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Committee approves amendment to let state agencies post legal notices on Secretary of State site; $150,000 set aside to rebuild site
Summary
The committee approved a change to the bill that makes posting legal notices on the Secretary of State’s website optional (shall→may), adds a $150,000 appropriation to help rebuild the site, removes a delayed effective date, and sent the amended bill to appropriations by unanimous vote.
The Senate Appropriations Committee on Oct. 12 amended a bill that would allow state government entities to post legally required public notices on the Secretary of State’s website. The committee changed a proposed requirement into an option — altering the statutory language from "shall" to "may" — and added a $150,000 appropriation for the Secretary of State to build or improve an online public-notice system.
"Shalomay. So we would you may post it on the secretary's website. But if you do and the newspaper fails, it does count as your legal notice," Chair Rohrs said when explaining the amendment the committee adopted. The chair also said the committee eliminated a delayed implementation date once the language was changed from "shall" to "may."
The amendment (LC1002) removed a section that had made part of the bill effective Jan. 1, 2027, and replaced the requirement with an optional posting provision for state units of government; the committee added language creating a $150,000 appropriation intended to support a rebuilt Secretary of State site for required public notices. John Arnold, deputy commissioner (agency), and Sherry Helghan Hufford, commissioner for the Public Service Commission, told the committee the Secretary of State already had limited capacity on its site and welcomed the flexibility.
"That sounds very good to us. It would allow any state agency that flexibility then to post in both places if they wanted to," John Arnold said, describing his office's view. Sherry Helghan Hufford asked for clarification and was told the change removed the delayed effective date and allowed agencies to begin posting immediately if they wished.
The committee adopted the amendment and then voted to give the amended bill a due-pass recommendation and to re-refer it to the appropriations committee. The amendment and the due-pass both passed by recorded voice roll call with unanimous support (6-0).
Ending: The panel endorsed an optional path for posting legally required notices online, approved a $150,000 appropriation to support the Secretary of State’s site, and sent the amended bill to appropriations for further consideration.
