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H0173................................by JUDICIARY, RULES AND ADMINISTRATION
NEWSPAPERS - Amends existing law relating to legal notices to revise
provisions applicable to qualifications of newspapers printing legal
notices.
02/12 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/13 Rpt prt - to Jud
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-ninth Legislature First Regular Session - 2007
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 173
BY JUDICIARY, RULES AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO LEGAL NOTICES; AMENDING SECTION 60-106, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE PRO-
3 VISIONS APPLICABLE TO QUALIFICATIONS OF NEWSPAPERS PRINTING LEGAL NOTICES
4 AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
5 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
6 SECTION 1. That Section 60-106, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
7 amended to read as follows:
8 60-106. QUALIFICATIONS OF NEWSPAPERS PRINTING LEGAL NOTICES. (1) No legal
9 notice, advertisement or publication of any kind required or provided by the
10 laws of the state of Idaho, to be published in a newspaper, shall be published
11 or have any force or effect, as such, unless:
12 (a) Tthe same be published in a newspaper of general interest published
13 in the state of Idaho,; and
14 (b) Wwhich newspaper if published weekly, has been continuously and unin-
15 terruptedly published in the county during a period of seventy-eight (78)
16 consecutive weeks prior to the first publication of the notice, or adver-
17 tisement, and, if published daily, has been so published as a daily news-
18 paper in the county during a period of twelve (12) consecutive months
19 prior to the first publication of the notice or advertisement.; provided
20 that, notwithstanding any other provision of Idaho laws,
21 (2) Tthe term "newspaper of, (or having), general circulation," wherever
22 used in Idaho Code as a qualification of newspapers required to be used for
23 the publication of notice, shall mean a "newspaper," as defined in subsection
24 (4) of this section,:
25 (a) Tthat is published within the boundaries of the governmental entity
26 wherein the notice is required to be published; and which newspaper has
27 the largest paid circulation among all newspapers published in that gov-
28 ernmental entity as verified by the sworn statement of average total paid
29 or requested circulation for the preceding twelve (12) months that was
30 filed on the annual statement of ownership, management and circulation
31 with the U.S. postal service on the date immediately preceding the date of
32 the required publication of notice; excepting that, or
33 (b) Wwhere no newspaper is published within the governmental entity
34 required to publish a notice, the term "newspaper of, (or having), general
35 circulation" shall mean the a newspaper with the largest paid circulation
36 published within any county in which the governmental entity is located,
37 or, if no newspaper is published within the county, the newspaper pub-
38 lished nearest to the boundaries of the governmental entity required to
39 publish the notice; provided however, that the term "newspaper of, or hav-
40 ing, general circulation" shall not be interpreted to require a legal
41 notice to be published in a newspaper having the largest circulation
42 unless the statute or court order requiring the publication of such notice
43 specifically provides otherwise with reference to the publication of such
2
1 notice.
2 (3) Nnothing in this chapter shall invalidate the publication of such
3 notice or advertisement in any newspaper which has simply changed its name,
4 frequency of publication, suspended publication because of an act of God, or
5 public enemy, fire, strike, or other labor dispute, explosion, flood, govern-
6 ment prohibition, government requisition of essential property, preferential
7 government orders, breakdown, legal acts of public authorities or other acts
8 beyond the control of the publisher for a period of not to exceed six (6)
9 months, or changed the place of publication from one part of the county to
10 another part thereof, without breaking the continuity of its regular issues
11 for the required length of time: and, provided further, that this chapter
12 shall not apply to counties in which no newspaper has been published for the
13 required length of time.: provided
14 (4) Tthe term "Nnewspaper" as used in this section shall apply only to
15 such newspapers of general interest made up of at least four (4) pages of at
16 least five (5) columns each, printed from type matter or from "slugs" cast
17 upon the linotype or intertype or similar "slug-casting" machine, or by the
18 process known as "offset," or stereotyped forms of at least seventeen and
19 three-fourths (17 3/4) inches depth; or, if smaller pages, then comprising an
20 equivalent amount of type matter, and which shall have at least two hundred
21 (200) bona fide subscribers living within the county in which the newspaper is
22 published at regular intervals and, in no case, less frequently than once a
23 week; provided that a newspaper produced by the process known as mimeographing
24 or similar methods shall not be deemed a legal newspaper for publications of
25 any kind. And provided further, that
26 (5) Aany duly qualified newspaper, as hereinbefore defined, shall not
27 forfeit its standing as such by reason of the fact that it has suspended pub-
28 lication for all or any part of the period during which the United States has
29 been or shall be engaged in the prosecution of any war, or for one (1) year
30 following the date of the proclamation of the Ppresident of the United States
31 declaring that this nation is no longer at war, or the termination of a state
32 of war shall be otherwise established. And if any such newspaper shall resume
33 regular publication within one (1) year from the date when the termination of
34 the state of war shall be so established, it shall then be as fully qualified
35 to publish any legal notice, advertisement, or publication required to be pub-
36 lished by the laws of the state of Idaho, as if such newspaper had not sus-
37 pended regular publication during the above mentioned period of time.
38 (6) No newspaper shall qualify under this section unless the same shall
39 hold a valid second class mailing permit from the United States Ppost Ooffice.
40 Any violations of the previous requirements of this section concerning print-
41 ing of newspapers other than in the governmental entity in which a notice or
42 advertisement is required to be printed are hereby excused and any advertise-
43 ment published in any such newspapers is hereby validated.
44 SECTION 2. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby
45 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after its
46 passage and approval.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS16845
This proposal relates to the publication of legal notices in
newspapers. Section 60-106, Idaho Code, under existing law,
provides a legal definition of "newspaper." In 1994, at the
request of some newspapers in the state, section 60-106,
Idaho Code, was amended to provide, with reference to
publications by governmental entities, that the newspaper
must not only be a legal newspaper, but must also have the
largest circulation in the governmental entity causing the
publication to be made, or if no newspaper is published in
that governmental entity, then in the newspaper with the
largest circulation within the county.
The purpose of this legislation is to provide that notices
shall be published in a newspaper, as defined by current
law, that is published within the governmental entity
required to publish the notice or in another legal newspaper
within the county if no newspaper is published within such
local governmental entity. This amendment removes the
general requirement in section 60-106, Idaho Code, that the
newspaper must have the largest circulation within the local
government area.
However, it does not remove the requirement of other
statutes, such as section 31-819, Idaho Code, requiring the
publication of acts and proceedings of County Commissioners
in the newspaper with the largest circulation in the county.
The amendment continues to require governmental legal
notices to be published in a newspaper having the largest
circulation if the specific statute, or court order
requiring publication of the notice, contains such a
requirement.
Fiscal Note
There is no fiscal impact on state or local funds as a
result of this legislation.
Contact: Rep. Tom Trail
Contact: Bill Roden: Tel: 336-7930
On behalf of Idaho Business Review
Contact: LuJane Nisse Tel: (208)882-0666
Latah Eagle, Moscow, ID
Contact: Mike Stewart: Tel: (208) 382-3233
Long Valley Advocate, Cascade, ID
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 173