H. B. No. 443 As Introduced

As Introduced

127th General Assembly

Regular Session

2007-2008

H. B. No. 443

Representative Peterson

Cosponsors: Representatives Raussen, Evans, Brown, Fende

A BILL

To amend sections 7.12 and 5721.01 and to enact

sections 7.16, 125.181, 125.182, 125.183, and

5721.012 of the Revised Code to establish the

State-Sanctioned Public Notice web site, to

permit any notice required to be published by

statute or rule to be published on the web site,

and to make changes to the qualifications for

newspapers publishing public notices and the

methods by which newspapers publish notice.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That sections 7.12 and 5721.01 be amended and	10
sections 7.16, 125.181, 125.182, 125.183, and 5721.012 of the	11
Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:	12

Sec. 7.12. Whenever any legal publication is required by law	13
to be made in a newspaper published in a municipal corporation,	14
county, or other political subdivision, the newspaper shall also	15
be a newspaper of general circulation in the municipal	16
corporation, county, or other political subdivision, without	17
further restriction or limitation upon a selection of the	18
newspaper to be used. If no newspaper is published in such	19
municipal corporation, county, or other political subdivision,	20
such legal publication shall be made in any newspaper of general	21
circulation therein. If there are less than two newspapers	22
published in any municipal corporation, county, or other political	23
subdivision in the manner defined by this section, then any legal	24
publication required by law to be made in a newspaper published in	25
a municipal corporation, county, or other political subdivision	26
may be made in any newspaper regularly issued at stated intervals	27
from a known office of publication located within the municipal	28
corporation, county, or other political subdivision. As used in	29
this section, a known office of publication is a public office	30
where the business of the newspaper is transacted during the usual	31
business hours, and such office shall be shown by the publication	32
itself.	33

In addition to all other requirements, a newspaper or	34
newspaper of general circulation, except those publications	35
performing the functions described in section 2701.09 of the	36
Revised Code for a period of one year immediately preceding any	37
such publication required to be made, shall be a publication	38
bearing a title or name, regularly issued as frequently as once a	39
week ~~for a definite price or consideration paid for by not less~~	40
~~than fifty per cent of those to whom distribution is made, having~~	41
~~a second class mailing privilege~~, being not less than four pages,	42
published continuously during the immediately preceding one-year	43
period, and circulated generally in the political subdivision in	44
which it is published. Such publication must be of a type to which	45
the general public resorts for passing events of a political,	46
religious, commercial, and social nature, current happenings,	47
announcements, miscellaneous reading matter, advertisements, and	48
other notices, that has at least twenty-five per cent editorial,	49
nonadvertising content, exclusive of inserts, measured relative to	50
total publication space, and an audited circulation to at least	51
fifty per cent of the households in the newspaper's retail trade	52
zone as defined by the audit.	53

Any notice required to be published in a newspaper of general	54
circulation may appear on an insert placed in such a newspaper. A	55
responsible party who is required to publish such a notice shall	56
consider various advertising media to determine which media might	57
reach the intended public most broadly. The responsible party need	58
publish the notice in only one qualified medium to meet the	59
requirements of law.	60

Sec. 7.16. A notice required to be published by a provision	61
of a statute or rule may be published on the state-sanctioned	62
public notice web site. A responsible party who is required to	63
publish such a notice may submit a copy of the notice and a	64
request for publication to the state-sanctioned public notice web	65
site service provider, together with the fee charged. The	66
responsible party shall identify in the notice or request the	67
provision of the statute or rule that requires the notice to be	68
published. The responsible party may, but is not required to,	69
prepare the request on the form that can be downloaded from the	70
web site. The notice permitted under this section is cumulative	71
with other notice provisions under statute or rule.	72

Sec. 125.181. The state-sanctioned public notice web site	73
service provider shall publish on the state-sanctioned public	74
notice web site a notice that is submitted to the service provider	75
and that is required to be published by a provision of a statute	76
or rule. The service provider shall collect from the responsible	77
party submitting the notice a fee for posting the notice on the	78
state-sanctioned public notice web site.	79

The service provider shall set the fee, not to exceed ten	80
dollars. The fee initially set may not thereafter be increased	81
until two years have elapsed. The service provider shall publish	82
the amount of the fee on the web site.	83

Sec. 125.182. The office of information technology shall	84
select a web site service provider to establish, operate, and	85
maintain, and to fund the operation, establishment, and	86
maintenance of, the state-sanctioned public notice web site. The	87
provider shall have all the following qualifications:	88

(A) Possesses appropriate hardware infrastructure and	89
intellectual property for feasible processes deploying a	90
state-sanctioned and national web site with appropriate methods	91
for communicating with the courts of this state;	92

(B) Possesses sufficient minimal capital resources to	93
establish and ensure smooth and uninterrupted ongoing operation of	94
the state-sanctioned public notice web site;	95

(C) Provides a reasonable plan for implementing the	96
state-sanctioned public notice web site so that notices required	97
to be published by a statute or rule may be posted and published	98
on the state-sanctioned public notice web site with reasonable	99
ease;	100

(D) Demonstrates, and is capable of implementing, the	101
technology necessary for the state-sanctioned public notice web	102
site at no cost to the state;	103

(E) Employs personnel, in number and by qualification, who	104
are necessary to ensure smooth transmission of data to and the	105
posting and publication of notices on the state-sanctioned public	106
notice web site;	107

(F) Posts a bond in an amount to be determined by the office	108
of information technology that is sufficient to guarantee	109
operation of the state-sanctioned public notice web site as the	110
public interest requires.	111

The service provider shall bear the costs of establishing,	112
operating, and maintaining the state-sanctioned public notice web	113
site. The state neither has nor may assume liability for those	114
costs.	115

Sec. 125.183. In establishing, maintaining, and operating the	116
state-sanctioned public notice web site, the web site service	117
provider shall do all of the following:	118

(A) Use a domain name for the web site that will be easily	119
recognizable and remembered by and understandable to users of the	120
web site;	121

(B) Maintain the web site so that it is fully accessible to	122
and searchable by members of the public at all times;	123

(C) Not charge a fee to a person who accesses, searches, or	124
otherwise uses the web site;	125

(D) Ensure that notices displayed on the web site conform to	126
the requirements that would apply to the notices as if they were	127
being published in a newspaper or other publication, as directed	128
in the relevant provision of the statute or rule;	129

(E) Ensure that notices continue to be displayed on the web	130
site for not less than the length of time required by the relevant	131
provision of the statute or rule;	132

(F) Devise and display on the web site a form that may be	133
downloaded and used to request publication of a notice on the web	134
site;	135

(G) Charge responsible parties submitting notices for	136
publication on the web site only the fee fixed by the service	137
provider;	138

(H) Enable responsible parties to submit notices and requests	139
for their publication and to pay the fee charged therefor on-line;	140

(I) Maintain an archive of notices that no longer are	141
displayed on the web site;	142

(J) Enable notices, both those currently displayed and those	143
archived, to be accessed by key word, by party name, by case	144
number, by county, and by other useful identifiers;	145

(K) Maintain adequate systemic security and backup features,	146
and develop and maintain a contingency plan for coping with and	147
recovering from power outages, systemic failures, and other	148
unforeseeable difficulties;	149

(L) Maintain the web site in such a manner that it will not	150
infringe legally protected interests, so that vulnerability of the	151
web site to interruption because of litigation or the threat of	152
litigation is reduced;	153

(M) Submit a status report to the secretary of state twice	154
annually that demonstrates compliance with the statutory	155
requirements governing publication of notices;	156

(N) Submit to a quality review, if the director of the office	157
of information technology requests.	158

The service provider shall bear the expense of maintaining	159
the state-sanctioned public notice web site domain name.	160

In the course of a quality review, the director of the office	161
of information technology is entitled to, and the service provider	162
shall provide, full access to the hardware and software used by,	163
and the technical and informational operations of, the service	164
provider that relate to operation and maintenance of the	165
state-sanctioned public notice web site.	166

Sec. 5721.01. (A) As used in this chapter:

167

(1) "Delinquent lands" means all lands upon which delinquent	168
taxes, as defined in section 323.01 of the Revised Code, remain	169
unpaid at the time a settlement is made between the county	170
treasurer and auditor pursuant to division (C) of section 321.24	171
of the Revised Code.	172

(2) "Delinquent vacant lands" means all lands that have been	173
delinquent lands for at least two years and that are unimproved by	174
any dwelling.	175

(B) As used in sections 5719.04, 5721.03, and 5721.31 of the	176
Revised Code and in any other sections of the Revised Code to	177
which those sections are applicable, a newspaper or newspaper of	178
general circulation shall be a publication bearing a title or	179
name, regularly issued as frequently as once a week ~~for a definite~~	180
~~price or consideration paid for by not less than fifty per cent of~~	181
~~those to whom distribution is made, having a second class mailing~~	182
~~privilege~~, being not less than four pages, published continuously	183
during the immediately preceding one-year period, and circulated	184
generally in the political subdivision in which it is published.	185
Such publication shall be of a type to which the general public	186
resorts for passing events of a political, religious, commercial,	187
and social nature, current happenings, announcements,	188
miscellaneous reading matter, advertisements, and other notices,	189
that has at least twenty-five per cent editorial, nonadvertising	190
content, exclusive of inserts, measured relative to total	191
publication space, and an audited circulation to at least fifty	192
per cent of the households in the newspaper's retail trade zone as	193
defined by the audit.	194

Sec. 5721.012. Any notice required to be published in a	195
newspaper or newspaper of general circulation as defined in	196
section 5721.01 of the Revised Code may appear on an insert placed	197
in such a newspaper. A responsible party who is required to	198
publish such a notice shall consider various advertising media to	199
determine which media might reach the intended public most	200
broadly. The responsible party need publish the notice in only one	201
qualified medium to meet the requirements of law.	202

Section 2. That existing sections 7.12 and 5721.01 of the	203
Revised Code are hereby repealed.	204