36-1 AYES -- Andrus, Barrett, Bastian, Bayer, Bedke, Bell, Bilbao, Black, Block, Bolz, Bradford, Crow, Deal, Ellsworth, Field(18), Field(23), Garrett, Hart, Henderson, Jones, McKague, Miller, Moyle, Raybould, Ring, Rydalch, Schaefer, Shirley, Skippen, Smylie, Stevenson, Trail, Mr. Speaker NAYS -- Anderson, Barraclough, Boe, Cannon, Chadderdon, Clark, Collins, Denney, Edmunson(Barker), Eskridge, Harwood, Henbest, Jaquet, Kemp, Lake, LeFavour, Loertscher, Martinez, Mathews, McGeachin, Mitchell, Nielsen, Nonini, Pasley-Stuart, Pence, Ringo, Rusche, Sali, Sayler, Shepherd(2), Shepherd(8), Smith(30), Smith(24), Snodgrass, Wills, Wood Absent and excused -- Roberts Floor Sponsors - Smylie & Deal Filed in Office of the Chief Clerk
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]] Fifty-eighth Legislature First Regular Session - 2005IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 332 BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO LEGAL NOTICE PUBLICATION REQUIREMENTS; AMENDING SECTION 60-106, 3 IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE PROVISIONS RELATING TO QUALIFICATIONS OF NEWSPAPERS 4 TO PRINT LEGAL NOTICES; TO PROVIDE LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND TO PROVIDE FOR 5 A TASK FORCE; AMENDING SECTION 60-106, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE PROVISIONS 6 RELATING TO QUALIFICATIONS OF NEWSPAPERS TO PRINT LEGAL NOTICES; DECLARING 7 AN EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING EFFECTIVE DATES. 8 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 9 SECTION 1. That Section 60-106, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 10 amended to read as follows: 11 60-106. QUALIFICATIONS OF NEWSPAPERS PRINTING LEGAL NOTICES. No legal 12 notice, advertisement or publication of any kind required or provided by the 13 laws of the state of Idaho, to be published in a newspaper, shall be published 14 or have any force or effect, as such, unless the same be published in a news- 15 paper of general interest published in the state of Idaho, and which newspaper 16 if published weekly, has been continuously and uninterruptedly published in 17 the county during a period of seventy-eight (78) consecutive weeks prior to 18 the first publication of the notice, or advertisement, and, if published 19 daily, has been so published as a daily newspaper in the county during a 20 period of twelve (12) consecutive months prior to the first publication of the 21 notice or advertisement; provided that, notwithstanding any other provision of 22 Idaho laws, the term "newspaper of (or having) general circulation," wherever 23 used in Idaho Code as a qualification of newspapers required to be used for 24 the publication of notice, shall mean a "newspaper," as defined in this sec- 25 tion, that is published within the boundaries of the governmental entity 26 wherein the notice is required to be published;and which newspaper has the27largest paid circulation among all newspapers published in that governmental28entity as verified by the sworn statement of average total paid or requested29circulation for the preceding twelve (12) months that was filed on the annual30statement of ownership, management and circulation with the U.S. postal ser-31vice on the date immediately preceding the date of the required publication of32notice;excepting that, where no newspaper is published within the governmen- 33 tal entity required to publish a notice, the term "newspaper of (or having) 34 general circulation" shall meanthea newspaperwith the largest paid circula-35tionpublished within any county in which the governmental entity is located, 36or the newspaper published nearest to the boundaries of the governmental37entityand which newspaper has paid circulation within the governmental entity 38 required to publish a notice and has been selected by that governmental entity 39 for publication of notices; provided, that nothing in this chapter shall 40 invalidate the publication of such notice or advertisement in any newspaper 41 which has simply changed its name, frequency of publication, suspended publi- 42 cation because of an act of God, or public enemy, fire, strike, or other labor 43 dispute, explosion, flood, government prohibition, government requisition of 2 1 essential property, preferential government orders, breakdown, legal acts of 2 public authorities or other acts beyond the control of the publisher for a 3 period of not to exceed six (6) months, or changed the place of publication 4 from one part of the county to another part thereof, without breaking the con- 5 tinuity of its regular issues for the required length of time: and, provided 6 further, that this chapter shall not apply to counties in which no newspaper 7 has been published for the required length of time: provided the term 8 "Newspaper" as used in this section shall apply only to such newspapers of 9 general interest made up of at least four (4) pages of at least five (5) col- 10 umns each, printed from type matter or from "slugs" cast upon the linotype or 11 intertype or similar "slug-casting" machine, or by the process known as 12 "offset," or stereotyped forms of at least seventeen and three-fourths 13 (17 3/4) inches depth; or, if smaller pages, then comprising an equivalent 14 amount of type matter, and which shall have at least two hundred (200) bona 15 fide subscribers living within the county in which the newspaper is published 16 at regular intervals and, in no case, less frequently than once a week; pro- 17 vided that a newspaper produced by the process known as mimeographing or simi- 18 lar methods shall not be deemed a legal newspaper for publications of any 19 kind. And provided further, that any duly qualified newspaper, as hereinbefore 20 defined, shall not forfeit its standing as such by reason of the fact that it 21 has suspended publication for all or any part of the period during which the 22 United States has been or shall be engaged in the prosecution of any war, or 23 for one (1) year following the date of the proclamation of the President of 24 the United States declaring that this nation is no longer at war, or the ter- 25 mination of a state of war shall be otherwise established. And if any such 26 newspaper shall resume regular publication within one (1) year from the date 27 when the termination of the state of war shall be so established, it shall 28 then be as fully qualified to publish any legal notice, advertisement, or pub- 29 lication required to be published by the laws of the state of Idaho, as if 30 such newspaper had not suspended regular publication during the above men- 31 tioned period of time. 32 No newspaper shall qualify under this section unless the same shall hold a 33 valid second class mailing permit from the United States Post Office. Any 34 violations of the previous requirements of this section concerning printing of 35 newspapers other than in the governmental entity in which a notice or adver- 36 tisement is required to be printed are hereby excused and any advertisement 37 published in any such newspapers is hereby validated. 38 SECTION 2. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. (1) The Idaho Legislature hereby finds 39 that a review of the laws relating to the publication of official governmental 40 and nongovernmental notices by interested parties is appropriate. 41 (2) Therefore, the Idaho Legislature requests that representatives of the 42 Secretary of State, the Idaho State Bar, the Association of Idaho Cities, the 43 Association of Idaho Counties, and daily and weekly newspapers published 44 within the state form a task force to review existing statutory official gov- 45 ernmental and nongovernmental notice requirements, the qualifications of news- 46 papers authorized to publish such notices, and the compensation rates for such 47 notices. The task force is requested to consult with the chairs of the Senate 48 State Affairs Committee, the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee, the House 49 of Representatives State Affairs Committee and the House of Representatives 50 Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee concerning the progress of the 51 task force's review during the interim between the First and Second Regular 52 Sessions of the Fifty-eighth Idaho Legislature. The task force is further 53 requested to present its findings together with recommended legislation, if 54 any, to the Second Regular Session of the Fifty-eighth Idaho Legislature. 3 1 SECTION 3. That Section 60-106, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 2 amended to read as follows: 3 60-106. QUALIFICATIONS OF NEWSPAPERS PRINTING LEGAL NOTICES. No legal 4 notice, advertisement or publication of any kind required or provided by the 5 laws of the state of Idaho, to be published in a newspaper, shall be pub- 6 lished or have any force or effect, as such, unless the same be published in a 7 newspaper of general interest published in the state of Idaho, and which news- 8 paper if published weekly, has been continuously and uninterruptedly published 9 in the county during a period of seventy-eight (78) consecutive weeks prior to 10 the first publication of the notice, or advertisement, and, if published 11 daily, has been so published as a daily newspaper in the county during a 12 period of twelve (12) consecutive months prior to the first publication of the 13 notice or advertisement; provided that, notwithstanding any other provision of 14 Idaho laws, the term "newspaper of (or having) general circulation," wherever 15 used in Idaho Code as a qualification of newspapers required to be used for 16 the publication of notice, shall mean a "newspaper," as defined in this sec- 17 tion, that is published within the boundaries of the governmental entity 18 wherein the notice is required to be published and which newspaper has the 19 largest paid circulation among all newspapers published in that governmental 20 entity as verified by the sworn statement of average total paid or requested 21 circulation for the preceding twelve (12) months that was filed on the annual 22 statement of ownership, management and circulation with the U.S. postal ser- 23 vice on the date immediately preceding the date of the required publication of 24 notice; excepting that, where no newspaper is published within the governmen- 25 tal entity required to publish a notice, the term "newspaper of (or having) 26 general circulation" shall meanathe newspaper with the largest paid circula- 27 tion published within any county in which the governmental entity is located, 28and which newspaper has paid circulation within the governmental entity29required to publish a notice and has been selected by that governmental entity30for publication of noticesor the newspaper published nearest to the bound- 31 aries of the governmental entity; provided, that nothing in this chapter shall 32 invalidate the publication of such notice or advertisement in any newspaper 33 which has simply changed its name, frequency of publication, suspended publi- 34 cation because of an act of God, or public enemy, fire, strike, or other labor 35 dispute, explosion, flood, government prohibition, government requisition of 36 essential property, preferential government orders, breakdown, legal acts of 37 public authorities or other acts beyond the control of the publisher for a 38 period of not to exceed six (6) months, or changed the place of publication 39 from one part of the county to another part thereof, without breaking the con- 40 tinuity of its regular issues for the required length of time: and, provided 41 further, that this chapter shall not apply to counties in which no newspaper 42 has been published for the required length of time: provided the term 43 "Newspaper" as used in this section shall apply only to such newspapers of 44 general interest made up of at least four (4) pages of at least five (5) col- 45 umns each, printed from type matter or from "slugs" cast upon the linotype or 46 intertype or similar "slug-casting" machine, or by the process known as 47 "offset," or stereotyped forms of at least seventeen and three-fourths 48 (17 3/4) inches depth; or, if smaller pages, then comprising an equivalent 49 amount of type matter, and which shall have at least two hundred (200) bona 50 fide subscribers living within the county in which the newspaper is published 51 at regular intervals and, in no case, less frequently than once a week; pro- 52 vided that a newspaper produced by the process known as mimeographing or simi- 53 lar methods shall not be deemed a legal newspaper for publications of any 54 kind. And provided further, that any duly qualified newspaper, as hereinbefore 4 1 defined, shall not forfeit its standing as such by reason of the fact that it 2 has suspended publication for all or any part of the period during which the 3 United States has been or shall be engaged in the prosecution of any war, or 4 for one (1) year following the date of the proclamation of the President of 5 the United States declaring that this nation is no longer at war, or the ter- 6 mination of a state of war shall be otherwise established. And if any such 7 newspaper shall resume regular publication within one (1) year from the date 8 when the termination of the state of war shall be so established, it shall 9 then be as fully qualified to publish any legal notice, advertisement, or pub- 10 lication required to be published by the laws of the state of Idaho, as if 11 such newspaper had not suspended regular publication during the above men- 12 tioned period of time. 13 No newspaper shall qualify under this section unless the same shall hold a 14 valid second class mailing permit from the United States Post Office. Any 15 violations of the previous requirements of this section concerning printing of 16 newspapers other than in the governmental entity in which a notice or adver- 17 tisement is required to be printed are hereby excused and any advertisement 18 published in any such newspapers is hereby validated. 19 SECTION 4. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby 20 declared to exist, Sections 1 and 2 of this act shall be in full force and 21 effect on and after passage and approval; Section 3 of this act shall be in 22 full force and effect on and after January 1, 2007.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE RS 15153 In 1994, the Legislature amended laws relating to the qualification of newspapers to publish legal notices on behalf of political subdivisions, relating to the business of the governmental unit, and legal notices published on behalf of private persons, for matters relating to publication of summons, notice to creditors in estate matters, foreclosure of trust deeds and other private matters. The change of law, in 1994, required that such notices be published only in the newspaper having the largest circulation within the political subdivision. Many of the smaller newspapers in the state were not aware of the 1994 change in law, and have continued to print notices as requested by banks, attorneys, trustees and other business entities. This statute will not correct or excuse previous erroneous publications. However the bill will do the following: Create a non-legislative Task Force consisting of representatives of the Idaho State Bar, the Idaho Association of Counties, the Idaho Association of Cities, and daily and weekly newspapers published within the state to study and make recommendations to the Legislature concerning various matters relating to such publications, including the qualification of newspapers to publish legal notices. The Task Force is requested to maintain communication with the Chairs of the germane legislative committees during the interim and to report its recommendations to the next legislative session. During the interim, and to allow the legislature the opportunity to act on the recommendations, the law as it existed prior to 1994, would be in effect. During this period, legal notices may be published in the daily or weekly newspaper chosen by the person or entity giving notice. The newspaper chosen must be a legal newspaper, except for the fact that the newspaper may not have the largest circulation in the county. If the next session of the legislature does not change the law as it has existed between 1994 and the present date, or otherwise amend this bill, on January 1, 2007, the law will revert to the present requirement that legal publications may only be made in that newspaper having the largest circulation in the county or other political unit. FISCAL NOTE There is no fiscal impact Contact Name: Bill Roden Phone: (208) 336-7930 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 332