100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
HB4298

 

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 if 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 15666 HEP 30767 b

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB4298LRB100 15666 HEP 30767 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) If a governmental unit, community college district, or
10school district is required to provide notice by publication in
11a newspaper by law, order of court, or contract, the
12governmental 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

 

 

HB4298- 2 -LRB100 15666 HEP 30767 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) If an individual is unable to access an electronic
7publication of a legal notice, the issuing governmental unit,
8community college district, or school district shall provide a
9copy of the notice to the individual free of charge.
10    (e) Notices shall remain available on the website at least
11until the last posting date required by law has expired or
12until the event described in a notice has taken place,
13whichever is later.
 
14    (715 ILCS 5/3.1)  (from Ch. 100, par. 3.1)
15    (Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 100-72)
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

 

 

HB4298- 3 -LRB100 15666 HEP 30767 b

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    (Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 100-72)
6    Sec. 3.1. When any notice is required by law, or order of
7court, to be published in any newspaper, publication of such
8notice shall include the printing of such notice in the total
9circulation of each edition on the date of publication of the
10newspaper in which the notice is published; and the newspaper
11publishing the notice shall, at no additional cost to
12government, cause the notice to be placed on the statewide
13website established and maintained as a joint venture of the
14majority of Illinois newspapers as a repository for such
15notices. All notices required for publication by this Act shall
16remain legal and valid for all purposes when any error that
17occurs pursuant to the requirements of this Section for
18placement of the notice on the statewide website is the fault
19of the printer.
20(Source: P.A. 100-72, eff. 1-1-18.)
 
21    (715 ILCS 5/5)  (from Ch. 100, par. 5)
22    Sec. 5. When any notice is required by law or contract to
23be published in a newspaper (unless otherwise expressly
24provided in the contract), it shall be intended to be in a

 

 

HB4298- 4 -LRB100 15666 HEP 30767 b

1secular newspaper of general circulation, published in the
2city, town or county, or some newspaper specially authorized by
3law to publish legal notices, in the city, town, or county. If
4there is no newspaper published in the county in which the city
5or town is located, notice shall be given in a secular
6newspaper, as defined in this Act, that is published in an
7adjoining county having general circulation within the city or
8town. Unless otherwise expressly provided in the contract, the
9term "newspaper" means a newspaper
10    (a) which consists of not less than 4 pages of printed
11matter and contains at least 100 square inches of printed
12matter per page; and
13    (b) which is printed through the use of one of the
14conventional and generally recognized printing processes such
15as letterpress, lithography or gravure; and
16    (c) which annually averages at least 25% news content per
17issue; or which annually averages at least 1,000 column inches
18of news content per issue, the term "news content" meaning for
19the purposes of this Act any printed matter other than
20advertising; and
21    (d) which publishes miscellaneous reading matter, legal or
22other announcements and notices, and news and information
23concerning current happenings and passing events of a
24political, social, religious, commercial, financial or legal
25nature, and advertisements or bulletins; and
26    (e) which has been continuously published at regular

 

 

HB4298- 5 -LRB100 15666 HEP 30767 b

1intervals of at least once each week with a minimum of 50
2issues per year, for at least one year prior to the first
3publication of the notice; or which is a successor to a
4newspaper as herein defined with no interruption of publication
5of more than 30 days; or which is a merged or consolidated
6newspaper formed by the merger or consolidation of two or more
7newspapers, one of which has been continuously published at
8regular intervals of at least once each week with a minimum of
950 issues per year, for at least one year prior to the first
10publication of the notice. A newspaper shall be considered as
11continuously or regularly published although its publication
12has been suspended, where such suspension was caused by fire or
13an Act of God or by a labor dispute or by its owner, publisher,
14managing editor or other essential employee entering the active
15military service of the United States, if the newspaper was
16continuously or regularly published for at least one year prior
17to its suspension and if its publication is resumed at any time
18not later than 12 months after such fire or Act of God, or if
19its publication is resumed at any time within 12 months after
20the termination of the labor dispute, or if its publication is
21resumed at any time within 12 months after the termination of
22the war in connection with which such persons entered such
23military service. ; and
24    (f) (Blank). which has the capability of placing notices
25required pursuant to this Act on a daily or weekly basis on the
26statewide website as required by Section 2.1.

 

 

HB4298- 6 -LRB100 15666 HEP 30767 b

1(Source: P.A. 96-59, eff. 7-23-09; 96-1144, eff. 12-31-12.)
 
2    (715 ILCS 5/2.1 rep.)
3    Section 10. The Notice By Publication Act is amended by
4repealing Section 2.1.
 
5    Section 15. The Newspaper Legal Notice Act is amended by
6changing Sections 1 and 2 as follows:
 
7    (715 ILCS 10/1)  (from Ch. 100, par. 10)
8    Sec. 1. Whenever it is required by law that any legal
9notice or publication shall be published in a newspaper in this
10State, it shall be held to mean a newspaper
11    (a) which consists of not less than 4 pages of printed
12matter and contains at least 100 square inches of printed
13matter per page; and
14    (b) which is printed through the use of one of the
15conventional and generally recognized printing processes such
16as letterpress, lithography or gravure; and
17    (c) which annually averages at least 25% news content per
18issue; or which annually averages at least 1,000 column inches
19of news content per issue, the term "news content" meaning for
20the purposes of this Act any printed matter other than
21advertising; and
22    (d) which publishes miscellaneous reading matter, legal or
23other announcements and notices, and news and information

 

 

HB4298- 7 -LRB100 15666 HEP 30767 b

1concerning current happenings and passing events of a
2political, social, religious, commercial, financial or legal
3nature, and advertisements or bulletins; and
4    (e) which has been continuously published at regular
5intervals of at least once each week with a minimum of 50
6issues per year, for at least one year prior to the first
7publication of the notice; or which is a successor to a
8newspaper as herein defined with no interruption of publication
9of more than 30 days; or which is a merged or consolidated
10newspaper formed by the merger or consolidation of two or more
11newspapers, one of which has been continuously published at
12regular intervals of at least once each week with a minimum of
1350 issues per year for at least one year prior to the first
14publication of the notice. A newspaper shall be considered as
15continuously or regularly published although its publication
16has been suspended, where such suspension was caused by fire or
17an Act of God or by a labor dispute or by its owner, publisher,
18managing editor or other essential employee entering the active
19military service of the United States, if the newspaper was
20continuously or regularly published for at least one year prior
21to its suspension and if its publication is resumed at any time
22not later than 12 months after such fire or Act of God, or if
23its publication is resumed at any time within 12 months after
24the termination of the labor dispute, or if its publication is
25resumed at any time within 12 months after the termination of
26the war in connection with which such persons entered such

 

 

HB4298- 8 -LRB100 15666 HEP 30767 b

1military service. ; and
2    (f) (Blank). which has the capability of placing, at no
3additional cost to government, notices required pursuant to
4this Act on a daily or weekly basis on the statewide website
5established and maintained as a joint venture by the majority
6of Illinois newspapers as a repository for such notices.
7(Source: P.A. 96-59, eff. 7-23-09; 96-1144, eff. 12-31-12.)
 
8    (715 ILCS 10/2)  (from Ch. 100, par. 10.1)
9    (Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 100-72)
10    Sec. 2. When any legal notice is required by law to be
11published in any newspaper, such notice shall include the
12printing of such notice in the total circulation of each
13edition on the date of publication of the newspaper in which
14the notice is published; and the newspaper publishing the
15notice shall, at no additional cost to government, place the
16notice on the statewide website established and maintained as a
17joint venture of the majority of Illinois newspapers as a
18repository for such notices. All notices required for
19publication by this Act shall remain legal and valid for all
20purposes when any error that occurs pursuant to the
21requirements of this Section in the requirement for placement
22of the notice on the statewide website is the fault of the
23printer.
24(Source: P.A. 96-1144, eff. 12-31-12.)
 

 

 

HB4298- 9 -LRB100 15666 HEP 30767 b

1    (Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 100-72)
2    Sec. 2. When any legal notice is required by law to be
3published in any newspaper, such notice shall include the
4printing of such notice in the total circulation of each
5edition on the date of publication of the newspaper in which
6the notice is published; and the newspaper publishing the
7notice shall, at no additional cost to government, cause the
8notice to be placed on the statewide website established and
9maintained as a joint venture of the majority of Illinois
10newspapers as a repository for such notices. All notices
11required for publication by this Act shall remain legal and
12valid for all purposes when any error that occurs pursuant to
13the requirements of this Section in the requirement for
14placement of the notice on the statewide website is the fault
15of the printer.
16(Source: P.A. 100-72, eff. 1-1-18.)
 
17    Section 95. No acceleration or delay. Where this Act makes
18changes in a statute that is represented in this Act by text
19that is not yet or no longer in effect (for example, a Section
20represented by multiple versions), the use of that text does
21not accelerate or delay the taking effect of (i) the changes
22made by this Act or (ii) provisions derived from any other
23Public Act.
 
24    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
25becoming law.