Bill Text: IL HB4505 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Notice By Publication Act and the Newspaper Legal Notice Act. Provides, in both of the Acts, that the term "newspaper" also includes any digital publication that (1) is posted on a public-facing website, web application, or digital application, including, but not limited to, a social network, ad network, or search engine, that has 3,000 or more unique monthly United States visitors or users with at least 50% of those visitors from the geographic area for which the notice is required to be published during the immediately preceding 12 months; (2) regularly gathers, prepares, collects, photographs, records, writes, edits, reports, investigates, or publishes news or information that concerns local, national, or international events or other matter of public interest for dissemination to the public; and (3) is paid for by subscribers to the digital publication.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-05 - House Committee Amendment No. 1 Rule 19(c) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB4505 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB4505-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB4505 Introduced , by Rep. Travis Weaver SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
715 ILCS 5/3.1 from Ch. 100, par. 3.1
715 ILCS 5/5 from Ch. 100, par. 5
715 ILCS 10/1 from Ch. 100, par. 10
715 ILCS 10/2 from Ch. 100, par. 10.1
Amends the Notice By Publication Act and the Newspaper Legal Notice Act. Provides, in both of the Acts, that the term "newspaper" also includes any digital publication that (1) is posted on a public-facing website, web application, or digital application, including, but not limited to, a social network, ad network, or search engine, that has 3,000 or more unique monthly United States visitors or users with at least 50% of those visitors from the geographic area for which the notice is required to be published during the immediately preceding 12 months; (2) regularly gathers, prepares, collects, photographs, records, writes, edits, reports, investigates, or publishes news or information that concerns local, national, or international events or other matter of public interest for dissemination to the public; and (3) is paid for by subscribers to the digital publication.
LRB103 36140 LNS 66231 b
A BILL FOR
HB4505 LRB103 36140 LNS 66231 b
AN ACT concerning civil law.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Notice By Publication Act is amended by
changing Sections 3.1 and 5 as follows:
(715 ILCS 5/3.1) (from Ch. 100, par. 3.1)
Sec. 3.1. When any notice is required by law, or order of
court, to be published in any newspaper, publication of such
notice shall, except in the case of a digital publication,
include the printing of such notice in the total circulation
of each edition on the date of publication of the newspaper in
which the notice is published; and the newspaper publishing
the notice shall, at no additional cost to government, cause
the notice to be placed on the statewide website established
and maintained as a joint venture of the majority of Illinois
newspapers as a repository for such notices. All notices
required for publication by this Act shall remain legal and
valid for all purposes when any error that occurs pursuant to
the requirements of this Section for placement of the notice
on the statewide website is the fault of the printer.
(Source: P.A. 100-72, eff. 1-1-18.)
(715 ILCS 5/5) (from Ch. 100, par. 5)

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Sec. 5. When any notice is required by law or contract to
be published in a newspaper (unless otherwise expressly
provided in the contract), it shall be intended to be in a
secular newspaper of general circulation, published in the
city, town or county, or some newspaper specially authorized
by law to publish legal notices, in the city, town, or county.
If there is no newspaper published in the county in which the
city or town is located, notice shall be given in a secular
newspaper, as defined in this Act, that is published in an
adjoining county having general circulation within the city or
town.
Unless otherwise expressly provided in the contract, the
term "newspaper" means a newspaper
(1) (a) which consists of not less than 4 pages of
printed matter and contains at least 100 square inches of
printed matter per page; and
(2) (b) which is printed through the use of one of the
conventional and generally recognized printing processes
such as letterpress, lithography or gravure; and
(3) (c) which annually averages at least 25% news
content per issue; or which annually averages at least
1,000 column inches of news content per issue, the term
"news content" meaning for the purposes of this Act any
printed matter other than advertising; and
(4) (d) which publishes miscellaneous reading matter,
legal or other announcements and notices, and news and

HB4505 - 3 - LRB103 36140 LNS 66231 b
information concerning current happenings and passing
events of a political, social, religious, commercial,
financial or legal nature, and advertisements or
bulletins; and
(5) (e) which has been continuously published at
regular intervals of at least once each week with a
minimum of 50 issues per year, for at least one year prior
to the first publication of the notice; or which is a
successor to a newspaper as herein defined with no
interruption of publication of more than 30 days; or which
is a merged or consolidated newspaper formed by the merger
or consolidation of two or more newspapers, one of which
has been continuously published at regular intervals of at
least once each week with a minimum of 50 issues per year,
for at least one year prior to the first publication of the
notice. A newspaper shall be considered as continuously or
regularly published although its publication has been
suspended, where such suspension was caused by fire or an
Act of God or by a labor dispute or by its owner,
publisher, managing editor or other essential employee
entering the active military service of the United States,
if the newspaper was continuously or regularly published
for at least one year prior to its suspension and if its
publication is resumed at any time not later than 12
months after such fire or Act of God, or if its publication
is resumed at any time within 12 months after the

HB4505 - 4 - LRB103 36140 LNS 66231 b
termination of the labor dispute, or if its publication is
resumed at any time within 12 months after the termination
of the war in connection with which such persons entered
such military service; and
(6) (f) which has the capability of placing notices
required pursuant to this Act on a daily or weekly basis on
the statewide website as required by Section 2.1.
"Newspaper" also includes any digital publication that:
(1) is posted on a public-facing website, web
application, or digital application, including, but not
limited to, a social network, ad network, or search
engine, that has 3,000 or more unique monthly United
States visitors or users with at least 50% of those
visitors from the geographic area for which the notice is
required to be published during the immediately preceding
12 months;
(2) regularly gathers, prepares, collects,
photographs, records, writes, edits, reports,
investigates, or publishes news or information that
concerns local, national, or international events or other
matter of public interest for dissemination to the public;
and
(3) is paid for by subscribers to the digital
publication.
(Source: P.A. 96-59, eff. 7-23-09; 96-1144, eff. 12-31-12.)

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Section 10. The Newspaper Legal Notice Act is amended by
adding Sections 1 and 2 as follows:
(715 ILCS 10/1) (from Ch. 100, par. 10)
Sec. 1. Whenever it is required by law that any legal
notice or publication shall be published in a newspaper in
this State, it shall be held to mean a newspaper
(1) (a) which consists of not less than 4 pages of
printed matter and contains at least 100 square inches of
printed matter per page; and
(2) (b) which is printed through the use of one of the
conventional and generally recognized printing processes
such as letterpress, lithography or gravure; and
(3) (c) which annually averages at least 25% news
content per issue; or which annually averages at least
1,000 column inches of news content per issue, the term
"news content" meaning for the purposes of this Act any
printed matter other than advertising; and
(4) (d) which publishes miscellaneous reading matter,
legal or other announcements and notices, and news and
information concerning current happenings and passing
events of a political, social, religious, commercial,
financial or legal nature, and advertisements or
bulletins; and
(5) (e) which has been continuously published at
regular intervals of at least once each week with a

HB4505 - 6 - LRB103 36140 LNS 66231 b
minimum of 50 issues per year, for at least one year prior
to the first publication of the notice; or which is a
successor to a newspaper as herein defined with no
interruption of publication of more than 30 days; or which
is a merged or consolidated newspaper formed by the merger
or consolidation of two or more newspapers, one of which
has been continuously published at regular intervals of at
least once each week with a minimum of 50 issues per year
for at least one year prior to the first publication of the
notice. A newspaper shall be considered as continuously or
regularly published although its publication has been
suspended, where such suspension was caused by fire or an
Act of God or by a labor dispute or by its owner,
publisher, managing editor or other essential employee
entering the active military service of the United States,
if the newspaper was continuously or regularly published
for at least one year prior to its suspension and if its
publication is resumed at any time not later than 12
months after such fire or Act of God, or if its publication
is resumed at any time within 12 months after the
termination of the labor dispute, or if its publication is
resumed at any time within 12 months after the termination
of the war in connection with which such persons entered
such military service; and
(6) (f) which has the capability of placing, at no
additional cost to government, notices required pursuant

HB4505 - 7 - LRB103 36140 LNS 66231 b
to this Act on a daily or weekly basis on the statewide
website established and maintained as a joint venture by
the majority of Illinois newspapers as a repository for
such notices.
"Newspaper" also includes any digital publication that:
(1) is posted on a public-facing website, web
application, or digital application, including, but not
limited to, a social network, ad network, or search
engine, that has 3,000 or more unique monthly United
States visitors or users with at least 50% of those
visitors from the geographic area for which the notice is
required to be published during the immediately preceding
12 months;
(2) regularly gathers, prepares, collects,
photographs, records, writes, edits, reports,
investigates, or publishes news or information that
concerns local, national, or international events or other
matter of public interest for dissemination to the public;
and
(3) is paid for by subscribers to the digital
publication.
(Source: P.A. 96-59, eff. 7-23-09; 96-1144, eff. 12-31-12.)
(715 ILCS 10/2) (from Ch. 100, par. 10.1)
Sec. 2. When any legal notice is required by law to be
published in any newspaper, such notice shall, except in the

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