2007 Legislation
Print Friendly

HOUSE BILL NO. 173 – Newspapers, legal notices

HOUSE BILL NO. 173

View Bill Status

View Bill Text

View Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact



Text to be added within a bill has been marked with Bold and
Underline. Text to be removed has been marked with
Strikethrough and Italic. How these codes are actually displayed will
vary based on the browser software you are using.

This sentence is marked with bold and underline to show added text.

This sentence is marked with strikethrough and italic, indicating
text to be removed.

Bill Status



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

Bill Text


                                                                        
                                                                        
  ]]]]              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 / Fiscal Impact


                    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