THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY CREIGHTON, JUNE 22, 2009

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, JUNE 22, 2009  

AN ACT

Amending Title 45 (Legal Notices) of the Pennsylvania

Consolidated Statutes, providing for electronic publication

of legal notices.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Title 45 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated

Statutes is amended by adding a chapter to read:

CHAPTER 4

ELECTRONIC LEGAL ADVERTISING

Sec.

401.  Short title of chapter.

402.  Definitions.

403.  Electronic advertising.

404.  Complaints and service accessibility failures.

405.  Copies of legal notices.

406.  Time for posting.

407.  Responsible official.

408.  Creation of proof of publication.

409.  Proof of publication.

410.  Other notice and advertising requirements.

§ 401.  Short title of chapter.

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the

Electronic Legal Advertising Act.

§ 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:

"Electronic publication" or "electronically publish."  The

public advertisement of a legal notice in HyperText Markup

Language format (HTML) or an equivalent language format on an

official government Internet website.

"Notice website."  An Internet website that is maintained by

a governmental unit, or by a third party under contract with the

unit, that contains links to the legal notices electronically

published by the governmental unit.

"Official Internet website" or "official website."  The

Internet location designated by a governmental unit as its

primary source of information about the governmental unit on the

Internet.

§ 403.  Electronic advertising.

Whenever a governmental unit is required by law to publish a

legal notice in one or more newspapers of general circulation,

the governmental unit or its representative may publish the

notice on an official government notice website instead of in a

newspaper of general circulation, if all of the following

requirements are met:

(1)  The governmental unit, or the host of the notice

website, shall enter into a service-level agreement with an

Internet service provider that guarantees the site is

accessible to the public over the Internet at least 98% of

the time, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

(2)  The governmental unit's official Internet website

containing the notice website shall be registered with the

Office of Information Technology of the Office of

Administration, for posting on a State Internet website that

lists Internet sites of governmental units.

(3)  The governmental unit's official Internet website

shall prominently display a link to the notice webpage, which

shall be an index webpage, containing a list of all current

legal notices of the unit, with links to the full text of

those notices, not just to summaries of those notices. The

index webpage shall also contain a search function and other

features that improve public accessibility to legal notices.

(4)  Each webpage on the official website with a link to

the notice webpage or index webpage, as well as the notice

website itself, shall contain an e-mail link to submit a

complaint to the governmental unit if access to any legal

notice fails.

§ 404.  Complaints and service accessibility failures.

A governmental unit shall review all complaints reported

under section 403(4) (relating to electronic advertising) or

otherwise to determine the cause of any service accessibility

failure, and it shall document the findings and any action taken

to resolve the failure. The governmental unit shall keep and

make available for public inspection all records of complaints

and service accessibility failures.

§ 405.  Copies of legal notices.

Whenever an individual is unable to access an electronic

publication of a legal notice, the issuing governmental unit

shall provide a copy of the notice to the individual free of

charge.

§ 406.  Time for posting.

Notices shall remain available on the notice website at least

until the last posting date required by law has expired or until

the event described in a notice has taken place, whichever is

later.

§ 407.  Responsible official.

A governmental unit shall designate an official to be

responsible for electronic publication and shall post the name

and contact information of the official on the notice website.

§ 408.  Creation of proof of publication.

The governmental unit shall create and keep, or have provided

by the notice website contractor, a proof of publication for

each legal notice. The proof of publication shall state that the

legal notice was posted from the initial date through either the

last posting date required by law or the date when the event

described in a notice takes place, whichever occurs later.

§ 409.  Proof of publication.

Proof of publication of an electronically published legal

notice for the purpose of complying with public notice

requirements shall be satisfied and deemed conclusive upon the

provision of a copy of the proof of publication, certified by

the official designated under section 407 (relating to

responsible official), stating that the notice was posted from

the initial date until the last posting date required by law.

§ 410.  Other notice and advertising requirements.

Nothing in this chapter shall negate or effect any

requirement in law, regulation or rule requiring that a notice

or other advertisement be published in a periodical designated

by the rules of court of a county for the publication of legal

notices.

Section 2.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.