HSB 247 (LSB 1969YC (4) 91)

HOUSE FILE _____ 

BY  (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT BILL BY CHAIRPERSON BLOOMINGDALE)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to proofs of publication of public notices.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 618.11, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   618.11  Fees for publication and proof of publication.
   1.  a.  The compensation, when not otherwise fixed, for the publication in a newspaper of any notice, order, citation, or other publication required or allowed by law shall be at a rate of thirty-four cents for one insertion and twenty-three cents for each subsequent insertion for each line of eight point type two inches in length, or its equivalent. Beginning June 1, 2001, and each June 1 thereafter, the director of the department of administrative services shall calculate a new rate for the following fiscal year as prescribed in this subsection paragraph, and shall publish this rate as a notice in the Iowa administrative bulletin prior to the first day of the following calendar month. The new rate shall be effective on the first day of the calendar month following its publication. The rate shall be calculated by applying the percentage change in the consumer price index for all urban consumers for the last available twelve-month period published in the federal register by the federal department of labor, bureau of labor statistics, to the existing rate as an increase or decrease in the rate rounded to the nearest one-tenth of a cent. The calculation and publication of the rate by the director of the department of administrative services shall be exempt from the provisions of chapters 17A and 25B.
   b.  Except as otherwise required, “proof of publication” means a document that includes the published document, date of publication, and the name of the newspaper of publication or a statement that the document was posted on the statewide public notice internet site as provided in section 618.8.
   2.  A newspaper shall not charge a fee to a government body, as defined in section 22.1, for proof of publication of a public notice.  A newspaper may charge a fee, not to exceed the actual costs of preparation, for a proof of publication that includes additional elements, including a notarized affidavit requested by a government body, as defined in section 22.1.
   3.  A proof of publication shall constitute an admissible writing or record as provided in section 622.28.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to proofs of publication of public notices. The bill defines “proof of publication” as a document that includes the published document, date of publication, and the name of the newspaper of publication or a statement that the document was posted on the statewide public notice internet site, as applicable. The bill allows a newspaper to charge a fee, not to exceed the actual costs of preparation, for a proof of publication that includes additional elements, including a notarized affidavit requested by a government body. The bill categorizes a proof of publication as an admissible writing or record under the rules of evidence.