100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
HB0782

 

Introduced , by Rep. Joe Sosnowski

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
715 ILCS 5/2.2 new
715 ILCS 5/3.1  from Ch. 100, par. 3.1
715 ILCS 5/5  from Ch. 100, par. 5
715 ILCS 5/2.1 rep.
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. Provides that whenever a governmental unit, community college district, or school district is required to provide notice by publication in a newspaper by law, order of court, or contract, the governmental unit may publish the notice on an official government website instead of in a newspaper. Provides conditions concerning the availability and format of the notice webpage. Repeals a Section concerning the placement of published notices on a statewide website and makes corresponding changes throughout the Act and in the Newspaper Legal Notice Act. Effective immediately.


LRB100 05968 HEP 15996 b

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB0782LRB100 05968 HEP 15996 b

1    AN ACT concerning notices.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Notice By Publication Act is amended by
5changing Sections 3.1 and 5 and by adding Section 2.2 as
6follows:
 
7    (715 ILCS 5/2.2 new)
8    Sec. 2.2. Electronic publication.
9    (a) Whenever a governmental unit, community college
10district, or school district is required to provide notice by
11publication in a newspaper by law, order of court, or contract,
12the governmental unit, community college district, or school
13district may publish the notice on an official government
14website instead of in a newspaper.
15    (b) The governmental unit, community college district, or
16school district, or the host of the notice website, shall enter
17into a service-level agreement with an Internet service
18provider that guarantees the site is accessible to the public
19over the Internet at least 98% of the time, 24 hours a day, 365
20days a year.
21    (c) The official Internet website of the governmental unit,
22community college district, or school district shall
23prominently display a link to the notice web page, which shall

 

 

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1be an index web page, containing a list of all current legal
2notices of the unit or district, with links to the full text of
3those notices. The index web page shall also contain a search
4function and other features that improve public accessibility
5to legal notices.
6    (d) Whenever an individual is unable to access an
7electronic publication of a legal notice, the issuing
8governmental unit, community college district, or school
9district shall provide a copy of the notice to the individual
10free of charge.
11    (e) Notices shall remain available on the website at least
12until the last posting date required by law has expired or
13until the event described in a notice has taken place,
14whichever is later.
 
15    (715 ILCS 5/3.1)  (from Ch. 100, par. 3.1)
16    Sec. 3.1. When any notice is required by law, or order of
17court, to be published in any newspaper, publication of such
18notice shall include the printing of such notice in the total
19circulation of each edition on the date of publication of the
20newspaper in which the notice is published; and the newspaper
21publishing the notice shall, at no additional cost to
22government, place the notice on the statewide website
23established and maintained as a joint venture of the majority
24of Illinois newspapers as a repository for such notices. All
25notices required for publication by this Act shall remain legal

 

 

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1and valid for all purposes when any error that occurs pursuant
2to the requirements of this Section for placement of the notice
3on the statewide website is the fault of the printer.
4(Source: P.A. 96-1144, eff. 12-31-12.)
 
5    (715 ILCS 5/5)  (from Ch. 100, par. 5)
6    Sec. 5. When any notice is required by law or contract to
7be published in a newspaper (unless otherwise expressly
8provided in the contract), it shall be intended to be in a
9secular newspaper of general circulation, published in the
10city, town or county, or some newspaper specially authorized by
11law to publish legal notices, in the city, town, or county. If
12there is no newspaper published in the county in which the city
13or town is located, notice shall be given in a secular
14newspaper, as defined in this Act, that is published in an
15adjoining county having general circulation within the city or
16town. Unless otherwise expressly provided in the contract, the
17term "newspaper" means a newspaper
18    (a) which consists of not less than 4 pages of printed
19matter and contains at least 100 square inches of printed
20matter per page; and
21    (b) which is printed through the use of one of the
22conventional and generally recognized printing processes such
23as letterpress, lithography or gravure; and
24    (c) which annually averages at least 25% news content per
25issue; or which annually averages at least 1,000 column inches

 

 

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1of news content per issue, the term "news content" meaning for
2the purposes of this Act any printed matter other than
3advertising; and
4    (d) which publishes miscellaneous reading matter, legal or
5other announcements and notices, and news and information
6concerning current happenings and passing events of a
7political, social, religious, commercial, financial or legal
8nature, and advertisements or bulletins; and
9    (e) which has been continuously published at regular
10intervals of at least once each week with a minimum of 50
11issues per year, for at least one year prior to the first
12publication of the notice; or which is a successor to a
13newspaper as herein defined with no interruption of publication
14of more than 30 days; or which is a merged or consolidated
15newspaper formed by the merger or consolidation of two or more
16newspapers, one of which has been continuously published at
17regular intervals of at least once each week with a minimum of
1850 issues per year, for at least one year prior to the first
19publication of the notice. A newspaper shall be considered as
20continuously or regularly published although its publication
21has been suspended, where such suspension was caused by fire or
22an Act of God or by a labor dispute or by its owner, publisher,
23managing editor or other essential employee entering the active
24military service of the United States, if the newspaper was
25continuously or regularly published for at least one year prior
26to its suspension and if its publication is resumed at any time

 

 

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1not later than 12 months after such fire or Act of God, or if
2its publication is resumed at any time within 12 months after
3the termination of the labor dispute, or if its publication is
4resumed at any time within 12 months after the termination of
5the war in connection with which such persons entered such
6military service. ; and
7    (f) (Blank). which has the capability of placing notices
8required pursuant to this Act on a daily or weekly basis on the
9statewide website as required by Section 2.1.
10(Source: P.A. 96-59, eff. 7-23-09; 96-1144, eff. 12-31-12.)
 
11    (715 ILCS 5/2.1 rep.)
12    Section 10. The Notice By Publication Act is amended by
13repealing Section 2.1.
 
14    Section 15. The Newspaper Legal Notice Act is amended by
15changing Sections 1 and 2 as follows:
 
16    (715 ILCS 10/1)  (from Ch. 100, par. 10)
17    Sec. 1. Whenever it is required by law that any legal
18notice or publication shall be published in a newspaper in this
19State, it shall be held to mean a newspaper
20    (a) which consists of not less than 4 pages of printed
21matter and contains at least 100 square inches of printed
22matter per page; and
23    (b) which is printed through the use of one of the

 

 

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1conventional and generally recognized printing processes such
2as letterpress, lithography or gravure; and
3    (c) which annually averages at least 25% news content per
4issue; or which annually averages at least 1,000 column inches
5of news content per issue, the term "news content" meaning for
6the purposes of this Act any printed matter other than
7advertising; and
8    (d) which publishes miscellaneous reading matter, legal or
9other announcements and notices, and news and information
10concerning current happenings and passing events of a
11political, social, religious, commercial, financial or legal
12nature, and advertisements or bulletins; and
13    (e) which has been continuously published at regular
14intervals of at least once each week with a minimum of 50
15issues per year, for at least one year prior to the first
16publication of the notice; or which is a successor to a
17newspaper as herein defined with no interruption of publication
18of more than 30 days; or which is a merged or consolidated
19newspaper formed by the merger or consolidation of two or more
20newspapers, one of which has been continuously published at
21regular intervals of at least once each week with a minimum of
2250 issues per year for at least one year prior to the first
23publication of the notice. A newspaper shall be considered as
24continuously or regularly published although its publication
25has been suspended, where such suspension was caused by fire or
26an Act of God or by a labor dispute or by its owner, publisher,

 

 

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1managing editor or other essential employee entering the active
2military service of the United States, if the newspaper was
3continuously or regularly published for at least one year prior
4to its suspension and if its publication is resumed at any time
5not later than 12 months after such fire or Act of God, or if
6its publication is resumed at any time within 12 months after
7the termination of the labor dispute, or if its publication is
8resumed at any time within 12 months after the termination of
9the war in connection with which such persons entered such
10military service. ; and
11    (f) (Blank). which has the capability of placing, at no
12additional cost to government, notices required pursuant to
13this Act on a daily or weekly basis on the statewide website
14established and maintained as a joint venture by the majority
15of Illinois newspapers as a repository for such notices.
16(Source: P.A. 96-59, eff. 7-23-09; 96-1144, eff. 12-31-12.)
 
17    (715 ILCS 10/2)  (from Ch. 100, par. 10.1)
18    Sec. 2. When any legal notice is required by law to be
19published in any newspaper, such notice shall include the
20printing of such notice in the total circulation of each
21edition on the date of publication of the newspaper in which
22the notice is published; and the newspaper publishing the
23notice shall, at no additional cost to government, place the
24notice on the statewide website established and maintained as a
25joint venture of the majority of Illinois newspapers as a

 

 

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1repository for such notices. All notices required for
2publication by this Act shall remain legal and valid for all
3purposes when any error that occurs pursuant to the
4requirements of this Section in the requirement for placement
5of the notice on the statewide website is the fault of the
6printer.
7(Source: P.A. 96-1144, eff. 12-31-12.)
 
8    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
9becoming law.