Bill Text: VA HB728 | 2018 | Regular Session | Prefiled
Bill Title: Newspapers; alters requirements that may be used for legal notices and publications.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-02-15 - Left in Courts of Justice [HB728 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2018-HB728-Prefiled.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §8.01-324 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§8.01-324. Newspapers that may be used for legal notices and publications.
A. Whenever any ordinance, resolution, notice, or advertisement is required by law to be published in a newspaper, such newspaper, in addition to any qualifications otherwise required by law, shall:
1. Have a bona fide
list of paying subscribers;
2.
Have been published and circulated at least once a week for
twenty-four consecutive weeks without interruption at least 50 of the preceding 52 weeks
for the dissemination of news of a general or legal character;
3. 2. Have a
general circulation in and news coverage
of the area in which the notice is required to be published. As used in this section, "general
circulation" means having a list of paying or requesting subscribers that
is equal to or greater than five percent of the area's households;
4. 3. Be
printed in the English language; and
5. 4. Have a
second-class mailing permit issued by the United States Postal Service (USPS), publish the USPS
Statement of Ownership (Form 3526) in such newspaper at least once per calendar
year, and maintain a copy of such form that is available for
public inspection during the regular
business hours of such newspaper.
B. However, a newspaper which that does not have a
second-class mailing permit, or does not meet
the general circulation and news coverage requirement, may
petition the circuit court for the jurisdiction in which
the newspaper is located
such ordinances, resolutions, notices,
or advertisements are to be published
for authority to publish such
ordinances, resolutions, notices, or
advertisements. Prior to filing the petition, the newspaper shall publish a
notice of intention to file a petition pursuant to this section in a newspaper
published or having general circulation in the jurisdiction in which the
petition will be filed. The court shall grant the authority for a period of one
year upon finding that the newspaper (i) meets the requirements of subdivisions
A 2, A 1 and 3, and A 4;
(ii) has been continually published for at least one
year, employs a full-time news
staff, reports local current events and governmental meetings, has an editorial
page, accepts letters to the editor,
and is, in general, a news forum for the community in which
it is circulated authority is
sought; (iii) has a circulation within the community to which the publication is directed for which authority is sought and
maintains permanent records of the fact and substance of the publication; and
(iv) has an audit of circulation for a time period
ending no more than 24 months prior to the filing of such petition
certified by an independent auditing firm or a business recognized in the
newspaper industry as a circulation auditor.
Such audit shall provide a
breakdown of such newspaper's distribution by zip code.
The authority shall be continued for successive one-year periods upon the
filing of a copy of such
newspaper's most recent audit of circulation and an affidavit certifying that the newspaper continues to
meet the requirements of this subsection.
C. If a county with a population of less than 15,000 had
regularly advertised its ordinances, resolutions, or
notices in a newspaper published in the county which that had a general circulation
in the county, a bona fide list of paying subscribers, a
second class second-class
mailing permit,
and the newspaper continued to be published in the county and continued to have
a general circulation in the county but failed to maintain its bona fide list
of paying subscribers and its second class second-class mailing permit,
any advertisement of ordinances, resolutions, or
notices in the newspaper by the county shall be deemed to have been in
compliance with this section.
D. If a locality determines that no newspaper published in such locality meets the requirements of subsection A or B, such locality may petition the circuit court for the jurisdiction in which such ordinances, resolutions, notices, or advertisements are to be published for authority to have such ordinances, resolutions, notices, or advertisements published in another newspaper. No such petition shall be filed without a majority vote of approval by such locality's local governing body. The court shall grant such authority for good cause shown. Such authority shall be granted for one year and may be continued for successive one-year periods for good cause shown.
E. Any newspaper authorized by this section to publish ordinances, resolutions, notices, or advertisements shall additionally (i) publish and make available to the public on a searchable, statewide, online database such ordinances, resolutions, notices, or advertisements; (ii) maintain at least three years' worth of print archives of such newspaper containing any such ordinance, resolution, notice, or advertisement and make such archives available to the public for inspection upon request; and (iii) publish such ordinances, resolutions, notices, or advertisements in a prominent location in such newspaper with an identifying heading printed in boldface letters no smaller than 24-point type.
