Bill Text: PA HB795 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: In legal advertising, further providing for additional publication in legal journals; and providing for electronic publication of legal advertising.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-10)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-03-09 - Referred to COMMERCE [HB795 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-HB795-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 911
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 795 Session of2009
INTRODUCED BY McILVAINE SMITH, KILLION, CALTAGIRONE, BARRAR, P. COSTA, CREIGHTON, GIBBONS, MAHER, GRUCELA, MUSTIO, HALUSKA, REICHLEY, KORTZ, ROSS, MANN, READSHAW, SANTONI, SIPTROTH, WALKO, WHITE, YOUNGBLOOD AND KULA, MARCH 9, 2009
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, MARCH 9, 2009
AN ACT
Amending Title 45 (Legal Notices) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in legal advertising, further
providing for additional publication in legal journals; and
providing for electronic publication of legal advertising.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 308(a) of Title 45 of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:
§ 308. Additional publication in legal journals.
(a) General rule.--Except as otherwise provided by statute,
every notice or advertisement required by law or rule of court
to be published in one or more newspapers of general circulation
or permitted by section 403 (relating to authorization) to be
electronically published, unless dispensed with by special order
of court, shall also be published in the legal newspaper, issued
at least weekly, in the county, designated by rules of court for
the publication of court or other legal notices, if such
newspaper exists. Publication in such legal newspaper shall be
made as often as required to be made in such newspapers in
general circulation, and shall be subject to the same
stipulations and regulations as those imposed for the like
services upon all newspapers.
* * *
Section 2. Title 45 is amended by adding a chapter to read:
CHAPTER 4
ELECTRONIC PUBLICATION OF LEGAL ADVERTISING
Sec.
401. Scope of chapter.
402. Definitions.
403. Authorization.
404. Election to electronically publish legal notices.
405. Administration.
406. Department responsibilities.
407. Reporting.
§ 401. Scope of chapter.
This chapter relates to public notice modernization.
§ 402. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Center for Local Government Services." The Governor's
Center for Local Government Services within the Department of
Community and Economic Development.
"Department." The Department of Community and Economic
Development of the Commonwealth.
"Electronic publication" or "electronically publish." The
public advertisement of a legal notice in hypertext markup
language (HTML) format, or an equivalent language format, on an
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official Internet website in accordance with this chapter.
"Government unit." Any municipality, school district, local
authority or council of government or similar intergovernmental
cooperative entity.
"Legal notice" or "notice." A notice, advertisement,
publication, statement or report or an abstract of a notice,
advertisement, publication, statement or report required by law,
rule or regulation to be published in a newspaper relating to
any of the following:
(1) A meeting of the governing body of the government
unit or its committees.
(2) An ordinance or resolution.
(3) A budget, auditor's report or financial statement.
(4) A contract, agreement, request for bids or proposals
or other documentation related to the procurement of
supplies, services or construction.
(5) A sale of real or personal property.
(6) A proceeding requiring public notice in accordance
with the act of July 31, 1968 (P.L.805, No.247), known as the
Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.
(7) A proceeding requiring public notice in accordance
with applicable laws governing zoning or subdivision and land
development in municipalities not subject to the act of July
31, 1968 (P.L.805, No.247), known as the Pennsylvania
Municipalities Planning Code.
"Notice website." An official Internet website or other
Internet website that is maintained by a government unit or by a
third party under contract with the government unit that
contains links to the legal notices electronically published by
the government unit designated for publication of notices.
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"Official Internet website" or "official website." The
official Internet location designated by a government unit as
its primary source of information about the government unit.
§ 403. Authorization.
(a) General rule.--In accordance with the provisions of this
chapter, a government unit which publishes notices and
advertisements consistent with section 308 (relating to
additional publication in legal journals) shall have the
authority to electronically publish legal notices in lieu of
newspaper advertisements required under Chapter 3 (relating to
legal advertising) or any other law.
(b) Effect of electronic publication.--Electronic
publication in accordance with this chapter shall substitute for
and satisfy the requirements for publication of legal notice in
newspapers of general circulation by a government unit imposed
by any other provision of law.
§ 404. Election to electronically publish legal notices.
(a) Ordinance or resolution.--A government unit may, by
ordinance or resolution, elect to electronically publish legal
notices in accordance with this chapter. The ordinance or
resolution shall be adopted prior to electronic publication.
(b) Specification of notices.--The ordinance or resolution
adopted under subsection (a) shall specify which type of legal
notices are subject to electronic publication under this
chapter.
(c) Center for Local Government Services.--Within 90 days of
the enactment of an ordinance or resolution under subsection
(a), the government unit shall furnish the Center for Local
Government Services a copy of the ordinance or resolution and
all Internet website addresses applicable to the electronic
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publication of legal notices for compilation and posting.
(d) Newspaper publication.--
(1) After adopting an ordinance or resolution under
subsection (a), and prior to electronically publishing any
legal notices, the government unit shall publish a legal
advertisement once a week for four successive weeks in one or
more newspapers of general circulation within the
jurisdiction of the government unit, announcing that certain
legal notices will in the future be posted on the government
unit's notice website in the following form:
Internet Posting of Public Notices: (name of government
unit).
The (name of government unit) announces that legal
notices on the following matters, effective (insert
date), shall no longer be advertised by newspaper
publication but shall be posted on (Internet address for
the notice website or the notice website of the county in
which the government unit is located, if necessary). The
following types of notices shall be subject to electronic
publication: (the advertisement shall then list the legal
notices that the government unit's governing body has
elected to publish electronically).
Free public access to the Internet is available at
(list locations within, adjacent to or accessible to the
government unit).
If someone is unable to access the Internet,
individual copies of notices can be obtained by calling
(insert appropriate government unit phone number).
(2) If, after a good faith attempt to comply with the
newspaper publication requirement of paragraph (1), the
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governmental unit fails to obtain publication of the notice
required by this subsection in any newspaper of general
circulation within the jurisdiction of the governmental unit,
the governmental unit may publish the required notice at
least once in the legal journal of a county within which the
governmental unit is located and shall post the required
notice on its official Internet website and at the principal
office of the governmental unit.
(e) Additional advertisement.--In addition to the newspaper
publication required by subsection (d), a government unit may,
from time to time, advertise by newspaper or other means the
fact that it is electronically publishing specific legal notices
as identified in the advertisement.
§ 405. Administration.
A government unit which has elected to provide electronic
publication of legal notices shall comply with all of the
following requirements:
(1) Prior to electronically publishing notices, a
government unit or a contractor providing the notice website
shall enter into a service level agreement with an Internet
service provider that guarantees the website is accessible to
the public over the Internet at least 98% of the time, 24
hours a day, 365 days a year.
(2) All notices electronically published shall be
available for review in printed form in the appropriate
office of the government unit. The government unit shall
provide a copy of the notice to any individual. The notice
may be provided at cost.
(3) (i) A government unit's official Internet website
shall prominently display the link to any other notice
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website. The notice website shall include an indexed web
page containing a list of all current electronically
published notices of the government unit, with links to
the full text of those notices. The index web page shall
also contain a search function and may contain other
features that improve public accessibility to
electronically published notices.
(ii) If a government unit does not have an official
Internet website, the county in which the government unit
is located may agree, under terms and conditions as the
county may require, to provide space on the Internet
website of the county necessary to serve as the
government unit's notice website for purposes of this
chapter. In the case of an agreement, the publication
required by section 404 (relating to election to
electronically publish legal notices) shall include the
county's official Internet website address.
(4) (i) An e-mail address of the government unit shall
be displayed on any website on which legal notices are
provided and on each page of any official Internet
website that contains a link to each notice website or
index page of any notice website.
(ii) The government unit shall review all complaints
reported under paragraph (1) to determine the cause of
any access problem and shall document the findings and
any action taken to resolve it.
(iii) The government unit shall keep and make
available for public inspection all records of complaints
and service accessibility failures reported under
paragraph (1). The documentation shall also be filed with
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the Center for Local Government Services.
(5) (i) Electronic publication shall first be made on
any date permitted by law for the initial printed
publication of the legal notice and shall remain
electronically published at least until the last date
that printed publication could be made in accordance with
law.
(ii) Electronic publication for the period specified
under subparagraph (i) shall be sufficient for purposes
of certification of publication under paragraph (6).
(iii) A government unit that electronically
publishes a notice for the period under subparagraph (i)
may do any of the following:
(A) Continue to electronically publish the
notice for up to 180 days after the last date for
publication under subparagraph (i).
(B) Provide for the printed publication of the
notice in a newspaper.
(6) (i) The government unit shall provide for
certification indicating that the legal notice was
electronically published for the period required under
paragraph (5)(i) and the beginning and ending dates of
the continuous electronic publication of the legal
notice. The certification shall be a printed or written
statement, identifying the Internet website on which the
electronically published notice was posted. A copy of the
legal notice, exactly as electronically published, shall
be attached to the certification. The certification shall
also state that all of the allegations of the statement
as to the time, place and character of publication are
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true. The certification shall be signed by an official or
employee of the government unit responsible for
electronically published legal notices and an agent of
the notice website contractor, if applicable.
(ii) The certification shall constitute a public
record as defined in the act of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6,
No.3, known as the Right-to-Know Law.
(iii) The completed certification shall constitute
proof of publication for the purpose of complying with
the requirement for legal notice by a government unit in
accordance with this chapter or any other provision of
law.
(iv) A proof of publication may be rebutted by clear
and convincing evidence establishing that the legal
notice was not electronically published as set forth in
the certification.
(7) The government unit shall maintain a copy of each
legal notice in accordance with standards relating to records
retention established under law, regulation, policy or other
directive.
§ 406. Department responsibilities.
(a) List of government units electing electronic
publication.--As soon as is reasonably possible, after the
effective date of this section, the Center for Local Government
Services shall create and maintain a list of the names and
Internet websites of all government units for which it has
received a copy of an enactment to advertise under this chapter
in accordance with section 404 (relating to election to
electronically publish legal notices). The list shall be
accessible through the department's Internet website and may be
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organized to correspond with any existing database the Center
for Local Government Services may maintain. The list shall
contain links to the government units' official Internet
websites.
(b) List of all notices to be published electronically.--
(1) The government unit shall provide notification of
the electronic publication of a legal notice to the Center
for Local Government Services, in a form and structure
prescribed by the Center for Local Government Services. The
notification shall include the name of the government unit,
the date the notice is published, the subject matter of the
notice and the Internet address to connect to the notice
website.
(2) The Center for Local Government Services shall
maintain a list of all notifications received.
(3) Notifications of the publication of a legal notice
shall remain on the list for at least 24 months. The list
shall be accessible through the department's Internet website
and may be organized to correspond with any existing database
the Center for Local Government Services may maintain. The
department shall use RSS feeds or similar technology to
enable users to receive notification when the list is
updated.
(c) Failure to comply.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, the failure of a government unit to provide notice to
the Center for Local Government Services to maintain lists under
subsections (a) and (b) shall not invalidate any action for
which electronic publication has been made.
§ 407. Reporting.
The department shall prepare a report on the use of this
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chapter 12 months after the effective date of this chapter, and
biannually thereafter. The report shall be posted on the
department's Internet website. Notification of the report's
publication shall be provided to the President pro tempore of
the Senate, the Majority Leader of the Senate, the Minority
Leader of the Senate, the chairman and minority chairman of the
Local Government Committee of the Senate, the Speaker of the
House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the House of
Representatives, the Minority Leader of the House of
Representatives and the chairman and the minority chairman of
the Local Government Committee of the House of Representatives.
Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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