Senate panel advances bill requiring online publication of legal notices; counsel details strict website criteria

The Tennessee Senate Finance Committee on April 22 recommended House Bill 773, as amended, for passage to the committee on the calendar after debate over scope and fiscal impact. Sponsor Senator Yeager said the bill "provides that, except for foreclosure notices, that legal notices are required to be published in a newspaper of general circulation that the notice must also be published in, 1 other news and information website, if 1 is available." The committee voted to advance the bill with a recorded tally of 7 ayes, 3 noes and 1 present not voting.

Legal counsel Megan Moore of the Office of Legal Services told the committee the statute is written to apply statewide but only requires the additional website posting "if such a website exists." Moore read the statute’s effective provision: "Beginning 07/01/2024, when legal notices are required to be published in a newspaper of general circulation, the notice must also be published on a news and information website that has a URL if such a website exists." She also described the qualifying standards the law sets for a news and information website.

Moore summarized the website qualifications the statute and the committee amendment require: the site must have been published continuously for the prior 12 months; use recognized professional journalism standards; update at least three times per week; bear a fixed title and datelines; comply with copyright law; not primarily serve a special-interest promotional purpose; be principally devoted to local or general news with at least 50% original editorial content (excluding ads); be registered with the secretary of state; and maintain a publicly accessible office and contact information within the county where the notice must be published. The legislation this session adds two further criteria to the existing list.

Senators asked whether the standards are narrowly limiting. Sponsor Yeager said the 2023 law’s technical definition of a qualifying news website currently limits application to a single county — Campbell County — but he noted the statute is statewide and could apply elsewhere if sites meet the criteria. Committee members raised fiscal concerns about duplicating notice publications; the fiscal note on the bill said a specific state cost could not be determined. One senator estimated the state-level cost could be in the millions and that local governments could face larger cumulative expenses, though the committee record does not attribute an exact appropriation to the bill. The sponsor and legal counsel said they were not aware of a state appropriation for the new requirement.

After discussion, Senator Yeager moved the bill; it was seconded and put to a roll call. The clerk recorded the tally as 7 ayes, 3 noes and 1 present not voting (Senator Lamar recorded as present not voting); the committee recommended passage of House Bill 773 as amended to the committee on the calendar.

The committee did not adopt an appropriation to cover additional publication costs; members discussed the possibility of local governments incurring expense if multiple eligible websites exist in a county. The record shows the committee advanced the bill but did not resolve the fiscal uncertainties identified in the fiscal note.