Bill
SB 2069
Allows legal notices to be published on the NDNA statewide site (or a government site) if newspapers fail to publish, with no extra cost and an affidavit of posting.
Status and timeline
- Bill: SB 2069 — amending and reenacting section 46‑05‑09 of the North Dakota Century Code (publication of legal notices).
- Introduced: March 7, 2025. Passed both chambers in May 2025. Filed with Secretary of State April 23, 2025 (administrative entries vary); enrolled and final legislative actions completed May–June 2025. Effective date: September 1, 2025.
- Sponsor: State and Local Government Committee (at the request of the Public Service Commission).
Purpose
- Modernize and clarify how statutorily required legal/public notices may be published, by recognizing and specifying statewide website publication options as satisfying publication requirements when newspapers fail to publish notices. Provide initial funding to create a centralized public‑notices website.
Key provisions (final enacted form)
- Amendment to NDCC 46‑05‑09 (Publication of legal notices on website):
1. Requires that when a legal notice must be published in a newspaper, the newspaper also shall publish that notice on a statewide legal notices website maintained by the North Dakota Newspaper Association (NDNA) and on the newspaper’s own website (if any) in a public, free location, at no additional cost to the entity placing the notice.
2. Allows a state agency to request immediate publication on the NDNA public‑notice website; the NDNA must provide an affidavit of posting. That posting is considered legal notification if the newspaper fails to publish the notice in print.
3. Provides that insubstantial errors introduced by website placement that are the newspaper’s fault do not affect the notice’s validity or effectiveness.
4. Clarifies that publication on a statewide legal‑notices website (NDNA) or on a governmental unit’s website fulfills statutory publication requirements if a newspaper fails to publish the notice.
Appropriation
- One version included a one‑time appropriation of $150,000 to the Secretary of State (biennium July 1, 2025–June 30, 2027) to establish a statewide public‑notices website; legislative records show this appropriation was part of earlier drafts/committee reports.
Who is affected
- Units of government and state agencies that place statutorily required legal notices; newspapers and the North Dakota Newspaper Association; the Secretary of State (in versions creating/hosting a site); and the public/users who rely on legal notices for official information. Potential secondary effects on newspaper revenue and administrative procedures for notice placement and affidavits.
Practical effect
- Creates an electronic alternative/backup for legal publication: postings on the NDNA statewide site (or a government unit’s site, per earlier language) will satisfy publication requirements when newspapers fail to publish. Requires newspapers to mirror notices online at no extra cost and establishes an affidavit mechanism to document posting. The change is intended to improve access, archiving, and legal certainty for public notices.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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