House State Affairs committee holds bill to let local governments post legal notices online

BOISE — The House State Affairs Committee held House Bill 33 on a substitute motion after more than an hour of testimony and debate on whether Idaho should allow government entities and private parties to publish required legal notices on a state-run website instead of, or in addition to, newspapers.

Representative Jeff Ehlers, R-Meridian, the bill sponsor, told the committee HB 33 would “modernize our notification system” by allowing agencies, local governments and private parties to publish statutory notices electronically on a central site administered through the state controller’s office and to offer push‑notification subscriptions. Ehlers said initial build costs were estimated at about $570,000 and ongoing maintenance about $300,000, and that state agencies alone could save roughly $1 million per…