UNOFFICIAL COPY 23 RS HB 534/GA
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AN ACT relating to required publications. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 424.145 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) As used in this section: 4
(a) "Local government" means: 5
1. Any urban-county government; 6
2. Any consolidated local government; 7
3. Any charter county; 8
4. Any unified local government; and 9
5. In any county containing a population of eighty thousand (80,000) or 10
more based upon the most recent federal decennial census, the county 11
itself or any: 12
a. City within the county; 13
b. Special district within the county; 14
c. School district within the county; or 15
d. Special purpose governmental entity within the county; and 16
(b) "Notice website[Web site]" means a website[an Internet Web site] that is 17
maintained by a local government or a third party under contract with the 18
local government, which contains links to the legal advertisements or notices 19
electronically published by the local government. 20
(2) Local governments may satisfy the requirements of this chapter or any other 21
provision of law requiring the publication of an advertisement in a newspaper by 22
following the alternative procedures established in this section. 23
(3) In lieu of newspaper publication, a local government may post the required 24
advertisement online on a notice website[Web site] operated by the local 25
government that is accessible to the public at all times in accordance with 26
subsections (4) to (9) of this section. Publication of an advertisement shall be 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 23 RS HB 534/GA
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deemed to have occurred on the date the advertisement is posted on the local 1
government's notice website[Web site]. 2
(4) (a) In conjunction with an alternative Internet posting, the local government shall 3
publish a newspaper advertisement one (1) time providing notice that the 4
public may view the full advertisement on the notice website[Web site]. The 5
newspaper advertisement shall: 6
1.[(a)] Be not more than six (6) column inches and meet the technical 7
requirements of KRS 424.160(1); 8
2.[(b)] Be published within ten (10) days of the alternative posting on the 9
notice website[Web site] when the purpose of the posting is to inform 10
the public of a completed act, including those acts specified in KRS 11
424.130(1)(a), or within three (3) days of the posting when the purpose 12
of the posting is to inform the public of the right to take a certain action, 13
including the events specified in KRS 424.130(1)(b) and (d); 14
3.[(c)] Inform the public of the subject matter of the alternative posting, 15
inform the public of its right to inspect any documents associated with 16
the Internet posting by contacting the local government, and provide a 17
mailing and a physical address where a copy of the document may be 18
obtained and the Web address if the document is available online; and 19
4.[(d)] Provide the full Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the notice 20
website[Web site] address and the full Uniform Resource Locator 21
(URL) of the address where the full advertisement may be directly 22
viewed along with a telephone number for the local government. 23
(b) A local government may, alternatively, publish an advertisement one (1) 24
time providing notice that the public may view the full advertisement on the 25
notice website in a digital newspaper that meets the qualifications discussed 26
in Section 2 of this Act, so long as the advertisement complies with 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 23 RS HB 534/GA
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subparagraphs 2., 3., and 4. of paragraph (a) of this subsection. 1
(5) In addition to specific legal requirements applicable to a particular type of 2
advertisement: 3
(a) The contents of each alternative Internet posting shall meet the minimum 4
requirements of KRS 424.140; and 5
(b) The local government shall make the alternative Internet posting in 6
accordance with the times and periods established by KRS 424.130, and shall 7
actively maintain the alternative Internet posting on its public website[Web 8
site]: 9
1. Until the deadline passes or the event occurs if the substance of the 10
advertisement is intended to advise the public of a time to take action or 11
the occurrence of a future event; 12
2. For at least ninety (90) days if the substance of the advertisement is to 13
inform the public of an action taken by the local government, such as the 14
enactment of an ordinance; or 15
3. For one (1) year or until updated or replaced with a more recent version 16
if the substance of the advertisement is intended to inform the public 17
about the financial status of the local government, such as annual audits 18
or the budget. 19
(6) The local government shall display access to any and all alternative Internet 20
postings made pursuant to this section prominently on the homepage or first page of 21
the notice website[Web site]. The section of the notice website[Web site] containing 22
any postings and the actual advertisement shall be made in a manner where the 23
public can readily and with minimal effort identify the location of and easily 24
retrieve the advertisements. 25
(7) The local government shall provide a conspicuous statement on its notice 26
website[Web site] that individuals who have difficulty in accessing the contents of 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 23 RS HB 534/GA
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posted advertisements may contact the local government for information regarding 1
alternative methods of accessing advertisements, which shall include the telephone 2
number of the local government. 3
(8) As proof of an alternative Internet posting to satisfy any newspaper publication 4
requirement, the local government shall memorialize the posting by capturing the 5
posting in electronic or paper format and shall complete an affidavit signed by the 6
person responsible for causing publications under KRS 424.150, stating that the 7
local government satisfied the publication requirement by alternative Internet 8
posting. The affidavit shall specify the active dates of the notice website[Web site] 9
posting, the specific statutory requirements being satisfied by the alternative 10
Internet posting, and the notice website[Web site] address where the alternative 11
posting was located, including the full Uniform Resource Locator (URL) used for 12
the posting. The local government shall retain the captured posting and the affidavit 13
by the person responsible for publication for a period of three (3) years. Together, 14
the captured posting and the affidavit shall constitute prima facie evidence that the 15
posting was made and occurred as stated within the affidavit. 16
(9) The failure to cause the newspaper advertisement required in subsection (4) of this 17
section shall not void the action of the local government or negate the enforceability 18
of the matter advertised by alternative Internet posting. Any person who violates the 19
requirements of subsection (4) of this section shall be subject to the penalties 20
provided in KRS 424.990. 21
Section 2. KRS 424.120 is amended to read as follows: 22
(1) Except as provided in subsections[subsection] (2) and (4) of this section, if an 23
advertisement for a publication area is required by law to be published in a 24
newspaper, the publication shall be made in a newspaper that meets the following 25
requirements: 26
(a) It shall be published in the publication area. A newspaper shall be deemed to 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 23 RS HB 534/GA
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be published in the area if it maintains its principal office in the area for the 1
purpose of gathering news and soliciting advertisements and other general 2
business of newspaper publications, and has a periodicals class mailing permit 3
issued for that office. A newspaper published outside of Kentucky shall not be 4
eligible to carry advertisements for any county or publication area within the 5
county, other than for the city in which its main office is located, if there is a 6
newspaper published in the county that has a substantial general circulation 7
throughout the county and that otherwise meets the requirements of this 8
section; and 9
(b) It shall be of regular issue and have a bona fide circulation in the publication 10
area. A newspaper shall be deemed to be of regular issue if it is published at 11
least once a week, for at least fifty (50) weeks during the calendar year as 12
prescribed by its mailing permit, and has been so published in the area for the 13
immediately preceding two (2) year period. A newspaper meeting all the 14
criteria to be of regular issue, except publication in the area for the 15
immediately preceding two (2) year period, shall be deemed to be of regular 16
issue if it is the only qualified paper in the county[publication area and has a 17
paid circulation equal to at least ten percent (10%) of the population of the 18
publication area]. A newspaper shall be deemed to be of bona fide circulation 19
in the publication area if it is circulated generally in the area, and maintains a 20
definite price or consideration not less than fifty percent (50%) of its 21
published price, and is paid for by not less than fifty percent (50%) of those to 22
whom distribution is made; and 23
(c) It shall bear a title or name, consist of not less than four (4) pages without a 24
cover, and be of a type to which the general public resorts for passing events 25
of a political, religious, commercial, and social nature, and for current 26
happenings, announcements, miscellaneous reading matter, advertisements, 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 23 RS HB 534/GA
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and other notices. The news content shall be at least twenty-five percent 1
(25%) of the total column space in more than one-half (1/2) of its issues 2
during any twelve (12) month period. 3
(d) If, in a publication area there is more than one (1) newspaper which meets the 4
above requirements, the newspaper having the largest bona fide paid 5
circulation as shown by the average number of paid copies of each issue as 6
shown in its published statement of ownership as filed on October 1 for the 7
publication area shall be the newspaper where advertisements required by law 8
to be published shall be carried. 9
(e) For the purposes of KRS Chapter 424, publishing shall be considered as the 10
total recurring processes of producing the newspaper, embracing all of the 11
included contents of reading matter, illustrations, and advertising enumerated 12
in paragraphs (a) through (d) of this subsection. A newspaper shall not be 13
excluded from qualifying for the purposes of legal publications as provided in 14
this chapter if its printing or reproduction processes take place outside the 15
publication area. 16
(2) (a) If, in the case of a publication area smaller than the county in which it is 17
located, there is no newspaper published in the area, the publication shall be 18
made in a newspaper published in the county that is qualified under this 19
section to publish advertisements for the county. If the qualified newspaper 20
publishes a zoned edition which is distributed to regular subscribers within the 21
publication area, any advertisement required by law to be published in the 22
publication area may be published in the zoned edition distributed in that area. 23
(b) If, in any county there is no newspaper meeting the requirements of this 24
section for publishing advertisements for that county, any advertisements 25
required to be published for the county or for any publication area within the 26
county shall be published in a newspaper of the largest bona fide circulation 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 23 RS HB 534/GA
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in that county published in and qualified to publish advertisements for an 1
adjoining county in Kentucky. This subsection is intended to supersede any 2
statute that provides or contemplates that newspaper publication may be 3
dispensed with if there is no newspaper printed or published or of general 4
circulation in the particular publication area. 5
(3) If a publication area consists of a district, other than a city, which extends into more 6
than one (1) county, the part of the district in each county shall be considered to be 7
a separate publication area for the purposes of this section, and an advertisement for 8
each separate publication area shall be published in a newspaper qualified under 9
this section to publish advertisements for the area. 10
(4) If an advertisement for a publication area is required by law to be published in a 11
newspaper, the publication may, alternatively, be made in a digital newspaper 12
that: 13
(a) Maintains an active news gathering office in the publication area; 14
(b) Has been actively publishing for at least one (1) year, and is updated on at 15
least a weekly basis; 16
(c) Has as its primary purpose reporting on matters of import to the public, and 17
contains regular reporting regarding local and community issues in the 18
publication area; 19
(d) Is easily accessible to the public through common Internet search engines 20
or other Internet search means; 21
(e) Contains conspicuous links or headings on its landing page that direct 22
members of the public to public notices; and 23
(f) Distributes, or has ownership interest in another entity that distributes, 24
newspapers printed in Kentucky, and is capable of circulating printed 25
newspapers throughout the publication area. 26
For purposes of satisfying publication requirements of this chapter, an 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 23 RS HB 534/GA
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advertisement is deemed to be published on the date that it is posted on the 1
website of the digital newspaper. Any other statute requiring newspaper 2
publication that contains requirements related to the physical dimensions, 3
typesetting, font, or other aspects particular to a printed newspaper are not 4
applicable where the advertisement is made in a digital newspaper that qualifies 5
under this subsection. 6