2007 Legislative Document (House) 1878 (To Generate Savings by Changing Public Notice Requirements) (Emergency)

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• Introduced by Rep. Teresea M. Hayes on April 26, 2007, this bill phases out, over a one-year period, the requirement that State Government, including the executive branch, departments, independent agencies, the Legislature and the judicial branch, and the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission, or LURC, publish legal or public notices in a newspaper. Instead, the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, for State Government, and LURC, for the unorganized territory, are required to establish and maintain a publicly accessible Internet site on which to post all legal and public notices. In addition, the department and LURC are required to establish and maintain an in-state toll-free telephone number that allows a person in Maine to call and receive, by mail, any notice posted on the respective Internet sites. For the first 6 months, from July 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007, every notice published in a newspaper by an entity of State Government or LURC is required to include an entity of statement with the printing of each public notice that notices will not be printed in newspapers after December 31, 2007 and the address of the Internet site and telephone number of the government entity or LURC, as the case may be. For the next 6 months, from January 1, 2008 to June 30, 2008, instead of publishing a notice, the government entity and LURC are only required to publish a statement that notices are no longer published in the newspaper and the address of the Internet site and telephone number where such notices may not be obtained. Finally, beginning July 1, 2008, no notices will be published in newspapers by a government entity or LURC. This bill allows municipalities to publish legal notices in a newspaper medium distributed as 3rd-class mail if the municipal officers adopt a publication policy. The policy must contain 5 requirements. The newspaper of general circulation must have a subscription rate of less than 30% of the residents in the municipality, all households in the municipality must receive the alternative newspaper, the alternative newspaper must cost less than the newspaper of general circulation, the municipality must retain a record of all notices published in the alternative newspaper and the publisher of the alternative newspaper must have a system of archiving past editions. The Department of Administrative and Financial Services is required to submit legislation by December 15, 2007 to the Joint Standing Committee on State and Local Government that removes any statutory requirement that a government entity publish notices in newspapers.
  • Referred to the State and Local Government Committee on April 26, 2007.
  • Motion in the House on March 5, 2008, to accept the Majority Ought to Pass as Amended Report. The motion passed in the House (71 to 53) on March 5, 2008. [Vote Details and Comments]
  • Amendment offered in the House on March 10, 2008. The amendment passed in the House (77 to 47) on March 10, 2008. [Vote Details and Comments]
• Passed in the House by voice vote on March 12, 2008.
• Received in the Senate on March 13, 2008.
• Passed in the Senate (19 to 15) on April 4, 2008. [Vote Details and Comments]
• Received in the House on April 9, 2008, the House RECONSIDERED its action whereby the Bill was PASSED TO BE ENGROSSED.
  • Amendment offered by Rep. Deborah L. Simpson on April 9, 2008. The amendment failed in the House (60 to 78) on April 9, 2008. [Vote Details and Comments]
    • Motion by Rep. Christopher R. Barstow on April 9, 2008, to INDEFINITELY POSTPONE House Amendment "A" (H-726) to Committee Amendment "B" (H-684). The motion failed in the House (50 to 88) on April 9, 2008. [Vote Details and Comments]
• Passed in the House by voice vote on April 9, 2008.
• Received in the Senate on April 10, 2008.
  • Amendment offered by Sen. Barry J. Hobbins on April 11, 2008.
    • Motion by Sen. Elizabeth M. Schneider on April 11, 2008, Senate Amendment "A" (S-593) to Committee Amendment "B" (H-684) INDEFINITELY POSTPONED. The motion passed in the Senate (20 to 14) on April 11, 2008. [Vote Details and Comments]

Comments

Introduced by Rep. Teresea M. Hayes on April 26, 2007. Passed in the House by voice vote on March 12, 2008. New Comment