🔒CT bill would allow municipalities to post legal notices online instead of in newspapers

State lawmakers are again considering whether cities and towns should be allowed to publish legal notices on their own websites instead of in local newspapers. House Bill 5527 would allow municipalities to satisfy certain legal notice requirements by posting the notices on their official websites and in municipal buildings “in lieu of in a newspaper,” according to the bill’s statement of purpose. Under the proposal, when state law requires a municipality to publish a legal notice in a daily newspaper, towns and cities could choose instead to post the notice on the municipality’s website and display printed copies in town or city hall and at least two other “conspicuous” public locations, such as a library or senior center. Legal notices are used by governments to alert the public to actions that include zoning changes, public hearings, tax sales or town meetings. State law has long required many of those notices to be published in a daily or weekly newspaper with “substantial circulation” in the municipality. The issue has surfaced repeatedly at the state Capitol in recent years as municipal officials seek more flexibility in how they notify residents. Municipal leaders have argued in the past that the current system is outdated and costly. They say more residents now get information from municipal websites and social media, and allowing online posting would modernize the state’s public notice requirements and reduce expenses for municipalities. Similar proposals in the past, however, have stalled in the legislature. In 2023, lawmakers considered a bill that would have allowed towns to publish legal notices on municipal websites rather than in newspapers, prompting debate about transparency and access to information. The proposal drew opposition from the newspaper industry, which argued that legal notices should appear in independent publications to ensure they remain publicly accessible and cannot be altered or removed by the government issuing them. For news organizations that publish public notices, they also provide a revenue stream, as municipalities pay to have them printed. Other proposals in recent legislative sessions have taken different approaches, including allowing municipalities to publish notices with online news outlets or requiring notices to appear both in newspapers and on municipal websites. The debate has also been fueled by changes in the newspaper industry and declining print circulation, which some local officials say makes it harder for municipalities to reach residents through traditional legal notices. The bill has been referred to the legislature’s Committee on Government Administration and Elections.