SF 1768

as introduced - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to newspapers; changing certain requirements 
  1.3             for designating a newspaper for official publications; 
  1.4             amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.04, 
  1.5             subdivisions 1, 5; Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, 
  1.6             section 331A.04, subdivision 6; repealing Minnesota 
  1.7             Statutes 2002, section 331A.04, subdivisions 2, 3, 4. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.04, 
  1.10  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subdivision 1.  [PRIORITY DESIGNATION.] The governing body 
  1.12  of any local public corporation, when authorized or required by 
  1.13  statute or charter to designate a newspaper for publication of 
  1.14  its official proceedings and public notices, shall designate a 
  1.15  newspaper which is of general circulation in the local public 
  1.16  corporation's area as a qualified medium of official and legal 
  1.17  publication in the following priority. 
  1.18     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.04, 
  1.19  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  1.20     Subd. 5.  [OTHER SITUATIONS.] If a local public corporation 
  1.21  is without an official newspaper, or if the publisher refuses to 
  1.22  publish a particular public notice, matters required to be 
  1.23  published shall be published in a newspaper designated as 
  1.24  provided in subdivision 4 1.  The governing body of a local 
  1.25  public corporation with territory in two or more counties may, 
  1.26  if deemed in the public interest, designate a separate qualified 
  2.1   newspaper for each county.  
  2.2      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2003 Supplement, section 
  2.3   331A.04, subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  2.4      Subd. 6.  [EXCEPTION TO DESIGNATION PRIORITY.] (a) 
  2.5   Notwithstanding subdivisions subdivision 1 to 3, the governing 
  2.6   body of a local public corporation may designate any newspaper 
  2.7   for publication of its official proceedings and public notices, 
  2.8   if the following conditions are met: 
  2.9      (1) the newspaper is a qualified medium of official and 
  2.10  legal publication; 
  2.11     (2) the publisher of the newspaper furnishes a sworn 
  2.12  statement, verified by a recognized independent circulation 
  2.13  auditing agency, covering a period of at least one year ending 
  2.14  no earlier than 60 days before designation of the newspaper, 
  2.15  stating that the newspaper's circulation reaches not fewer than 
  2.16  75 percent of the households within the public corporation; 
  2.17     (3) the newspaper has provided regular coverage of the 
  2.18  proceedings of the governing body of the local public 
  2.19  corporation and will continue to do so; and 
  2.20     (4) the governing body votes unanimously to designate the 
  2.21  newspaper. 
  2.22     (b) If the circulation of a newspaper designated under this 
  2.23  subdivision falls below 75 percent of the households within the 
  2.24  public local corporation at any time within the term of its 
  2.25  designation as official newspaper, its qualification to publish 
  2.26  public notices for the local public corporation terminates. 
  2.27     Sec. 4.  [REPEALER.] 
  2.28     Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 331A.04, subdivisions 2, 
  2.29  3, and 4, are repealed.