PRINTER'S NO. 3967
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
2629
Session of
2018
INTRODUCED BY HILL-EVANS, STAATS, MILLARD, KINSEY, V. BROWN,
SCHWEYER, READSHAW, VAZQUEZ, THOMAS, RABB, D. COSTA AND
MADDEN, SEPTEMBER 10, 2018
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2018
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. Scope 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.
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409. Proof of publication.
410. Construction.
§ 401. Scope of chapter.
This chapter relates to electronic legal advertising.
§ 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 government unit, or by a third party under contract with the
unit, that contains links to the legal notices electronically
published by the government unit.
" Official Internet website " or " official website. " The
Internet location designated by a government unit as its primary
source of information about the government unit on the Internet.
§ 403. Electronic advertising.
Whenever a government unit is required by law to publish a
legal notice in one or more newspapers of general circulation,
the government 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 government unit, or the host of the notice
website, enters into a service-level agreement with an
Internet service provider that guarantees the website is
accessible to the public over the Internet at least 98% of
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the time, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
(2) The government unit's official Internet website
containing the notice website is registered with the Office
of Information Technology of the Office of Administration,
for posting on a State Internet website that lists Internet
websites of government units.
(3) The government unit's official Internet website
prominently displays a link to the notice web page, which is
an index web page, 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
web page must also contain a search function and other
features that improve public accessibility to legal notices.
(4) Each web page on the official website with a link to
the notice web page or index web page, as well as the notice
website itself, contains an e-mail link to submit a complaint
to the government unit if access to a legal notice fails.
§ 404. Complaints and service accessibility failures.
A government 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 government 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 government unit shall
provide a copy of the notice to the individual free of charge.
§ 406. Time for posting.
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Notices shall remain available on a 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 government unit shall designate an official to be
responsible for electronic publication and shall post the name
and contact information of the official on the government unit's
notice website.
§ 408. Creation of proof of publication.
The government unit shall implement 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. Construction.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to 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.
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Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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