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PRINTER'S NO. 921
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
745
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY EICHELBERGER, FOLMER, RAFFERTY, WAGNER, VOGEL,
MARTIN AND SCARNATI, JUNE 7, 2017
REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT, JUNE 7, 2017
AN ACT
Amending Title 45 (Legal Notices) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in legal advertising, further
providing for additional publication in legal journals;
providing for electronic publication of legal notices by
local government units; and making an appropriation.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 308(a) of Title 45 of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:
§ 308. Additional publication in legal journals.
(a) General rule.--Except as otherwise provided by statute,
every notice or advertisement required by law or rule of court
to be published in one or more newspapers of general circulation
or permitted by Chapter 4 (relating to electronic publication of
legal notices by local government units) to be electronically
published, unless dispensed with by special order of court,
shall also be published in the legal newspaper, issued at least
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weekly, in the county, designated by rules of court for the
publication of court or other legal notices, if such newspaper
exists. Publication in such legal newspaper shall be made as
often as required or, in the case of a notice electronically
published, as often as would otherwise be required to be made in
[such] newspapers [in] of general circulation, and shall be
subject to the same stipulations and regulations as those
imposed for the like services upon all newspapers.
* * *
Section 2. Title 45 is amended by adding a chapter to read:
CHAPTER 4
ELECTRONIC PUBLICATION OF LEGAL NOTICES
BY LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS
Sec.
401. Scope and applicability of chapter.
402. Definitions.
403. Statewide Bid and Notice Database.
404. Duties of office.
405. Election to participate in database.
406. Local government unit responsibilities.
§ 401. Scope and applicability of chapter.
(a) Scope.--This chapter relates to the authorization of
local government units to use electronic means to publish
certain legally required notices.
(b) Applicability.--A local government unit which publishes
notices and advertisements consistent with section 308 (relating
to additional publication in legal journals) may, in lieu of
publication in newspapers of general circulation, electronically
publish legal notices in addition to publication in legal
journals. Electronic publication in accordance with this chapter
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shall substitute for and satisfy the requirements for
publication of legal notice in newspapers of general circulation
by a local government unit imposed by any provision of law.
§ 402. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Database." The Statewide Bid and Notice Database
established under this chapter.
"Electronic publication" or "electronically publish." The
public advertisement of a legal notice in hypertext markup
language (HTML) format, or an equivalent language format, on a
publicly accessible Internet website in accordance with this
chapter.
"Local government unit." A county, city, borough,
incorporated town, township, school district, vocational school
district, county institution district, home rule municipality,
local authority of any joint or cooperative body of local
government units or any instrumentality, authority or
corporation thereof which has authority to enter into a
contract.
"Notice" or "legal notice." An advertisement, publication,
request for bid or proposal, solicitation, statement or report,
or an abstract of a notice, advertisement, publication,
statement or report required by law, rule or regulation to be
published in a newspaper relating to any of the following
activities of a local government unit:
(1) A meeting of a governing body of a local government
unit or its committees.
(2) An ordinance or resolution.
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(3) A budget, auditor's report or financial statement.
(4) A contract, agreement, request for bids or proposals
or other documentation related to the procurement of
supplies, services or construction.
(5) A sale or disposition of real or personal property,
including property sold for municipal taxes or claims.
(6) A proceeding requiring public notice in accordance
with the act of July 31, 1968 (P.L.805, No.247), known as the
Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.
(7) A proceeding requiring public notice in accordance
with applicable laws governing zoning or subdivision and land
development in municipalities not subject to the Pennsylvania
Municipalities Planning Code.
Inclusion of an activity in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), (5),
(6) and (7) does not relieve a local government unit of the
requirement to publish in a legal journal if otherwise required
by section 308 (relating to additional publication in legal
journals).
"Office." The Office of Open Records of the Commonwealth.
"Resolution." A legislative enactment by a local government
unit.
§ 403. Statewide Bid and Notice Database.
(a) Establishment.--The office of Open Records shall
establish and maintain a Statewide Internet website database
accessible to the general public on which notices shall be
published. The database shall meet the requirements of section
404 (relating to duties of office).
(b) Records and reporting.--
(1) All Commonwealth and local government unit records
relating to the database shall be subject to the act of
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February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know
Law.
(2) The office shall keep and make available for public
inspection all records of complaints and service
accessibility failures reported. The office shall review all
complaints reported to determine the cause of an access
problem and shall document the findings and any action taken
to resolve the problem.
(3) The office shall report to the General Assembly on
the implementation and use of the database two years after
the database begins operation and every two years thereafter.
(c) Regulations.--The office may promulgate rules and
regulations it deems necessary to operate the database and to
verify the publication of notices in compliance with this
chapter.
§ 404. Duties of office.
(a) Maintenance.--The database shall be maintained by the
office and meet the following requirements:
(1) Be accessible to the public via a publicly
accessible Internet website 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
(2) Include an index containing a list of all local
government units participating in the database. The index
shall include all current electronically published notices of
the local government units.
(3) List contact information for each participating
local government unit and any link to a government unit's own
publicly accessible Internet website.
(4) Provide access to the full text of all notices.
(5) Contain a search function to allow for a search by
keyword, by type of notice and by local government unit. The
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database may contain other features to improve public
accessibility to electronically published notices.
(6) Be based, to the maximum extent possible, on widely
available nonproprietary hardware and software to allow for
maximum participation by local government units and the
public.
(b) Fees.--
(1) The office may not charge a member of the public a
fee to search the database.
(2) The office may set a schedule of annual membership
fees to be paid by local government units based on the local
government's usage of the database.
(c) Contracting.--The office may contract with the
Legislative Data Processing Center to develop, implement or
maintain the database.
§ 405. Election to participate in database.
(a) Resolution.--A local government unit may adopt a
resolution to elect to electronically publish notices on the
database in accordance with this chapter. The resolution shall
be adopted prior to usage of the database.
(b) Specification of notices.--The resolution adopted under
subsection (a) shall specify which type of notices will be
subject to electronic publication under this chapter.
§ 406. Local government unit responsibilities.
A local government unit which elects to provide electronic
publication of notices shall comply with all of the following:
(1) All electronically published notices shall also be
available for review in printed form in the appropriate
office of the local government unit. The local government
unit shall provide a copy of the notice to an individual upon
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request and the notice shall be provided at a cost not to
exceed the cost established under section 1307(b) of the act
of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-
Know Law.
(2) If the local government unit maintains a publicly
accessible Internet website, all notices shall be posted on
the website and it shall prominently display the link to the
database.
(3) (i) A notice shall first be made on a date
permitted by law for the initial printed publication of
the notice and shall remain on the database until the
last date that printed publication could be made in
accordance with law.
(ii) Electronic publication for the period specified
under subparagraph (i) shall be sufficient for purposes
of certification of publication under paragraph (5).
(iii) A local government unit that electronically
publishes a notice for the period required under
subparagraph (i) may do any of the following:
(A) Continue to electronically publish the
notice for up to 180 days after the last date for
publication under subparagraph (i).
(B) Provide for the printed publication of the
notice in a newspaper of general circulation.
(4) All notices electronically published shall be mailed
by first class mail or facsimile to the newspaper of general
circulation no later than the date the notice is posted on
the database. The local government unit may establish an
alternative method to notify the newspaper of general
circulation via electronic means, including e-mail.
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(5) (i) An official or employee of a local government
unit responsible for the publication of notices under
this chapter shall sign a written certification that the
notice was electronically published on the database for
the period required under paragraph (3)(i) and the time,
place, character of notice and beginning and ending dates
of the continuous electronic publication of the notice. A
copy of the notice, exactly as electronically published,
shall be attached to the certification.
(ii) The certification shall constitute a public
record as defined in section 102 of the Right-to-Know
Law.
(iii) Proof of publication as provided in this
paragraph may be rebutted by clear and convincing
evidence establishing that the notice was not
electronically published as provided in the
certification.
(6) The local government unit shall ensure that all
publicly accessible Internet websites and other contact
information, including e-mail addresses, required by this
chapter be updated when a change occurs.
(7) The local government unit shall maintain a copy of
all notices, certifications of legal notices, electronic
transmissions required by paragraph (3) and facsimile
transmission reports in accordance with standards relating to
records retention established pursuant to law, regulation,
policy or other directive.
Section 3. The sum of $100,000 is hereby appropriated to the
Office of Open Records for the establishment of the Statewide
Bid and Notice Database under this act.
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Section 4. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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