Bill Text: CA AB2095 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Publication: newspapers of general circulation.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-05-22 - In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. [AB2095 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB2095-Amended.html
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Amended
IN
Assembly
May 16, 2024 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
March 13, 2024 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 2095
| Introduced by Assembly Member Maienschein |
February 05, 2024 |
An act to add Section 6009 to the Government Code, relating to public notice.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2095, as amended, Maienschein.
Publication: newspapers of general circulation.
Existing law requires various types of notices to be provided in a “newspaper of general circulation,” as that term is defined, in accordance with certain prescribed publication periods and legal requirements. Existing law requires a newspaper of general circulation to meet certain criteria, including publication, a bonafide bona fide subscription list of paying subscribers, and printing and publishing at regular intervals in the state, county, or city where publication is to be given.
This bill would require any public notice that is legally required to be published in a newspaper of general circulation to be published in the
newspaper’s print publication, on the newspaper’s internet website or electronic newspaper available on the internet, and on a statewide internet website maintained as a repository for notices by a majority of California newspapers of general circulation, as specified.
The bill would permit a newspaper that does not maintain its own internet website to satisfy these notice requirements by publishing the notice on a statewide internet website and referencing the statewide internet website in its print publication notice. The bill would provide that certain internet website operator errors or temporary outages or service interruptions resulting in an error in the legal notice published do not constitute a defect in publication, if the legal notice appears correctly in the newspaper’s print publication and satisfies all other legal notice requirements. The bill would prohibit a newspaper from charging any fee or surcharge specifically to access public notices on their
internet website, except as specified.
The bill would also require a state or local agency that maintains an internet website and publishes a public notice to include a reasonably accessible link on its internet website to the statewide internet website, currently capublicnotice.com, where the public notice will appear. By imposing new duties on local government agencies, the bill would create a state-mandated local program.
This bill would include related legislative findings and declarations.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee:Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares as follows:(a) For more than 100 years, the public has relied on newspapers to publish public notices informing our communities about public agency hearings, design reviews, school board budgets, trustee sales, estate administration petitions, fictitious business names, and hundreds of other important legal events of interest to the public. Through public notices that appear in legally adjudicated newspapers, the state has reached all corners of California, from sparsely populated rural areas to large urban enclaves. Public notices placed in local and ethnic newspapers have informed many diverse communities
across the state and ensured access to key information about our state and local governments, citizens, and legal systems.
(b) As part of expanding public access to public notices, members of the public shall by law gain access to public notices on newspaper internet websites and a statewide internet website, currently capublicnotice.com, which is maintained as a joint venture of the majority of California newspapers and contains a searchable repository of state and local public notices. At the same time, it is important to maintain access to public notices for the millions of individuals who rely on newspapers to learn about matters of public interest. Online delivery of public notices to newspaper internet websites will ensure that Californians who rely on
the internet for information will have the opportunity to access public notices, while newspaper delivery of public notices will ensure that the many diverse, local, and elderly readers of newspapers will also have access to this critical public information.
SEC. 2.
Section 6009 is added to the Government Code, immediately following Section 6008, to read:6009.
(a) When any public notice is legally required by a statute, ordinance, bylaw, or judicial order to be published in a newspaper of general circulation, that notice shall be published in and on all of the following:(1) The newspaper’s print publication.
(2) The newspaper’s internet website or electronic newspaper available on the internet.
(3) A statewide internet website maintained as a repository for notices by a majority of California newspapers of general circulation, as described in this article. The newspaper in which the notice is published shall be responsible for publishing notices on a statewide internet website.
(b) (1) In accordance with subdivision (a), a newspaper publishing
a notice that has an internet website operated by that newspaper shall also place the notice on its internet website and on a statewide internet website maintained by an entity with the capacity to receive and upload legal notices from the majority of newspapers in this state as a repository for the notices.
(2) Posting on an internet website shall begin on the first day of placement on the internet website and shall run continuously until the expiration of the specified time legally required for that type of notice.
(3) Each notice required to be placed on the newspaper’s internet website shall remain valid if it meets all of the requirements of this section, and the legality of the newspaper publication shall not be affected by the failure of the newspaper for any reason to upload
legal notice publications to a statewide internet website or to another internet website or to accurately post the notice publication on any internet website.
(c) If a newspaper does not maintain its own internet website, publication on a statewide internet website and reference to the statewide internet website in the print publication notice shall satisfy the requirement of publication on the newspaper’s internet website.
(d) An error in the legal notice published on a newspaper’s internet website or the statewide internet website that is a result of either (1) an error of the internet website operator; or (2) a temporary internet website outage or service interruption that prevents the publication or display of a legal notice on the internet
website shall not constitute a defect in publication of the legal notice, if the legal notice appears correctly in the newspaper’s print publication and satisfies all other legal notice requirements. Failure to post or maintain a public notice on the newspaper’s internet website or to post a public notice on the statewide public notice internet website does not affect the validity of the public notice.
(e) A newspaper shall not charge a fee or surcharge specifically to access public notices on their internet website. However a newspaper may continue to charge a fee or surcharge for access to other content on their internet website, including, but not limited to, public notices published by the newspaper, if the newspaper also includes a reasonably accessible link to the statewide internet website on the newspaper’s internet
website.
(f)A state or local agency that maintains an internet website and publishes a public notice shall include a reasonably accessible link on its internet website to the statewide internet website, currently capublicnotice.com, where the public notice shall appear.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
