102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB0811

 

Introduced 2/10/2021, by Rep. Jonathan Carroll - Daniel Didech - Sam Yingling

 

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.


LRB102 14122 LNS 19474 b

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB0811LRB102 14122 LNS 19474 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
12contract, the governmental unit, community college district,
13or school district may publish the notice on an official
14government website instead of in a newspaper.
15    (b) The governmental unit, community college district, or
16school district, or the host of the notice website, shall
17enter into 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 website of the governmental unit,
22community college district, or school district shall
23prominently display a link to the notice web page, which shall

 

 

HB0811- 2 -LRB102 14122 LNS 19474 b

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, cause the notice to be placed on the statewide
23website established and maintained as a joint venture of the
24majority of Illinois newspapers as a repository for such
25notices. All notices required for publication by this Act

 

 

HB0811- 3 -LRB102 14122 LNS 19474 b

1shall remain legal and valid for all purposes when any error
2that occurs pursuant to the requirements of this Section for
3placement of the notice on the statewide website is the fault
4of the printer.
5(Source: P.A. 100-72, eff. 1-1-18.)
 
6    (715 ILCS 5/5)  (from Ch. 100, par. 5)
7    Sec. 5. When any notice is required by law or contract to
8be published in a newspaper (unless otherwise expressly
9provided in the contract), it shall be intended to be in a
10secular newspaper of general circulation, published in the
11city, town or county, or some newspaper specially authorized
12by law to publish legal notices, in the city, town, or county.
13If there is no newspaper published in the county in which the
14city or town is located, notice shall be given in a secular
15newspaper, as defined in this Act, that is published in an
16adjoining county having general circulation within the city or
17town. Unless otherwise expressly provided in the contract, the
18term "newspaper" means a newspaper
19    (a) which consists of not less than 4 pages of printed
20matter and contains at least 100 square inches of printed
21matter per page; and
22    (b) which is printed through the use of one of the
23conventional and generally recognized printing processes such
24as letterpress, lithography or gravure; and
25    (c) which annually averages at least 25% news content per

 

 

HB0811- 4 -LRB102 14122 LNS 19474 b

1issue; or which annually averages at least 1,000 column inches
2of news content per issue, the term "news content" meaning for
3the purposes of this Act any printed matter other than
4advertising; and
5    (d) which publishes miscellaneous reading matter, legal or
6other announcements and notices, and news and information
7concerning current happenings and passing events of a
8political, social, religious, commercial, financial or legal
9nature, and advertisements or bulletins; and
10    (e) which has been continuously published at regular
11intervals of at least once each week with a minimum of 50
12issues per year, for at least one year prior to the first
13publication of the notice; or which is a successor to a
14newspaper as herein defined with no interruption of
15publication of more than 30 days; or which is a merged or
16consolidated newspaper formed by the merger or consolidation
17of two or more newspapers, one of which has been continuously
18published at regular intervals of at least once each week with
19a minimum of 50 issues per year, for at least one year prior to
20the first publication of the notice. A newspaper shall be
21considered as continuously or regularly published although its
22publication has been suspended, where such suspension was
23caused by fire or an Act of God or by a labor dispute or by its
24owner, publisher, managing editor or other essential employee
25entering the active military service of the United States, if
26the newspaper was continuously or regularly published for at

 

 

HB0811- 5 -LRB102 14122 LNS 19474 b

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

 

 

HB0811- 6 -LRB102 14122 LNS 19474 b

1    (b) which is printed through the use of one of the
2conventional and generally recognized printing processes such
3as letterpress, lithography or gravure; and
4    (c) which annually averages at least 25% news content per
5issue; or which annually averages at least 1,000 column inches
6of news content per issue, the term "news content" meaning for
7the purposes of this Act any printed matter other than
8advertising; and
9    (d) which publishes miscellaneous reading matter, legal or
10other announcements and notices, and news and information
11concerning current happenings and passing events of a
12political, social, religious, commercial, financial or legal
13nature, and advertisements or bulletins; and
14    (e) which has been continuously published at regular
15intervals of at least once each week with a minimum of 50
16issues per year, for at least one year prior to the first
17publication of the notice; or which is a successor to a
18newspaper as herein defined with no interruption of
19publication of more than 30 days; or which is a merged or
20consolidated newspaper formed by the merger or consolidation
21of two or more newspapers, one of which has been continuously
22published at regular intervals of at least once each week with
23a minimum of 50 issues per year for at least one year prior to
24the first publication of the notice. A newspaper shall be
25considered as continuously or regularly published although its
26publication has been suspended, where such suspension was

 

 

HB0811- 7 -LRB102 14122 LNS 19474 b

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

 

 

HB0811- 8 -LRB102 14122 LNS 19474 b

1maintained as a joint venture of the majority of Illinois
2newspapers as a repository for such notices. All notices
3required for publication by this Act shall remain legal and
4valid for all purposes when any error that occurs pursuant to
5the requirements of this Section in the requirement for
6placement of the notice on the statewide website is the fault
7of the printer.
8(Source: P.A. 100-72, eff. 1-1-18.)
 
9    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
10becoming law.