First Regular Session Sixty-ninth General Assembly STATE OF COLORADO INTRODUCED LLS NO. 13-0212.01 Gregg Fraser x4325 HOUSE BILL 13-1064 HOUSE SPONSORSHIP Dore, SENATE SPONSORSHIP (None), House Committees Senate Committees Local Government A BILL FOR AN ACT Concerning the on-line publication by a local government of information that is currently required to be published in a newspaper. Bill Summary (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at http://www.leg.state.co.us/billsummaries.) Currently, a board of county commissioners is required to publish certain legal notices, advertisements, and fiscal information in specified newspapers. The bill allows these items to be published on a web site maintained by the county rather than publish them in a newspaper. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado: SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 24-70-103, amend (1) as follows: 24-70-103. Requisites of legal newspaper. (1) Any and every legal notice or advertisement shall be published only in a daily, a triweekly, a semiweekly, or a weekly newspaper of general circulation and printed or published in whole or in part in the county in which such notice or advertisement is required to be published, except as provided in this section. The newspaper, if published triweekly, semiweekly, or weekly, shall have been so published in such county, except as provided in this section, continuously and uninterruptedly during the period of at least fifty-two consecutive weeks next prior to the first issue thereof containing any such notice or advertisement; and the newspaper, if published daily, shall have been so published in such county, uninterruptedly and continuously, during the period of at least six months next prior to the first issue thereof containing any such notice or advertisement. In the case of a municipality having territory in two counties, each of which counties has one or more legal newspapers within the municipality, the publication by such municipality of its legal notices and advertisements in one of such newspapers shall be construed as valid publication under this part 1. The board of county commissioners of a county may elect to publish its legal notices and advertisements on a web site maintained by the county in lieu of publishing legal notices and advertisements in a newspaper of general circulation. SECTION 2. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 30-25-111, amend (1) and (2) as follows: 30-25-111. Proceedings published - failure - penalty. (1) It is the duty of the board of county commissioners of each county to publish on a web site maintained by the county or in at least one legal newspaper in the county a report of each claim, except salary warrants, and expenditure by it allowed and paid and taxes rebated, disclosing the name of and the amount paid to each individual or firm, a description of the services or material furnished to the county, and, as to other items, the nature of the claim and disclosing the fund charged with each expenditure. Such report shall contain a statement of any contracts for the expenditure of money not paid immediately made by the board of county commissioners, disclosing the nature and purpose of the contract, the parties thereto, and the amounts involved therein. Such reports shall be published at least monthly within thirty days following the end of the period for which made. If a county elects to publish the report in a newspaper and no legal newspaper is located in the county, either such reports shall be published in a newspaper of an adjacent county which has general circulation in the county for which the report is made, or the board shall cause such statements to be posted in three conspicuous places in said county, one of which shall be the courthouse door. The county accounting office, if there is one, and otherwise the county clerk and recorder, if he or she is acting as the accounting agency for the county, shall provide to the board of county commissioners all information necessary for the publication. The published report shall state that it is published under the direction of the board of county commissioners. Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring the board of county commissioners to publish or make public the names of or individual public welfare payments to, or in behalf of, indigent persons receiving assistance from public welfare programs financed, in whole or in part, by federal or state funds, or any combination thereof, when such publication is specifically forbidden by law. (2) It is the duty of the board of county commissioners of each county to publish on a web site maintained by the county or in some legal newspaper published in the county the semiannual financial statement furnished to the board of county commissioners by the county treasurer which shall include in separate columns the balance at the beginning of the period in each fund kept by the treasurer, the collections to each fund from current taxes, delinquent taxes, miscellaneous collection and transfers, withdrawals from each fund showing cash disbursements, transfers and treasurer's fees, and the balance at the end of the period in each fund. The statement shall be published within sixty days following June thirtieth and December thirty-first each year. If a county elects to publish the statement in a newspaper and no legal newspaper is located in the county, either such reports shall be published in a newspaper of an adjacent county which has general circulation in the county for which the report is made or the board of county commissioners shall cause such statements to be posted in three conspicuous places in said county, one of which shall be the courthouse door. The county clerk and recorder shall furnish a copy of such proceedings for such publication. SECTION 3. Act subject to petition - effective date - applicability. (1) This act takes effect at 12:01 a.m. on the day following the expiration of the ninety-day period after final adjournment of the general assembly (August 7, 2013, if adjournment sine die is on May 8, 2013); except that, if a referendum petition is filed pursuant to section 1 (3) of article V of the state constitution against this act or an item, section, or part of this act within such period, then the act, item, section, or part will not take effect unless approved by the people at the general election to be held in November 2014 and, in such case, will take effect on the date of the official declaration of the vote thereon by the governor. (2) This act applies to notices, advertisements, reports, and statements published on and after January 1, 2014.